Centrally located and close to the A5

Darmstadt enjoys a beautiful location in the foothills of the Odenwald, and at the start of the Hessische Bergstraße wine-growing region. The area surrounding the city offers numerous hiking trails and picturesque wine-growing villages. The H+ Hotel Darmstadt is located to the south-west of the city centre, and is well connected to the A5. The Marktplatz, the Palace Museum and the Technical University of Darmstadt are all within 20 minutes’ walk, and the State Theatre is just ten minutes’ walk. The motorway will take you to Frankfurt Airport in around 20 minutes, and Frankfurt Messe in around half an hour.

This artists’ colony in Mathildenhöhe was founded in 1899, and was instrumental in turning Darmstadt into an important centre for the Art Nouveau movement, or “Jugendstil”, as it is known in Germany. Many magnificent residential, exhibition and studio buildings, as well as gardens, were constructed here in the years leading up to 1914. Particularly interesting are the 48-metre Wedding Tower (one of the city’s landmarks), the Russian Chapel and its water basin, the plane tree grove, and the Rosenhöhe park with its rose dome. Mathildenhöhe is around a ten-minute drive from the H+ Hotel Darmstadt.

Right in the middle of Luisenplatz, Darmstadt’s central square (and also the beginning of the pedestrian zone), stands another symbol of the city: the Ludwigsmonument. “Lange Ludwig” (as he’s known by the locals) is a column topped with a memorial to Ludwig I, the first Grand Duke of Hesse. The memorial as a whole is 39 metres high. The column, inaugurated in 1844, stands on an axis with two shell-shaped fountains designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich. The cruciform square is today largely pedestrianised. It is just two stops on the S-Bahn from the H+ Hotel Darmstadt to Luisenplatz.

Not far from Luisenplatz is the Darmstadt Residenzschloss. This building complex was constructed over a period of six hundred years. The last changes were carried out in the 18th century at the bidding of Landgrave Ernst Ludwig. After it was destroyed during the Second World War, the site’s pre-war external appearance was restored. Today, part of the palace is used by the Technical University of Darmstadt, while the palace museum holds an interesting collection of porcelain. It is approximately 20 minutes’ walk from the H+ Hotel Darmstadt.

The “White Tower”, measuring almost 40 metres, was built as a defensive corner tower and formed part of the city’s medieval fortifications. In 1709 it was converted into a bell tower, and was given the appearance it has today. It is supported by a Circle of Friends, which organises exhibitions and other events, as well as offering regular guided tours. It may only have a diameter of 6 metres, but the exhibition space covers 4 floors! It is approximately 20 minutes’ walk from the H+ Hotel Darmstadt. 

The Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt is a general-purpose museum with a diverse range of collections, covering everything from art to culture and natural history. It includes paintings by Arnold Böcklin and seven rooms with works by Joseph Beuys, as well as geological and paleontological finds from the Messel Pit, and ten historical dioramas. These were designed in 1900 when the museum was set up, and show European habitats and fauna from various continents. You can drive here in around 5 minutes from the H+ Hotel Darmstadt.