Kassel Things to Do

The best view on Kassel is from Herkules. You discover the cascades, a little bit further Schloss Wilhelmshoehe, then your view wanders over the city centre... This is beautiful at daytime, but guess how wonderful it is during the night when millions of lights are flickering in the valley. It's certainly the most romantic place to be at night.

Kassel is well-known to be one of the greenest cities in Germany. 62 % of its area are parks, forests or gardens! If you are in the centre of Kassel (i.e. the Koenigsstrasse), you should not miss exploring the nearby baroque park Karlsaue. It's only some 300m away. Cross the Friedrichsplatz and pass by the Fridericianum (an interesting museum, btw), cross the Steinweg road and follow the paths towards what looks like a giant picture frame - it's a piece of art from a documenta years ago. From this frame, you can get a first glimpse on the Karlsaue. Go down the stairs and you'll see a big yellow building, Kassel's orangery. Next to the building is the marble bath. Inside, you'll find a planetarium, which is really interesting. If you stand in front of the orangery, you'll see a vast meadow, the so-called Karlswiese. In summertime, it's full of people playing football or badminton, or just having a picnic. From the Karslwiese, two long ditches extend towards a beautiful lake. Stroll along these ditches, it's a nice walk. When you've reached the lake, go on further until you come to another lake with an island in the middle. The island is called Siebenbergen, and it's especially beautiful in spring, when it's full of flowers.
Now turn to the left and cross the street until you reach the river Fulda. Look for the bridge and cross it. You now reach the Fuldaaue, another big park. It's been the main site of the 1955 Bundesgartenschau (i.e. a garden exhibition -I believe it was in 1955). Today, it's a good place to spend your evening with a barbecue or a swim in one of the lakes. There's also a sports area on the river, where rowing and other water sports are possible.
By the way, in summertime every Tuesday evening the parks are full of inline-skaters as there's an organized skating circuit once a week.

As described on other pages, this is the crown in the jewel of the Bergpark Wilhelmshoehe in Kassel.
The monument can be seen throughout most of Kassel, as this is the highest point in the city in the Habichtswald. (Hawks' Forest).
The Oktigon was built in 1701-1713 by Landburgher Karl von Hesse-Kassel as a palace to the Wind. It is about 200 feet (60+ meters) high. In 1717, the 25 foot (8.25m) Statue of Herkules to commemorate strength and protection of the poor was added to the top. It is a replica of the original made by Benvenuto Cellini.
As I caution in my tip, it is a steep climb up, so be careful if you may have averse effects from strenuous activity! There are many terraces along the waterfall run to stop and rest and along the hiking trails throughout the park are benches, rest areas and places to get some food or drink. If you enjoy this location, take your time and take everything in!

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The Bergpark Wilhelmshoehe is inside the larger Habichtswald (Hawks' Forest). The pathways up to the Oktigon and Herkules Statue wend through this forest. It is said, there are over 600 varieties of trees in the forest.

This place is the most amazing park I've seen, if you read the lead page for Kassel, I give a pretty fair description of what this park contains. The vistas are gorgeous and the waterfall is amazing! I definitely could spend much more time here than I did and not become bored! It is a work out walking up to the Hercules monument!

Built in 1786 by landgrave Wilhelm IX., the castle of Wilhelmshoehe (Schloss Wilhelmshoehe) was used as summer residency by the two German emperor's Wilhelm I. and Wilhelm II.

These days, the castle houses a collection of art and antique furniture and functions as one of the city's museums.

During New Year's Eve, hundreds of citizens gather in front of the castle's entrance to celebrate the new year and watch the fireworks.

If you are visiting Herkules, don't walk straight down the hill to Schloss Wilhelmshohe. Instead take the route down the right hand side and you will encounter the beautiful Schloss Lowenburg (Lion Castle) that will almost appear out of the trees.

It is modelled on a medieval Scottish castle and is definitely worth a visit. You will find an outdoor maze adjacent to the castle that is also a bit of fun. Inside the castle there is a museum of arnaments and a museum of chivalry which are both worth a look.

Herkules stands about 600m above sea level and the 2 Euro fee to climb to the top of the statue is well worth the awesome 360 degree view.

If you happen to time your visit to Kassel between April and November then you can witness the amazing Wasserspeil. On Wednesday and Sunday's at 2:30pm during this time you can see the water cascade down the hill culminating in a 52m high fountain of water at the bottom. Definitely worth a visit.