District
City Center / The Squares
The heart of Mannheim: the globally unique Quadrate grid from A1 to U6, the palace, the Wasserturm, the Planken shopping axis and the Paradeplatz.
Mannheim's inner city is famous for its chessboard layout of Quadrate (squares) running from A1 to U6 - quirky addresses replace street names. Here you find Schloss Mannheim, Europe's second-largest Baroque palace; the Wasserturm landmark; the Paradeplatz; the Planken as the central shopping spine; and the Nationaltheater. By day it is shopping and sightseeing, by night a dense scene of bars and clubs.
Attractions in City Center / The Squares
Mannheim Palace
One of Europe's largest Baroque palaces, now home to the University of Mannheim, with a lavish palace museum, library hall and ceremonial courtyard.
Mannheim National Theater
Germany's oldest municipal theater, founded in 1779 and the venue of Schiller's Die Räuber premiere, now home to opera, drama, dance and youth productions.
Popakademie Baden-Württemberg
A striking wave-shaped building by the harbor, home to Germany's first university for pop music and music business and a pillar of Mannheim's UNESCO City of Music status.
Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen
Four museum venues on Toulonplatz, covering archaeology, world cultures, city history and major special exhibitions from mummies to Romanticism.
Discover other districts
Neckarstadt
Mannheim's most lively quarter north of the Neckar, with a creative scene, multicultural food, the Alter Messplatz square and a Jungbusch-style vibe in Neckarstadt-West.
Lindenhof
An upper-middle-class residential quarter south of the city center on the Rhine, defined by the Lindenhofplatz, quiet residential streets and the Stephanienufer riverside park.
Schwetzingerstadt
Directly east of the Quadrate squares, a mix of Gründerzeit residential streets, proximity to the Wasserturm and the lively Augustaanlage boulevard.