City Center / The Squares

The city center is the heart of the 'city of squares': instead of street names, the blocks carry codes from A1 to U6, which makes Mannheim unique worldwide. If you are looking for an address such as P7, the letter gives you the row and the number the block within it - it sounds awkward, but it is grasped faster than any organically grown old town. The baroque Mannheim Palace, one of the largest in Europe, marks the south-western edge, while the Planken run as the central shopping axis from Paradeplatz to the Water Tower. In between lie the market square with its weekly market, the Kunsthalle on Friedrichsplatz and the baroque Jesuit Church. Practical for visitors: almost everything is walkable, the main station sits on the southern edge of the Squares, and the tram lines meet at Paradeplatz. With only one day in Mannheim, spend it here.