Ulm sits on the Danube in Baden-Wuerttemberg, about an hour from Stuttgart and an hour and a quarter from Munich, and it is the kind of place people pass through on the fast line without realising what is above them. The Minster steeple is the tallest on any church in the world, and the old quarter beneath it is built over running water.
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FIRST, AND IT IS THE THING TO GET RIGHT: THE ULM MINSTER IS NOT A CATHEDRAL. It is a Lutheran parish church, it has never been the seat of a bishop, and it is called the Muenster for that reason. It also has the TALLEST CHURCH STEEPLE IN THE WORLD at 161.5 metres, begun in 1377 and not finished until 1890, and you can climb it: 768 steps to the top viewing platform, with the stairs narrowing to a single spiral where people going up and down have to negotiate. On a clear day the Alps are visible. Our Germany travel guide for women covers the country; this is the city.
SECOND, THE FISCHERVIERTEL IS BUILT OVER WATER. The fishermen's and tanners' quarter below the Minster is a knot of half-timbered houses on cobbled lanes crossed by the Blau, a small river channelled into millstreams, with the SCHIEFES HAUS, the crooked house, leaning so far it is in the record books as the most lopsided hotel in the world. It is small, perhaps fifteen minutes end to end, and it is the prettiest thing in the city.
THIRD, THE DANUBE HERE IS STILL SMALL. Ulm is only about 350 kilometres from the river's source and the water at the city wall is a modest green river you could throw a stone across, not the broad artery it becomes in Vienna or Budapest. The old town wall runs along it, and the city boundary is the river: cross the bridge and you are in NEU-ULM, which is a different town in a different federal state, Bavaria.
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The Minster, the Quarter and the Two Cities
768 steps, a crooked house, a city wall on the Danube, and a state border down the middle of the river.
THE MINSTER CLIMB IS THE MAIN EVENT and it needs a word of honesty: it is 768 steps, there is no lift, the upper section is a tight single spiral with two-way traffic, and it is not for anyone uneasy in enclosed heights. There is a lower platform partway up if the top is too much. The church itself is free; the tower is ticketed.
THE MUENSTERPLATZ around it is a hard modern square, deliberately so, and the STADTHAUS on it is a white Richard Meier building from 1993 that caused a civic argument and is now simply part of the view. The RATHAUS nearby has painted sixteenth century facades and an astronomical clock.
THE FISCHERVIERTEL AND THE STADTMAUER are walked together: the quarter, then the city wall along the Danube with the METZGERTURM, the butcher's tower, leaning noticeably at one end. The whole loop is comfortably an afternoon.
EINSTEIN WAS BORN HERE in 1879 and the house is gone, destroyed in the war, with a small memorial on the site near the station. The city is honest that there is not much to see, which is the right call.
AND THE ULMER SPATZ AND THE SCHNEIDER OF ULM are the two local stories worth knowing: the sparrow that supposedly taught the builders to carry a beam lengthways through the gate, and Albrecht Berblinger, the tailor who built a glider in 1811 and fell into the Danube in front of the king. There is a statue of him on the bank. Germans find both funny; it is a self-deprecating city.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Neu-Ulm, the Danube and the Swabian Alb
A different state across the bridge, a river to cycle, and a limestone plateau of caves behind.
NEU-ULM is across the river and is in BAVARIA while Ulm is in Baden-Wuerttemberg, which means two sets of public holidays, two school calendars and historically two sets of everything. For a visitor it means the best view back at the Minster and the river promenade, and it is a five minute walk.
THE SWABIAN ALB rises north of the city, a limestone plateau whose CAVES IN THE LONE AND ACH VALLEYS were inscribed by UNESCO in 2017 for holding the oldest figurative art and the oldest musical instruments yet found, roughly 40,000 years old. The Lion Man ivory figure and the bone flutes are in museums rather than the caves, and the ULMER MUSEUM holds the Lion Man itself. BLAUBEUREN, 25 minutes west, has the Blautopf, a spring pool of startling blue, and a prehistory museum.
THE DANUBE CYCLE PATH passes through, and Ulm to Donauwoerth or onward to Regensburg is one of Europe's easiest long rides, flat and almost entirely off-road.
FOR ELSEWHERE IN THE SOUTH: Stuttgart is an hour by train and the Stuttgart packing list covers it, the Black Forest packing list is ninety minutes west, and the Heidelberg packing list covers the other great southern old town.
Getting around: Ulm is on the Stuttgart to Munich high-speed line, so it is 55 minutes from one and 75 from the other, which makes it a genuine day trip from either or a quieter base than both. The old town is entirely walkable and the station is five minutes from the Minster. There are two tram lines and they are barely needed.
When to Go
May to September for the river and the climb. Late November for the market.
A continental climate, more so than the German north: January and February average minus 2 to 4C, July and August 14 to 25C, with rainfall peaking in summer thunderstorms rather than in winter.
MAY TO SEPTEMBER is the season. The Fischerviertel beer gardens are open, the Danube promenade works, the tower climb is pleasant rather than punishing, and the Alps are more often visible from the top in clear settled weather.
JULY has the SCHWOERMONTAG, the oath Monday, which is Ulm's own civic holiday and genuinely unusual: the mayor swears an annual oath to the citizens from a balcony, and the afternoon is the NABADA, a chaotic flotilla of rafts and home-made boats down the Danube through the city. It is the single best day to be here and the city is full.
LATE NOVEMBER TO 22 DECEMBER is the Christmas market on the Muensterplatz, with the steeple floodlit above it, at around 0 to 4C.
JANUARY AND FEBRUARY are properly cold, often below freezing, and the tower can close in ice or high wind, which is worth knowing if the climb is the reason you are coming. Check before you travel rather than on the day.
Is Ulm Safe for Women Travelers
Very safe. The tower stairs and winter ice are the real risks.
US State Department travel advisory: the Germany advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/germany, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
The FCDO publishes no advised-against areas anywhere in Germany, and its terrorism wording is the strongest it uses: terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Germany, with restaurants, MARKETS, shopping centres, places of worship, sporting events and crowded public spaces named as possible targets. That is worth knowing in a country where a Christmas market is often the reason for the trip, and the response is awareness rather than avoidance. On crime the FCDO puts German levels on a par with the UK and names theft and pickpocketing at airports, railway stations and in crowded places, with the specific advice not to leave bags unattended. It also gives one unusually concrete warning: exchange currency only at banks and legitimate bureaux, because counterfeit notes are passed to visitors at street kiosks.
ULM IS A SMALL, PROSPEROUS, SAFE CITY of about 130,000 and there is no district a visitor needs to avoid. The station area is unremarkable by German standards. Petty theft is the ordinary pattern, concentrated on the Christmas market and the Schwoermontag crowds.
THE MINSTER STAIRS ARE THE GENUINE HAZARD and should be taken seriously rather than lightly: 768 steps with no lift, an upper spiral narrow enough that two people pass sideways, stone worn smooth, and two-way traffic throughout. People do turn back. Sensible shoes, no loose bag on your arm, and a decision made at the lower platform rather than halfway up the spiral.
WINTER ICE on the cobbles of the Fischerviertel and on the steps down to the river is the other one, and the lanes there are shaded enough that ice persists after it has gone elsewhere.
THE DANUBE looks small and is cold and fast moving with undercut banks. It is not a swimming river in the city and the Nabada flotilla in July is run with safety boats for a reason.
Germany is in the EU, so a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU European Health Insurance Card gives you state-provided medically necessary care on the same terms as a resident. That is not the same as free: German healthcare involves patient contributions and the card does not cover repatriation or private treatment, so travel insurance sits on top of it. German hospitals are excellent and English is widely spoken in them, particularly in university cities. An Apotheke, marked with a red A, handles minor problems without an appointment and the duty rota for out-of-hours is posted in the window. Tap water is drinkable everywhere. Dial 112 for an ambulance and 116117 for the non-emergency medical service.
Socially this is easy. English is spoken in the centre and at the university, the city is used to visitors passing through, and a woman alone in a Fischerviertel restaurant or a beer garden draws no attention. Ulm is quieter at night than a big German city, so the streets empty earlier than you might expect on a Sunday or Monday.
The Ulm Packing List
Shoes for 768 worn stone steps
This is the item the trip turns on. Something with grip and a flat sole, laced rather than slip-on, because the upper spiral of the steeple is worn smooth and the Fischerviertel cobbles are uneven and often wet. Nothing with a heel.
Base layers, because the winters here are continental
Unlike the German north, Ulm goes properly below freezing and stays there. Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and one long sleeve merino wool base layer for women covers a Christmas market evening, a cold tower platform and a train day without holding smell.
A warm layer for the top of the steeple
A fleece mid layer. The viewing platform at 143 metres is windy in any season and noticeably colder than the square below, and that is as true in July as in January.
A rain jacket, for summer thunderstorms
A packable rain jacket for women. Ulm's rain peaks in summer as heavy short thunderstorms rather than the north's steady drizzle, so it arrives fast on an otherwise hot day.
For a winter visit
A merino beanie and merino glove liners, both of which matter more on the steeple platform than in the streets.
The small things
A packing cube set for what is usually a one or two night stop. CASH, because Germany is still more cash-dependent than most of western Europe and the market stalls and smaller Fischerviertel places often decline cards. A water bottle for the climb. And check whether the tower is open before you travel in winter, because ice and wind close it.
Essential Resources for Women in Ulm
Emergency numbers: 112 for police, ambulance and fire, free from any phone including a locked mobile, with operators who will find an English speaker. It is the single number across the whole European Union.
Tourist police: Germany has no dedicated tourist police force. The Polizei Ulm cover the city and 110 reaches police directly if you prefer it to 112.
Main hospital: the Universitaetsklinikum Ulm is a large teaching hospital with a 24 hour emergency department, and the Bundeswehrkrankenhaus also takes civilian emergencies. For an emergency dial 112. An Apotheke handles minor problems and the night rota is posted in pharmacy windows.
Official health authority: the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's public health body. Carry a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU card. The university hospital is the regional centre for a wide area
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Berlin.
Official tourism authority: the German National Tourist Board. And with Ulm Tourismus, whose office is on the Muensterplatz and which publishes the Minster tower opening hours, the thing most worth checking before you travel
The Minster is a Lutheran parish church, not a cathedral, and its steeple is the tallest on any church in the world at 161.5 metres. The climb is 768 steps with no lift and a narrow two-way spiral at the top.
The tower closes in ice and high wind, so in winter confirm it is open before you commit the trip to it.
Across the bridge is Bavaria. Neu-Ulm is a separate town in a separate federal state, five minutes away, with the best view back at the steeple.
Schwoermontag in July brings the mayor's oath and the Nabada river flotilla. It is the best day of the Ulm year and the busiest.
Solo women safety assessment: Ulm is a very safe small city of about 130,000 with no district a visitor needs to avoid, including the station area, which is unremarkable by German standards. English is spoken in the centre and at the university and a woman alone in a Fischerviertel restaurant or a beer garden draws no attention at all; the city does empty earlier at night than a larger German city, particularly on a Sunday or Monday, which is worth expecting rather than being unsettled by. PETTY THEFT is the ordinary European pattern and concentrates on the Christmas market and the Schwoermontag crowds. THE REAL RISKS HERE ARE PHYSICAL RATHER THAN CRIMINAL. The Minster stairs are the first: 768 steps, no lift, stone worn smooth by six centuries, and an upper spiral narrow enough that two people pass sideways with two-way traffic throughout, so take the decision at the lower platform rather than halfway up, wear laced shoes with grip and carry nothing loose on your arm. Winter ice is the second, and it lingers in the shaded Fischerviertel lanes and on the steps to the river after it has cleared elsewhere. And the Danube, though small here, is cold and fast with undercut banks and is not a swimming river in the city.
Reading On
For the country-level picture, start with the Germany travel guide for women. An hour either side of Ulm on the fast line are the Stuttgart packing list and, for the other great southern old town, the Heidelberg packing list. The Black Forest packing list covers the hills ninety minutes west and the Bremen packing list the maritime north for contrast. For why merino rather than cotton for a cold tower platform, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
