Speyer was one of the great Jewish centres of medieval Europe, and the evidence is still standing in the Judenhof, the old Jewish courtyard just behind the cathedral. In the early twelfth century a synagogue was built here, and beside it a ritual bath, the mikveh, reached by a narrow stair down into the cool, damp earth. Together with the sister communities of Worms and Mainz, the three towns formed a league known by the initials of their Hebrew names, ShUM, and UNESCO listed the sites in 2021. The bath is among the oldest and best preserved in Europe, and descending into it is a quiet, slightly chilling experience.
Speyer sits on the Rhine, in the flat Palatinate plain, and the ride here from Heidelberg is gentle rather than exciting. You cross the river country on straight, well-surfaced roads between asparagus fields and orchards, with the Palatinate hills visible to the west and the Kraichgau to the east. It is an easy hour or so, good for a relaxed afternoon, and the Rhine ferries and bridges add a bit of variety. Ride in spring or autumn, when the light on the plain is soft and the traffic gentler, and plan on walking the old town rather than riding it.
The city has fifty thousand people and everything you need, from fuel on the outskirts to cafes around the Maximilianstrasse. The cathedral, a vast Romanesque basilica begun under the Salian emperors in the eleventh century, was also listed by UNESCO, in 1981, and holds the tombs of several emperors and kings. The Technik Museum on the edge of town is a different kind of attraction, with a Concorde and a Soviet space shuttle on display, which might appeal to anyone who rides for the pleasure of machinery.
If you eat here, try the Palatinate specialities, such as Saumagen, a stuffed pig's stomach beloved of the region and of Helmut Kohl, or a glass of dry Riesling from the nearby Weinstrasse. It is the kind of town where history is underfoot and lunch is serious.