The Stuttgart Travel Guide

Ian Lazaretti

I like Stuttgart for the Volksfest. Kind of like Oktoberfest, but better. Instead of crowds of people from all countries except Germany, the crowds at Volksfest are pure German. Beer tents, rides, and beer, lots of it. The pure German experience.

Hansel J. Valasco

Visited the Castle of Ludwigsburg last May when visiting relatives and celebrating my mother's 80th birthday in Bietigheim just a couple of miles north of the castle. What a wonderful palace, including the gardens, not to be missed.

Jeanette Everett-Martinez

I grew up in the Leinfelden-Echterdingen area. The Stuttgart International Airport is located there too! The Ritter Sport chocolate factory is a short drive away in Waldenbuch...

Denise Mercier Stanley

I recommend the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart...

L. Robin Newcomb

Stuttgart "IS" the place for great meals...

Old Palace and State History Museum

The Old Castle, Stuttgart
[ source: Wikipedia ]

Together with the neighboring Collegiate Church, the Old Palace (Altes Schloss) is the city's most ancient remaining monument. Parts of the foundation walls date back to the 10th Century, when the palace was constructed as a simple moated fortress in the year 941. More than once over its eventful history it has been rebuilt, besieged and destroyed by war. During the 16th Century, a Renaissance palace grew up out of the former moated fortress. The greater part of the building was reduced to dust and rubble in intensive air raids on Stuttgart in the summer of 1944. The rebuilding of the Old Palace took until 1969.

Since 1948, the Old Palace, itself a symbol of Wüttemberg's state history, has housed the Landesmuseum Württemberg, the outstanding state history museum. The Palace Chapel, which was constructed in the mid 16th Century, is among one of South Germany's oldest Protestant places of worship.

Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 5pm.

Admission: Adults 4.50 €, Concessions 3 €, children under 14 years free.

New Palace

New Palace, Stuttgart
[ source: Wikipedia ]

The New Palace (Neues Schloss) stands proudly at the heart of the State Capital Stuttgart. This late Baroque building was one of the last big city palaces to be built in Southern Germany, and is reminiscent of the magnificent French palaces of the 17th Century.

It was Duke Karl Eugen who commissioned architects Nikolaus Friedrich Thouret, Leopold Retti and Philippe da la Guepière as well as Reinhard Ferdinand Heinrich Fischer to construct the three-winged palace complex along the lines of the celebrated Palace of Versailles between the years 1746 and 1807. The residence of the Kings of Württemberg was destroyed in World War II and later rebuilt. Today, the New Palace houses the Ministries of Financial Affairs and Education, and is also used by the State Government to receive important visitors and for state occasions ; it is only available to tour by special arrangement. Tel. +49-(0)711-6673-4331 (State Property and Building Surveyor's Office in Stuttgart) or email info@neues-schloss-stuttgart.de.

Sepulchral Chapel on Württemberg Mountain

Sepulchral Chapel on Württemberg Mountain near Stuttgart
[ source: Wikimedia ]

The inscription over the entrance to the vault which houses the double Carrara marble sarcophagus translates as Love never dies. The tomb is the resting place of Queen Katharina, who died at an early age, and King Wilhelm I who was buried here in 1864. The then Crown Prince Wilhelm and his cousin Katharina Pawlowa, Grand Duchess of Russia, were married in 1816. Katharine died just three years later at the age of 30. Wilhelm had the Sepulchral Chapel built for his adored wife on Württemberg Mountain, which had formerly been the site of the ancestral castle of the Württembergs (11th Century).

Inside the chapel, built in the Classicist style, the wall niches are occupied by colossal statutes of the four Evangelists. Court sculptor Johann Heinrich Dannecker produced these statues with the aid of his pupil Theodor Wagner using Carrara marble. The Sepulchral Chapel was used from 1825 to 1899 for Russian Orthodox worship. Still today, the Russian Orthodox community attends the Service on Württemberg Mountain here every Whit Monday. The Chapel affords a glorious view over the idyllic winegrowing district of Uhlbach and the Neckar Valley with Stuttgart Harbour.

Hours: March 1 - November 1: Sunday and bank holidays 10am - 12pm, 1 - 6pm. Friday, Saturday 10am - 12pm, 1 - 5pm, Wednesday 10am - 12pm.

Admission: Adults 2.20 €, Concessions 1.10 €.

Mercedes-Benz Museum

Mercedes-Benz Museum, Stuttgart
[ source: Wikipedia ]

The modern Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt brings 120 years of automotive history to life. 1500 exhibits - including 160 vehicles - illustrate the development of the automobile from the very first horseless carriage to the modern limousine. Fascinating exhibits on view include for instance the very first Daimler automobile dating back to 1886, the legendary Silver Arrow or the Popemobile used to convey Pope John Paul II.

Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 9am - 6pm.

Admission: Adults 8 €, Concessions 4 €.

Wilhelma - Zoological-Botanical Gardens

Wilhelma Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Stuttgart
[ source: Wikimedia ]

Wilhelma, built as a royal palace, is now a zoo in Stuttgart. It is Europe's only large combined zoological and botanical garden and is home to over 8,000 animals from over 1,000 different species and countless exotic plants from over 5,000 species. The zoo is famous for keeping all four kinds of great apes, all in families with offspring, as well as for its aquarium featuring animals and plants from all over the world. The botanical gardens are renowned for containing Europe's biggest magnolia grove. It was also the home of the polar bear Wilbär.

The Wilhelma was originally a royal palace, in Moorish Revival style. After the second world war, it was gradually converted to its present day use. Besides animals and plants, the Wilhelma is therefore also worth visiting for its architecture.

Hours: The park is open every day of the year. The gates are always opened at 8:15 am. Depending on the month the park closes at different times, from 4 - 6pm (earlier in Winter).

Admission: Adults 12 €, Concessions 6 €, Family Tickets available.

Porsche Museum

Porsche Museum, Stuttgart
[ source: Wikipedia ]

The new Porsche museum stands on a conspicuous junction just outside Porsche Headquarters in Zuffenhausen. The display area covers 5600 square meters featuring around 80 exhibits, many rare cars and a variety of historical models. The museum design is based on a model by HG Merz who was also involved in the building of the award winning Mercedes-Benz Museum.

Hours: Tuesday - Sunday from 9am to 6pm.

Admission: Adults 8 €, Concessions 4 €, Children under 14 years free.

Stiftskirche Collegiate Church

The Protestant Stiftskirche (originally built in 1170) pictured around 1900
[ source: Wikipedia ]

The history of Stuttgart's Stiftskirche, or Collegiate Church, spans back to the 10th or 11th century. Evidence discovered in the altar area points towards a presence on the site from the early Romanesque period. A Romanesque village church was constructed on the same site in around 1175. The original church continued to evolve, with new extensions added, and other sections demolished and increased in size. A particularly striking feature of the church, and one of Stuttgart's best known landmarks, are its two contrasting towers.

Solitude Palace

Castle Solitude, Stuttgart
[ source: Wikipedia ]

Solitude Palace lies on the heights southwest of Stuttgart with a magnificent view of the lowlands. Built in the years between 1764 and 1769, it is the center of an entire complex which, as an expression of the royal will to build in the fading rococo, is considered one of the outstanding architectural ensembles of the 18th century in the German Southwest.

With its three wings arranged around a central open space, its preserved interior fittings and a number of items of original furniture, this palace evokes a sense of the splendour of its heyday. The eleven rooms on show in the palace are notable for their mix of Rococo to Classicist styles. During the transformation phase from one epoch to the next, it was perfectly acceptable to display the two different styles side by side. Today, this popular destination for day trippers with its Palace Restaurant is home to an academy for young artists.

Hours: Open by guided tour only; April 1 - October 31: Tue - Sat 9am - 12pm, 1:30 - 5 pm. Sunday and bank holidays 9am - 5pm. November 1 - March 31: Tue - Sat 1:30 - 4 pm, Sunday and bank holidays 10am - 4pm.

Admission: Adults 3.30 €, Concessions 1.70 €, Families 8.20 €.

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