|
Search this site
View map of Europe
View map of Germany
|
|
|
Germany
Travel Guide
Stuttgart Travel Information
Visit
Stuttgart to discover a city of easy contrast
Visit
Stuttgart to discover a city of easy contrast by
Michael Hanna
Stuttgart
is the capital of the state of Baden-Würtemberg and is beautifully
positioned at the edge of the Black Forest; and as one of Germany's
leading industrial cities, it is a hive for both holiday and business
travelers from around the world.
|
With a friendly atmosphere
and easy hospitality, the charms of this city do not always unfold
immediately to visitors; instead, they sometimes need to be sought out
or looked up through tourist information before they will offer their
full reward. A good starting point for any visit is the restaurant on
top of the TV tower; while slightly pricey, it provides a great view of
the city and the Neckar valley.
Stuttgart
is enclosed by hills on three sides of the city, while the fourth side
opens up toward its river harbor. Notable attractions include the
nearby four castles and the famous Weissenhof estate, and it is a mecca
for car fanatics. As the home of the Porsche and Mercedes Benz car
companies, it is not surprising that the Mercedes Benz and Porsche
museums act as focal points for petrol heads.
|
Buy This Allposters.com
|
Food and
drink also usually feature heavily in any visit to Stuttgart. The city is
dotted with a multitude of restaurants and cafes offering local or
international cuisine and beautiful views of the city, alongside all
types of nightclubs, discos, bars, and pubs encompassing various themes
and providing something for all different clientele.
The
region in which Stuttgart is situated also has a long history of
winegrowing, and for the last 800 years, winegrowers have been permitted
to serve their wine in their own private households. This leads to a
relaxed atmosphere where home made wine and food can be consumed in
comfortable surroundings while hanging out with the locals. The many
great wines which are made here have international appeal, and the
region's long tradition can be seen by taking the wine hiking trails
which are carefully documented in the winemaking museum or directly
experienced in the various seasonal wine rooms and taverns.
|
Buy This Allposters.com
|
Finding accommodation to
stay in and around Stuttgart is easy, as there are many great quality
B&Bs, hostels and hotels available, including a lavish new Hilton
Garden Inn which has just opened near to the Mercedes museum.
For
visitors looking for a touch of peace and tranquility, the many wide
ranging parks across the city offer an ideal chance to get away from
the hustle and bustle of normal life. The city is renowned for its
range of boutiques, exclusive stores, and shopping malls which have
something to offer even the most hardened of shoppers. A stroll through
the busy Koenigstrasse pedestrian zone is a must for any power shopper,
while lesser shoppers will still find themselves enticed by their
fabulous range of products available, making it very difficult to leave
empty handed.
|
Walking
around Stuttgart is a great way to see the sights, and many urban
trekkers may like to walk through the Rosensteingarten and up to the
Killesberg for a fabulous view. Specific walks have been set up around
the city, starting at either the central train station or the Altes
Schloss, and are highlighted by yellow sign posts which point out modern
and historical areas of interest.
Business,
pleasure, shopping or resting, Stuttgart has something for everyone.
top
About
the Author - Michael is a keen writer living in Edinburgh: Michael Hanna
|
|
|
----
Stuttgart is the capital of
Baden-Württemberg, Germany with a population of 590,000 or so.
Stuttgart
was founded in the 10th century; its name is a modern version of the
original Stutengarten ("mare's garden"). Presently it is the
6th largest city in Germany. It is most famous for its automotive
industry - both Porsche and Mercedes-Benz have their headquarters in
Stuttgart and both have car museums.
|
Stuttgarters are amazingly
friendly people who will forgive you if German isn't your first or
second (or any) language. If you do speak German well: beware of their
dialect - Schwäbisch German can differ from other forms of German (be
prepared to hear the word "gell" a lot!) They love to
practice other languages (especially English). Stuttgart is a big city
with a small-town atmosphere.
Attractions
and things to do:
Mercedes-Benz
factory,
Sindelfingen (S-bahn to Boblingen, then catch the courtesy bus). The
heart of Mercedes-Benz manufacture, and well worth the visit. There are
some 40,000 employees on site, including 9,000 in research &
development alone! You need to book ahead through your Mercedes dealer.
|
Buy This Allposters.com
|
Museums
- Technical museum: Mercedes-Benz Museum, Mercedesstraße
137/1, Bad Cannstatt (S-Bahn: Gottlieb Daimler Stadion, see
timetable etc.), Newly built in 2006 in an astonishing architecture.
Frequently visited and really very cool.
- Technical museum: Porsche Museum, Porscheplatz 1, Zuffenhausen (S-Bahn: S6 to
Neuwirtshaus, see timetable etc.)
- State
gallery: Staatsgalerie Stuttgart,
Konrad-Adenauer-Str. 30-32
- Contemporary arts museum: Kunstgebäude, "Art Building"
- Modern
art museum: Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Kleiner Schlossplatz 1
- Historical
art museum: Württembergisches Landesmuseum, Altes
Schloss, Schillerplatz 6
- Ethnological museum: Lindenmuseum, Hegelplatz 1, features a small
but impressing collection of masks from the pacific
|
Buy This Allposters.com
|
Zoo
Wilhelma,
zoological and botanical gardens, Neckartalstraße, Bad Cannstatt (More
information and arrival see Wilhelma). Definitely a must for
families. But watching monkeys and weird flowers in this old place can
be fun for young adults, too. (Unless you feel pity for the locked up
creatures.)
Planetarium
A
fascinating astronomical journey, projected by optical hightech
equipment: Carl Zeiss Planetarium
Buildings
Stuttgart
used to be an impressive town but was hugely destroyed during World War
II and only few buildings were rebuilt to classical elegance. The 50's
still were post-war, in the 60's and 70's architectural things didn't
matter at all and in the 80's and 90's with major insurance companies
and banks building monuments of bad taste in the inner city, the
aesthetic situation wasn't really improving.
|
Here are some of the
exceptions:
- Altes Schloss, Old Palace (1300-1500)
- Stiftsfruchtkasten, Collegiate Storehouse (1393)
- Alte Kanzlei, Old Chancellery (16th
century)
- Prinzenbau, Princes' Building (1605-1715)
- Neues Schloss, New Palace (1700-1800)
- Solitude Schloss Solitude, Solitude Palace
(1700-1800)
- Wilhelmspalais, King William's Palace
(1834-1840)
- Königsbau, King's Building (1850)
- Markthalle, Market Hall (1910)
- Staatstheater (Grosses
Haus), State Theater (1912)
- Hauptbahnhof, Main Railway Station (1920)
- Weissenhofsiedlung, (1927)
- Liederhalle, Culture and Congress Centre,
(1956)
- Staatsgalerie, State Gallery (1977)
Towers and scenic outlooks
- Fernsehturm Stuttgart, TV Tower (1954-1956),
with a beautiful view over Stuttgart. The Stadtbahn U15 to Ruhbank
(Fernsehturm) gives you a wolderful view of the city. Entrance is
€3 per person and is worth it for the near-fairground quality of
the ride in the lift to the top. There's a nice cafe at the top
which serves fresh food and drinks.
- Grabkapelle Württemberg
(Burial chapel
Württemberg)
- Killesbergturm (Killesberg Tower). A
recently built tower in the "Killesberg Park" (see also
"green U" under Parks & Gardens), north of the city
centre
- Bismarckturm, a small tower
northwest of the city centre, not far from Killesberg Tower
- Hauptbahnhof The tower of the
Hauptbahnhof is a free climb (to the Mercedes-Benz symbol at top),
granting awesome views of Königstraße and the city.
|
Buy This Allposters.com
|
Churches
- Domkirche St. Eberhard (St. Eberhard's Cathedral
Church)
- Grabkapelle Württemberg (Burial chapel
Württemberg)
- Hospitalkirche (Hospital Church)
- Leonhardskirche (St. Leonard's Church)
- Stiftskirche (Collegiate Church), built in 1175,
restored 1999 to 2003
- Veitskapelle (St. Vitus Chapel)
Buy This Allposters.com
Squares
- Schlossplatz (Palace Square)
- Marktplatz(Market Square)
- Karlsplatz (Charles Square)
- Schillerplatz (Schiller Square)
Other historic parts of the
city
- Bohnenviertel(14th century)
Parks and gardens
"Das
Grüne U":
Most of Stuttgart's many parks and gardens are usually referred to by
locals as "das Grüne U" (the green "U") because of
the U-shaped form in which they are located around the city centre. They
form a long and beautiful path around the city, starting at the
Schlossgarten at the northern facade of the new palace (Neues Schloss),
continuing through Rosensteinpark with the natural history museum and a
rear entrance to Wilhelma (the zoo), and ending in Killesberg Park.
Walking at a reasonable pace, you can walk the entire circuit in about 2
hours. There are beer gardens (look for Biergarten signs) and restaurants
along the way, and the Killesberg Park is a real treat. It was designed
for a huge botanical expo several years ago and remains a truly stunning
park, especially in spring when in full bloom. If you're interested in
architecture, be sure not to miss the structural engineering wonder
Killesberg Tower, a minimalistic steel construction composed of one
central support and a cable outer support system.
Buy This Allposters.com
Other
significant green areas in the city centre are:
- Akademiegarten, Academy Garden
- Schlossgarten, Palace Garden
read more
|
Top
|
