Tourist attraction ideas for Stuttgart including the TV tower, automobile museums, art galleries, local history museum, nightlife, hiking trails and vineyards.
Stuttgart is one of Germany's largest industrial cities and is usually associated with factories and heavy industry. But Stuttgart is also known in Germany for its culture and it offers the visitor world-class museums, opera and ballet, royal palaces and other historic buildings. For such a big sprawling city, it's also a city of wide open spaces - woods and meadows comprise more than half of the city. Even the origins of its name are rural - a derivation from the words "˜stud farm'.
A good place to start any visit to Stuttgart is with the spectacular view of the city and surrounding countryside from the top of the TV tower, perched high on a nearby hillside. On clear days, the view even extends as far as the Alps. Built in 1965, this 700 foot structure was the first of its kind in the world to be constructed from concrete, and was a forerunner of similar structures worldwide. At the top of the tower there is a gourmet restaurant as well as an observation platform. You can reach the tower by the 100 year old rack railway that runs from the town.
Back on the ground, most of the city's main sights are concentrated around the city center, which is the area between the main train station and the charming square called Schillerplatz. The Church of the Holy Cross, which dates from the 12th century, has become one of the symbols of Stuttgart; in addition to its impressive wooden sculptures, its two unusually designed towers don't quite match. Not far from here is the huge open space known as Palace Square; the decorative buildings surrounding the square were once royal palaces, they now house mostly government offices.
Stuttgart has some excellent museums. The State Gallery has one of Germany's finest art collections and has paintings ranging from the Middle Ages up until the 19th century. A strikingly modern wing attached to the older building has an excellent display of 20th century art. Nearby, the Old Castle, which was built in 1320 complete with moat, was once the home of the Duke of Wurttemberg. The impressive building now houses a local history museum with exhibits documenting the history of the area from the Stone Age to present day. Some highlights of the collection include a display of European glass through the centuries, a collection of clocks and musical instruments, and the preserved tomb of a Celtic nobleman.
Germany has always had a love affair with cars - even the train station in Stuttgart has the Mercedes-Benz logo on its roof - and two of the most historic names in the history of the automobile have their origins in Stuttgart. The Mercedes-Benz Museum - the oldest car factory in the world - has a splendid collection of about 100 historic luxury and racing cars. The highlights of the collection are the two oldest automobiles in the world - Daimler's horseless carriage, and Benz's three-wheeled motor-tricycle, built in 1886. Also on display is a custom-built limousine made for the Emperor of Japan in the 1930s, and the "˜Popemobile' built for Pope John-Paul VI.
The smaller but equally popular Porsche museum also has a historic collection of around 50 racing cars. The history of the prestigious company is documented in a film shown daily, and there are free guided tours of the production line.
Nightlife in Stuttgart is excellent - the city offers a wide range of restaurants, bars and cafes and of course, several typical and lively German beer-gardens. For something a little more relaxed, the city has a thriving opera and classical music scene. Stuttgart is also renowned for its resident ballet company, whose program runs from September to June.
One of the biggest attractions in Stuttgart is its beautiful setting. The city is surrounded not only by hills and meadows, but also by vineyards which produce some of Germany's finest wines. In and around the city are 33 miles of marked hiking trails - look for the signs with the city's emblem; a horse in a yellow ring. One particularly delightful suburb of the city is Bad Cannstatt, once a town in its own right. Here you can find a large ornamental park with Oriental style pavilions and a botanical garden. Boat trips on the Neckar River are also a pleasant way of seeing the surrounding area.
Stuttgart is not perhaps, an obvious tourist destination. But the city offers as much culture, nightlife and big city atmosphere as Berlin or Munich - in a beautiful setting. And outside the city you only need to travel a short distance to be immersed in the quintessential German landscape of forests, hilltop castles and storybook towns.
