Last Updated on 19/11/2023
Here we will focus on the places to visit near Stuttgart. In this article, I tell you about sights in the Stuttgart region that can be reached in short drive by car or by train. Excursion destinations in the Black Forest and on towards Lake Constance see other articles.
Regions nearby:
South – Swabian Alb till Lake Constance
West – North Black Forest,
Kraichgau
East – From Ulm to Ellwangen. Albtrauf and Bavarian Swabia
North-East – Romantic Franconia
What to see in Stuttgart
Everything important that you can see in the region – with notes and links.
- 1 – top
- 2 – very good, although not so well known
- 3 – good for a short vacation or a layover. Several medium-level interesting places
- 4 – local or specific, not for everyone
Marks without brackets – I was there. With brackets – I wasn’t there. Of course, the notes are subjective.
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1. Leonberg
The city where Kepler moved with his parents and where he finished school. You can see this school, as well as numerous half-timbered houses. But the main attraction is the Pomeranz Garden at the former palace. The garden was laid out at the beginning of the 17th century in the style of Renaissance gardens. In the 1980s, it was rebuilt according to the old plans. There are very few gardens of this type, and there is only one in Germany.
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2. Weil der Stadt
The city where Kepler was born. Numerous half-timbered houses, Kepler’s house. The city is also known for its “Swabian” carnival.
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3. Böblingen, Sindelfingen
These two closely spaced large suburbs of Stuttgart are primarily interesting for their modern attractions.
In Böblingen, there is a thermal mineral water pool (link) and the Sensapolis entertainment center, which is something like an advanced version of an indoor playground with labyrinths, slides, electric maps, and space-related entertainment (link).
In Sindelfingen, you can visit, by appointment, the workshops of the Mercedes-Benz plant (from 6 years old, family excursion on Friday at 15.00, make an appointment a month in advance, link).
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4. Herrenberg
Half-timbered houses, ruins of a fortress on a mountain with an observation tower and a restaurant and a museum of bells.
2 — together with Tübingen
5. Bebenhausen
The former Cistercian monastery of Bebenhausen after the Reformation was transformed into a monastery school, part of the buildings were converted into a small royal hunting palace (link).
More details in a separate topic.
From Bebenhausen towards Stuttgart begins the Schönbuch forest, where you can see deer.
You can get there by buses 826, 828 (Stuttgart – Tübingen) or 754 (Sindelfingen – Böblingen – Tübingen).
More about Bebenhausen.
2 — together with Bebenhausen
6. Tübingen
A picturesque town on the Neckar with an old university. The fortress above the city is used as a university cultural and historical museum.
More about Tübingen
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7. Metzingen
Metzingen is probably the most visited city after Stuttgart, but not at all because of any sights, but because half of the city is occupied by shops of famous clothing brands. Unlike Wertheim, where outlets are located in a purpose-built village and sell leftovers, Metzingen has more variety, more shops, many of them are very large, but prices are also higher.
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8. Reutlingen
A relatively large city with a historical center.
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9. Bad Urach
Waterfall.
Therme (albthermen.de), old city, palace (www.schloss-urach.de).
Read more about the waterfall in spring and winter.
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10. Beuren and Burg Hohenneuffen
The small town of Beuren offers a thermal pool, an open-air museum (link) and Burg Hohenneuffen on the hill (link). There is a restaurant and a falconry in the fortress.
The open-air museum is not very large and not too full of exhibits, but the area around is picturesque. So you can combine it with the Burg and walk along one of the many routes in the local mountains.
Bee “hotel” on the left
Burg Hohenneuffen. There is a popular route from Beuren, which is below in the photo, and around the mountain with the fortress.
Towards Stuttgart.
Burg Teck. The fortress looks good from below, but there is nothing there except the hotel, and the views are not as advantageous as in Beuren.
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11. Plochingen
This town would be no different from others with a number of half-timbered houses, if not for two highlights: the Hundertwasser house and Tomi Ungerer’s toilet. According to the project of Hundertwasser at the end of the 20th century the residential complex “Rain Tower” was built with a courtyard garden and a garage with a supermarket under it. In 2007, the city authorities invited the famous graphic artist and illustrator Tomi Ungerer to design the city toilet. The brightly painted cubic toilet building is located near the Hundertwasser complex.
There is also Kletterwald.
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12. Paleontological Museum in Holzmаden
A paleontological museum on the site of a quarry, where many fossils, mainly marine ones, have been found. Quite curious. Although, in my opinion, the size does not correspond to the price – the museum is at most for an hour and a half, if you carefully study each exhibit.
This paleontological puzzle, for 18 year of doing, is the largest colony of sea lilies in the world. Together with shells, they nestled on a tree trunk.
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13. Landwirtschaftmuseum and airport
German Museum of Agricultural Technology (link). You can get there from the stop of the U7 Ruhbank line by bus 70 or from Möhringen train station on U3.
The observation platform at the airport is very interesting. Previously, it cost some symbolic money, but in recent years it was often free. In addition, excursions are periodically conducted around the airport.
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14. Esslingen
More about Esslingen.
One of the few German cities that has managed to preserve the architecture of different centuries throughout history. Here you will find the remains of a fortress, numerous half-timbered houses, including some of the oldest in Germany (13-14 centuries), a small Nymphaean zoo (parrots, an aquarium, lilies, reptiles, rodents, deer and some domestic animals, link) local significance.
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15. Fernsehturm Stuttgart
The television tower – the very first in the world (1956). Here, for the first time, the principle of combining a transmitter, a restaurant and a tourist attraction was used. It is located on a hill above Stuttgart and in good weather can offer a view almost to the Alps – however, only the Swabian ones.
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16. Siebenmühlental
A local tourist walking trail, where you can see several mills, which now house a bio products store, a bio-restaurant with a mill museum (Mäulesmühle, on Sun at 17.00, the mill is turned on link).
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17. Schloss Solitude
Solitude (link), built in the 18th century in the style of late Rococo – the beginning of Classicism, served as a palace for Duke Karl Eugene for hunting and entertainment. Partially preserved interiors, which can be viewed on a guided tour.
You can get there by train to the Feuersee stop, then bus. 92.
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18. Kornwestheim and Zuffenhausen
The Porsche Museum is located in Zuffenhausen (link). There is also Kletterwald.
Ravensburger Kinderwelt, an entertainment center from Ravensburger, opened in Kornwestheim (link). Half of the center is fun activities like slides and mazes, the other half is related to board games from Ravensburger.
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19. Ludwigsburg
More details about palaces and parks of Ludwigsburg.
Ludwigsburg is a large suburb of Stuttgart. The main attraction is the huge palace of the Württemberg kings, where you can get with a guided tour (link). In addition to the royal apartments, you can see the museums of porcelain and fashion located in the palace.
At the palace – a beautiful park “Blooming Baroque” with the Garden of Fairy Tales (link) definitely worth a visit, especially during the spring and autumn seasons (and also during concerts with fireworks).
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Across the street from the Blooming Baroque park is another park, but free and populated with deer. Here is the Palace Favorit (link). In the evening, at five o’clock, there is every chance to see deer.
If you go further along the line of the alley, almost to the Autobahn itself, you can come to the Mon Repos Palace. The palace by the lake cannot be visited, but you can walk in the surrounding park.
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20. Marbach
The city in which Schiller was born attracts tourists in the first place precisely for this. The well-preserved historical center can be added to the Schiller house-museum.
There is an indoor playground in the neighboring town of Freiberg (link).
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21. Bietigheim-Bessingen, Besigheim
These two cities with confusing, furious names are close by. To be honest, for several years I thought that one part was called Bietigheim and the previous stop was called Bissingen. But in fact, the previous stop is called Besigheim and this is a separate town.
Bietigheim and Besigheim, especially the second (fotos in separate topic), are an abundance of preserved half-timbered houses, old churches and vineyard terraces above the Neckar.
More about Besigheim
Besigheim:
Bietigheim:
To finally finish off the non-local, the nearby Bönnigheim joins this trio. The tourist association is called 3B-Land. Its main attraction is the amusement park and Wildpark Tripsdrill (link).
The amusement park is the oldest in Germany, but most of the rides were built after 2000.
Wildpark with medium quality. There is also a bird of prey show.
You can get there by bus 567 from Bietigheim, bus. 662 from Heilbronn.
South – Swabian Alb till Lake Constance
West – North Black Forest,
Kraichgau
East – From Ulm to Ellwangen. Albtrauf and Bavarian Swabia
North-East – Romantic Franconia
What to see in Stuttgart
