Things to do in Stuttgart
With good restaurants, superb local wineries and a hearty dose of culture, along with beer festivals, art galleries and a host of beautiful parks, Stuttgart has all the elements of a big city. The variety of things to see and do in Stuttgart will impress visitors from all walks of life. Families are swept up in the open spaces and thoroughly entertained at the planetarium and Wilhelma Zoo, while the city's mineral-rich pools, saunas, hot tubs and spas lure those in search of health, relaxation and rejuvenation. Car enthusiasts are predictably enamoured with their lot, as the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz museums never cease to enthral.
Other attractions in Stuttgart include its impressive art galleries: the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart is housed in a building which is considered a work of modern art in itself, while the Old and New State Gallery owns masterpieces dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries. The Palace Square (Schlossplatz) is a must for visitors as it's the symbolic heart of the city and a popular meeting spot adjoining the remarkable New Palace, a baroque fortress built between 1748 and 1806.
Stuttgart can get swelteringly hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter, so the best time to visit is in the shoulder seasons. At the end of August and during the month of September, visitors can join the fun at the Wine Village Festival and taste more than 200 different wines, or enjoy music and merrymaking at the Cannstatt Beer Festival, the second largest beer festival after Munich's Oktoberfest. The city shimmers in springtime, as do the parks and surrounding vineyards, which host a plethora of different festivals.
Palace Square (Schlossplatz)
The Palace Square is the symbolic heart of Stuttgart, and is set against the backdrop of the beautiful Baroque New Palace. Once the residence of kings, it was built between 1746 an…
Old and New State Gallery
Built between 1838 and 1843 under King Wilhelm I of Wuerttemberg, the Old State Gallery in Stuttgart features a prestigious range of paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints from…
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart
Centrally located, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart is a work of art in itself. Its modern cuboid design transforms from a glass hexahedron during the day to reveal a colourful skeletal inter…
Mercedes-Benz Museum
The impressive Mercedes-Benz Museum is housed in a slick, contemporary building, an icon of modern architecture. With an exhibition space filling seven storeys, it takes visitors o…
Wilhelma Zoo
Initially a 19th-century Moorish garden for King Wilhelm I, the beauty of the Wilhelma Zoological and Botanical Garden never fails to leave a lasting impression. It has a concerted…
Mineral Baths
Sitting on one of the largest mineral water reserves in Europe, the Mineral Baths of Stuttgart have been luring residents with their liquid vitality for more than two millennia. Re…
Porsche Museum
The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart covers more than 75 years of Porsche engineering and memorabilia. Extremely popular with petrolheads, it also interests those not obsessed with cars…
