Stuttgart Tourist Attractions

Stuttgart tourist attractions are plentiful and the city itself is a pleasant, leafy place with hundreds of shops, restaurants, public parks and water features by which to relax and watch the fashionable Swabian world go by.

The Wilhelma Zoo, situated just a short walk from Bad Cannstadt underground station, is a favourite with young and old visitors. Set within splendid parkland and with its own botanical gardens of outstanding beauty, the zoo is dedicated to conservation and showing animals in an environment that is as close to their natural habitat as possible. The bear enclosures, particularly the polar bear enclosure, regularly attract a huge number of visitors. Here bears can go swimming in their owl pools, chase and catch fish, climb rocks and caper about with their own huge toys – namely empty plastic barrels, which they can bite, scratch, jump on and throw into the air to their hearts’ content and to the visitors’ delight!

Motorists will, of course, wish to see the famous Porsche Museum, which is just a short walk from the S-Bahn station Neuwirtshaus (S-Bahn S6), while the Mercedes Benz museum is a little further out of the city, but still reachable with public transport. The charming Porsche Museum displays life-size and to scale models of this famous racing and sports car manufacturer, showing not just an informative exhibition, but also examples of milestone proto types within the international automotive industries.

In the centre of Stuttgart art lovers will find the futuristic building that houses the Art Museum, home to a spectacular collection of Swabian impressionist painters and also the Otto Dix collection. Close by is the State Gallery, one of the most popular museums in Germany that houses paintings by Rembrandt, Canaletto and other great artists. In the very centre of the city there is the Neues Schloss, the “new” palace and gardens, with their splendid fountains and rose gardens.

During the summer Stuttgart is home to the Beer Festival, the Summer Festival and the Bad Cannstadter festival, a noisy and glitzy affair with beer tents, fireworks, rides and stalls selling anything from food to arts and crafts. Outside of Stuttgart, the 500 or so vineyards rank as some of the most popular Stuttgart tourist attractions, offering wine tastings and guided tours through the wine cellars, where some of Germany’s finest wines are being created.

Just a short drive or train journey from Stuttgart visitors will find the beautiful city of Tübingen, one of Germany’s most picturesque university cities. The old city center consists mainly of 18th century half-timbered houses, beautifully painted and with wooden shutters, hidden court yards, fountains, old market squares and cosy restaurants. During November Tübingen is home to the ChocolArt festival, an international chocolate festival that brings choco-artists from all over the world into town with their sweet creations. Shortly afterwards the Christmas Market begins, where stall holders sell their toffee apples, cinnamon coated almonds, wooden toys from Bohemia, arts and craft from Swabia and enough fried sausages to feed the nation.

In nearby Ludwigsburg, just a short train journey from Stuttgart, visitors will enjoy the wonderful formal gardens and the splendid palace of the Residenzschloss, the former royal residence of the former Kings of Baden Württemberg.

At the end of a long day of visiting Stuttgart tourist attractions, most visitors tend to drift to the Beer Gardens in the Lower Palace Gardens in the city center. Here one can sit and enjoy the balmy summer evenings over a glass of local brew, before deciding what delicious meal to have or which theater, club, or live music venue to visit.