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Need Planning Help...in Stuttgart for 2 nights, leaving soon...10 more days left.

Posted by (Paris) on

Hi there,

I need some help with deciding where to go. I have read through the forum and have picked up some town names, but need someone with better knowledge to help me.

I'm traveling with my family (10 year old son) and we've been to Germany several times (6 weeks ago explored Munich and surrounding areas), done the lovely Erzebirge mountains, and most of the major cities in prior years.

We're in Stuttgart, having driven here from Paris (stopped in Strasbourg along the way), and can't really decide which way to go. We don't want to do too much driving everyday, so were looking to stay on the Western half.

These places seem to pop up: Heidelberg, Trier, Bonn (for the gummy bear factory), Baden-Baden, Rothenburg ob der Tauber. I would love to see tiny, preserved towns, amazing castles (though not sure if anything will top Schloss Neuschwanstein!!), anything historic as I'm a history buff, and hopefully stay in areas where I have access to delicious food (living in Paris, I've become a bit of a foodie!).

So my question for those more experienced. Where would you go from Stuttgart for the next 10 days if you were traveling with a 10 year old boy? Thanks everyone for all your help and a Merry Christmas. We just found out that the Germans celebrate Xmas for TWO days, and that's thrown a bit of an obstacle our way. Thank goodness we bought some food to hold us over, just in case!

Posted by
12040 posts

"I would love to see tiny, preserved towns," Drive towards Heidelberg down the Neckar River, starting at Bad Wimpfen. You'll hit wonderful towns and castles in spades. Also, give nearby Schwäbisch Hall a look. I think Rothenburg isn't unique enough to justify all the attention it gets, but you're close enough, so why not stop by?

You can easily see two particularly good castles near Stuttgart, Burg Hohenzollern, and Schloss Lichtenstein. Yes, both are largely 19th century reconstructions, but I don't see why that should matter. I've driven by Burg Teck outside of Stuttgart many times, but never stopped. You may want to check it out. It's a little further away, but in my opinion, Germany's best castle is the huge Feste Coburg above the town of the same name. The castle houses a ton of armor, weapons and hunting gear. What 10 year old boy wouldn't love that?

Posted by
7814 posts

If you end up heading south from Stuttgart, I really enjoyed the village of Herrenberg, and the restaurant, Hasen @ Hasenplatz 6 71083 Herrenberg has fantastic, authentic German food.

Posted by
1528 posts

Schwäbisch Hall is very attractive small, old town only about 1 hour's drive from Stuttgart. Esslingen am Neckar is only 18 minutes. Our photos of Esslingen in December, 2013:

http://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Other-1/Esslingen-2013/35504333_SfNrdp

I have not visited Tübingen but it is a favorite of many folks and only 35 minutes from Stuttgart. You could spend 10 days in that area and not run out of things to do. Gary

Posted by
3 posts

Thanks for all the help! We will try to visit all the places mentioned.

Looks like we'll go to Esslingen am Neckar, Tübingen, and Herrenberg since they are all nearby. We're going to save Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Schwäbisch Hall, and Veste Coburg for another trip when we're in that area.

Then to Baden Baden to do the Friedrichsbad baths. We'll head up North to do the towns Tom suggested near Heidelberg and Bad Wimpfen. And perhaps go all the way up to Cologne and Bonn.

Now here's the tough part. Would you guys drive back down South and return to Paris via the way we came and hit Baden Baden on the way back, head through Colmar and Nancy.....or just drive through Belgium? We have visited Brussels and Bruges before.

Thanks everyone for your help and thanks for the restaurant tip! I'm dying to eat some good homemade German food! Wish something was opened today!

Posted by
12040 posts

Baden-Baden... not my favorite town, and definately not even close to my Therme of choice. The town is just too... well... stuffy. Mostly tourist restaurants and bling boutiques. Not the kind of place where I would drag a 10 year old.

Now, if you wanted the German thermal bath experience that would also be fun for a 10 year old, I might recommend Bad Paradies Schwartzwald in Titisee-Neustadt. I haven't visited this particular one, but I've been to it's sister resort Therme Erding near Munich, and it's the absolute best I've ever been to. The sauna area is huge and beautiful, and the waterslides for the kids are really impressive. If Bad Paradies Schwartzwald is anything like Therme Erding, then it would be my go-to in SW Germany. There's other thermes closer to Stuttgart (Germany has over 100), but I know little about them.

Posted by
3 posts

Thanks for the input Tom! Would love to go to Bad Paradies Schwartzwald, but it's further South and so we're mulling over our options now. Yes, our son would love that, and besides, they don't allow kids into Friedrichsbad baths anyway. Since it was the 26th and there's not much opened, I was hoping my husband and son could go see the Hobbit (if we can find VO), while I soak in the baths.

I also read that there were loads of baths near Stuttgart...I suppose I better research some more. Just grateful that we were able to find a restaurant opened today. Was getting tired of leftover pizza, terrible baguette (German style is so different from the French baguette), cheese, and found that Alte Kanzlei was opened.

I have to say though, coming from Paris, food prices here are so reasonable!!! In fact, I'm in sticker shock every time we go out to eat, or go to the grocery store. Love Germany!

Posted by
12040 posts

"food prices here are so reasonable!!! " Tell me about it. I recently moved back to the US after living in Germany for several years and I can't believe how much more expensive food is over here.

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