Starting in Stuttgart- advice on what to see/do after that, please

Flying into Frankfurt and taking the train to Stuttgart is fine. If you go north to the middle Rhine - between Mainz and Koblenz, then return from Frankfurt. You could go east and then Munch would be the better choice.

Lots of places to visit. You will just have to make a decision on a general direction and then fill in the details which many on this forum will be glad to suggest.

From Stuttgart you are 2.5 hours by train to Nuremberg which is filled with WWII sites, especially the courtroom where the trials were held and has a small museum. From Nuremberg you are only 1 hr by train from Munich which is also quite historical and has a great central old town. This should take up 7 days for part of your group who could fly out from Munich.

For those staying on I would suggest heading south into Austria from Munich. It is a 1.5 hour trip to Salzburg. Next I would head to Vienna, another 2.5hr train trip. You can fly home from Vienna. Enjoy.

I lived in Stuttgart for 8 months before moving to Augsburg for over 3 years.

Aside from the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz factories, there is not much to see there.

Consider taking The Romantic Road which starts in Wurzburg and ends in Fussen.

On the way you see several intact medieval walled cities as well as Augsburg. Rothenburg Ob der Tauber is the most famous.
https://www.romanticroadgermany.com

You can rent a Porsche when you visit the museum in Stuttgart, not inexpensive but it might be the ultimate experience for your family on the German autobahns.

https://customer.drive.porsche.com/de/en-GB/Porsche-Museum/rental-period-and-vehicles

I visited the Porsche Museum in 2016 and did the factory tours in 2003 and 1994. The German autobahns are great but can be congested and speeds will be limited in construction areas and near most cities. Renting on a Sunday and going out early may allow higher speeds on some of the autobahns.

https://www.german-way.com/travel-and-tourism/driving-in-europe/driving/autobahn/driving-on-the-autobahn/

For the well oiled car enthusiast, the Hockenheim Ring race track and museum are south of Mannheim, half way between Frankfurt and Stuttgart. The famous Nürburgring Grand Prix track, Nordschleife and museum are aprox 175km west from Frankfurt.
If memory serves me, most rental car contracts do not allow driving on most race tracks.

Thank you all for the great suggestions so far. Giving everyone in our group something look forward to is my goal. I will definitely look at the Porsche rental and see if that is something the guys want to do and I like the idea of heading to Nuremberg and Munich.

Can anyone tell me if it is better to just fly into Stuttgart?

Where are you coming from?

We are coming from the US. Most likely we will originate from Orlando, Fl.

Scott M. is right about this: "The famous Nürburgring Grand Prix track, Nordschleife and museum are aprox 175km west from Frankfurt. If memory serves me, most rental car contracts do not allow driving on most race tracks."

Driving the 13 mile (20.8 km) long Nordschliefe was the #1 thing to do on my husband's first trip to Europe in 2009. He rented a race prepared car to do it. He did 8 laps of the track before he ran out of money. He was the oldest driver in his group of renters and the one who drove the longest.

There were very few companies who prepared and rented cars to drive the Nordschliefe back then. Theo, the guy whose company he rented the car from, took all the drivers around the track in his car to show them what it was like at speed. Then he took any of the drivers' significant others who wanted to go in the same way. Somehow I was the last one and got to go by myself in the passenger seat. It was a blast!

Things are obviously very different now from when we were there 14 years ago. I've pasted some links below that might be of interest for y'all.

Nurburgring Car Rental 2023 – Complete list of Ring Hire Cars
December 11, 2022: https://oversteer48.com/nurburgring-car-rental/. If your interest is piqued, be sure to read the section titled "Can I just take my avis rental on the ring?" And saying, "No. Do not be tempted to take your standard hire car you just picked up from Avis, Hertz, Europcar or one of the many other road car hire companies on to the Ring. Doing so will invalidate the insurance you have through the hire car company." And with GPS trackers, the rental agency can slap you with a big fine.

Driving Regulations for Driving on the Nürburgring: https://nuerburgring.de/info/company/gtc/driving-regulations

Rather than driving, you might be interested in Co Pilot Rides & Exclusive Rides. They appear to be both for the Grand Prix Track and the Nordschleife. Be sure to scroll down for the YouTube video which has in-car footage: https://nuerburgring.de/business/b2b-driving/b2b-co-pilot-rides

Finally, I lived in West Germany 1982-85. Even way back then, the traffic was often so bad that the Autobahn would clog up due to volume or a wreck. It's called a Stau in German. Before renting a very expensive car to drive the Autobahn, do some serious research on driving in Germany, including how likely it will be for the drivers to be able to easily put that left blinker on and zoom to the far left lane, then return to the right. The far left lane is for passing only, no hanging out there allowed. It'd be a real bummer to spend a lot of money for speed and then not be able to go fast.

This link to Driving on the Autobahn might be a good start to that research: https://www.german-way.com/travel-and-tourism/driving-in-europe/driving/autobahn/driving-on-the-autobahn/

Oops! Just discovered that Scott M. also linked that website. Great minds...

@Lo that is a lot of great information too. I will take the time to look it all over. Thanks!

Interesting. Lufthansa has a nonstop from Orlando to Frankfurt. If you put in a connection to Stuttgart, the connection is operated by Deutsche Bahn, so you will go by train no matter. Looks like if you book well ahead of time, there is no extra cost.

Stuttgart has a rather small airport so if you're trying to fly there your options will be limited. On the other hand, it is only 1:20-1:30 from Frankfurt, one of Europe's largest airports. So the easiest is probably to fly to Frankfurt and continue by train. Even better if you can do it on one ticket. https://www.bahn.de/service/buchung/bahn_und_flug/rail-and-fly-english

@badger I think that must be why our family friend suggested that then. He said do not drive anywhere LOL. I know my guys want to do some driving but after reading the comments here and the links some have provided, I’m going to discourage them doing so HA! Thanks for the advice. All the replies have been helpful!

We have flown directly to Stuttgart from Atlanta a couple times. It is smaller than Frankfurt, but we prefer smaller. There is plenty to do in southern Germany. If you haven’t already, get a copy of the RS Germany guide and have your family look through it to see what possibilities interest them.

@Kathy Thanks. I’m looking at books now to order and that is in my cart! We were considering flying out of Orlando but Atlanta could be an option too. Since we were not planning to spend more than a day in Frankfurt, I will look at both airports once we nail down our itinerary.

We visited Stuttgart last September and will be returning again this September. Being PCA members, the Porsche museum, factory and Christophorus are must do's for any Porsche enthusiast. The Mercedes was good, too. The Mercedes museum gave a general understanding of the history of the automobile from the late 1800's to the present, where Porsche obviously is post-WWII. You should be good in early summer, but the Porsche factory does close to tours mid-July to mid-Sept.

We flew into Stuttgart and out of Munich last year, and are doing the reverse this year. Stuttgart airport is small, but there are some good connections to the east coast, like Delta direct Atlanta-Stuttgart or American direct Charlotte-Munich. The train was easy and quick between Stuttgart and Munich. Although the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof is a bit of a mess due to a major multiyear construction project. We didn't encounter any issues where we thought we should have bought first class.

I find the Stuttgart area has a lot to do, particularly if you're into vineyards & wineries. After the war, Stuttgart rebuilt modern, so it doesn't have an "old town" like a Munich. If you're looking for historical/architectural, Heidelberg, Freiberg, Esslingen, Tubingen, Ludwigsburg Palace. Hohenzollern and Lichtenstein Castle are all easy day trips from Stuttgart.

My other vice is Bugatti's. So we're headed about 2 hours east of Stuttgart this year to Musée National de l’Automobile in Mulhouse France (https://www.musee-automobile.fr/en/) to see the largest Bugatti collection in the world. There's also the BMW museum and factory in Munich. Your husband and son might want to either of those to the list.

Look on the Tripadvisor Germany forum ( can I say that ?? ) and look at posts by Markopolko - lots of stuff to do in/near Stuttgart

@brian.powell thank you! My husband and son are PCA members as well and true car guys so this is great info for them.

@stephen I will take a look! Thanks!

There is a small suburb south of Stuttgart called Böblingen. There is a hotel there called Motorworld (two guesses what the theme of this place is) https://motorworld.de/en/region-stuttgart/. They also have a place where individuals can store their cars and it is located on an old run way where you can rent cars and take them out for a spin. My dad and hubby loved looking at the various different cars stored there. They were like kids in a candy shop. I am not a huge car person, but for me the Mercedes Museums was amazing. I loved the early cars through the 1950s. They also had cars from famous people (the popemobile anyone?) that were cool to see too. The Porsche museum was also really cool.

Surprised no one has mentioned going to Esslingen or Tübingen, which are both very close to Stuttgart.
Check with Stuttgart Steps to see about a tour. Sarah has a very good reputation for her tours.
http://stuttgartsteps.com/

True what a poster said about Marco on Trip Advisor, he posts a lot of valuable information about Stuttgart, the palaces, the history, and the many, many things to see and do there. It has more than you think.

You can fly to either Frankfurt or Stuttgart (or Munich or anywhere else). You will almost certainly have to transfer somewhere in Europe if you are flying to anywhere in Germany other than Munich or Frankfurt. But it can be fun to play around with different itineraries to see what is cheapest, easiest, shortest, etc. Just be sure to have a private browser window on; prices rise based on searches. Although you likely won't be able to book just yet, you might be able to get an idea.

There is a ton to see and do in the south, of course. But it wouldn't be me if I didn't recommend the north ;)

I recommend that you download these apps if you are considering using the various train systems while on your trip. They are Deutsceh Bahn app, and the VVSMobil app.
My trip last November was specifically to go to the MB, Porsche, and BMW museums. I was able to see both the Porsche & MB museums on the same day so plan accordingly. The Stuttgart main Bahnhoff is a construction zone so pay attention to which way you are heading. I found Google maps helpful in this respect. As others have said, there is not much in Stuttgart although I found walking around the Schlossplatz a good way to spend an afternoon.

Regarding driving on the Autobahn, I say do it. Yes, it can be slow or backed up in some areas. If your husband and son would get a kick out of driving on it, then it will not matter to them if they hit a slow spot. I was able to get a couple of high speed runs between Frankfurt and Heidelberg some years ago. Generally when you get away from the big cities the autobahn tends to open up.
Germany is one of our favorite countries to travel in. You and your family will have a great time.

@ Susan that sounds like a cool hotel. I will take a look. Thank you!

@ Ms. Jo I have read other recommendations about Sarah. We will definitely keep that in mind.

More great info. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and knowledge. I feel better when someone can tell me they have been there and what it is like exactly. I have many questions about the trains but I see plenty of posts about them and between what others have asked and what some of you have replied here, I know I will feel more comfortable before we leave.