Stuttgart area with Kids-Christmastime

Esslingen am Neckar has a substantially-intact old town with lots of timber-framed buildings, and is very close by train.

The Mercedes Museum is one of my favorite museums. I am not a car person, but I love how the museum weaves what is going on in the world with the history of the car. They also have busses, the pope mobile, and other things. It is a very kid friendly museum.

Also about an hour away in Giengen an der Brenz, is the Stieff Museum (http://www.giengen.de/de/english/Steiff-Museum) Stieff makes adorable stuffed animals. http://www.steiff.com/en-gb/ We didn't do the museum, but wandered around the gift shop. Too many cute things! They are a bit pricey, but fun :)

A half hour north of Giengen is a town called Aalen, which has a Roman Limes museum. You will want the English audio guide, as all the displays are in German. It is really interesting. They have a lot of artifacts left over from the time of the Romans. (http://www.romanfrontier.eu/en/places/limes-museum and http://monkeysandmountains.com/roman-limes-museum-in-aalen-germany) We spent about an hour here, but I am sure you could spend more.

We are going back to the area in 9 days (but who's counting) and I am excited to explore the Medieval Christmas market in Esslingen.

Enjoy!!!

For castles, drive down the scenic Neckar River from Bad Wimpfen (which is also worth a visit). Burg Hornburg is probably the most interesting castle to visit along the river, but I think it might be closed during the winter. Most of the rest are ruins that never close. For some interesting reconstructed castles, head south of Stuttgart to Burg Hohenzollern or Burg Lichtenstein in the Schwabische Alb mountains.

Hiking in that region can be hit or miss in December. There may be snow, but more likely, the ground will be muddy and the atmosphere will be damp and overcast- so don't expect the rural scenery to come alive. I lived a little bit further to the north (near Darmstadt) and I could usually hike all year round, but during the colder months, wet weather would sometimes scuttle my plans. I can recommend the Odenwald region as a hiker's paradise, but during the short periods of daylight you'll have in December, that's a little too far for a hiking daytrip. The mountains south and east of Stuttgart are probably much more accessible, but I don't have any first-hand experience with the hiking routes in the region. At worst, you can just string together a walk of towns in Stuttgart's rural hinterland. Most of Germany is criss-crossed by an extensive network of walking and cycling paths, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding something.

The Christmas Market in Esslingen is a a medieval market complete with some kind of ride for the kids. Unfortunately, I do not remember the details.

https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Other-1/Esslingen-2013/

In the the Stuttgart Market they sell salmon in the Scandinavian section, which you eat in a large teepee sitting on reindeer pelts. The teepee is heated with a fire in the center. Good food and an unusual atmosphere.

https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Christmas-Markets-2009/Stuttgart-2009/i-s6mvFzP/0/M/Eating%20Salmon%20by%20Fire-M.jpg

Overall Stuttgart was our favorite big city market but very crowded at night. Easier to walk through in the day and sample the wares. There was an ice skating rink and train ride for small children.

https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Other-1/Stuttgart-2013/

Thanks everyone! Is traveling to Strasbourg a good idea too? Esslingen and Neckar sound perfect. I guess I won't over plan too much now so that we can take weather into account. Do the Christmas markets generally have the same things, or does each town have a different strength?

Esslingen am Neckar is a single town. Neckar is the River Neckar - when there are two towns with the same name in Germany they are distinguished by adding the nearest river to the name. (The most famous example is Frankfurt am Main, which is the big city in Western Germany, and Frankfurt an der Oder, a smaller town right on the other side of the country near the Polish border.)

Do the Christmas markets generally have the same things, or does each town have a different strength? Most markets sell variations of the same merchandise. Hint... the appeal of the markets isn't the usually unimpressive wares, it's the atmosphere and outdoor socializing. I can only remember two markets where I saw a significant difference in the merchandise- Lindau and Oberstdorf. Both of these sold more artisanal craft works than the usual mass-produced stuff.

Most of the goods are about the same in all Christmas Markets.

Esslingen was a bit different with its home made clothes (dresses) of a medieval look. My wife enjoyed the shopping experience at Esslingen. If she could have thought of a place to wear a medieval dress, I think we would have come home with one. Some of the decorations were also more of a hand made flavor.

Stuttgart has its Scandinavian section which did not strike me as unique. It also had a large antiques tent. We are not antique collectors so I can not comment on the quality. Plus, I would have been scared to death to take my wild bunch in there when they were the age of yours.

Nearby Ludwigsburg has a Baroque Christmas Market which we have yet to visit.

https://www.stuttgart-tourist.de/en/search-book/e-ludwigsburg-baroque-christmas-market-1

Stuttgart has its Scandinavian section which did not strike me as unique.

I've seen these at other markets, and yes, they all seem to sell the same sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves and reindeer pelts.