I’ll be near Heidelberg and was thinking about a day trip to another city. Would you recommend Stuttgart? I don’t want to spend too much time traveling for a day trip, so must be under 2 hours.
Posted by
Green Bay
20192 posts
There are direct trains from Heidelberg to Stuttgart, some are nonstop ICE trains in 39 minutes.
https://int.bahn.de/en
Posted by
Last Frontier aka Alaska 🏔️
3234 posts
I guess I would ask what do you want to see in Stuttgart? On our recent trip, we went to Heidelburg for 2 nights and then we went to Stuttgart for 3. We wanted to visit the car museums.
Posted by
Paris
6918 posts
I would recommend Stuttgart mostly for the car museums, with Mercedes as a priority. The Staatsgalerie is a well-regarded art museum (I haven't been). Ludwigsburg palace is quite interesting too, but adds a bit of travel time.
Consider Speyer, it is closer to Heidelberg (although not as fast if you are willing to pay for the ICE to Stuttgart).
Posted by
781 posts
Stuttgart has some great things to recommend it, but without knowing more about your interests or when you are traveling, it isn't so easy... More detail please!
Posted by
7688 posts
Unless you want to see the Porsche or Mercedes factories, forget it.
Posted by
Stuttgart, Germany
136 posts
Every time there is a question about Stuttgart geovagriffith writes he/she doesn't like it. It's true there are hardly any half timbered houses here but nevertheless Stuttgart is a city full of culture (theaters, museums etc.) and events. Have a look here https://www.stuttgart-tourist.de/en
Posted by
7688 posts
I lived in Stuttgart for 7 months and later served US Army Reserve duty at Patch Barracks. There are things to see in Stuttgart, but I just didn't find the sites there to be compelling compared to other places in Southern Germany.
There is a good Fest there in the early Fall, like the Octoberfest in Munich. Still, it doesn't compare to the one in Munich.
Posted by
781 posts
And I think Stuttgart's Cannstatter Volksfest is superior to Munich precisely because it is not on the tourist radar in spite of being the second largest Oktoberfest in Germany. It was so much more enjoyable. One of the reasons I asked the OP about time of year for their travel.
I also disagree that the options stop at the car museums. The Württemberg State Museum has the stop-you-in-your-tracks Celtic collection from a single prince's gravesite. It also contains one of the best recreated Kunstkammers (cabinet of art and curiosities) in Europe. AND there's a great restaurant attached. Across the way the Württembergische Landesbibliothek (State Library) hosts excellent exhibits. The next one is about timekeeping, with everything from Aztec calendars to Advent calendars. If the OP is a foodie, there's a really interesting international food scene developing up around the Schwabstraße area.
I could go on. Tram Museum. Christmas Market! The soccer stadium... But I think Stuttgart has a lot to offer, especially depending on timing.
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
924 posts
Stuttgart is nice, but hard to get around if you don't have a car, and even then it's one of the most heavily policed cities in Germany for speed. Plus there's a lot of construction downtown, so it's wouldn't be my first recommendation.
Speyer is a good choice if you're into cars and other mechanical items (weapons, planes, boats, spacecraft, ect.) due to the large technical museum, plus it's pretty easy to walk around with nice churches, an archeological museum, and good shops. But it's not a direct train ride from Heidelberg.
Mannheim is okay for a day visit, and it's only a 20 minute train ride.
I'd suggest Neustadt (on the winestrasse) as a good day trip. In the center of the local wine area it's a short train ride, the bahnhoff is right on the edge of the old town center, and it's easy to walk around. Good food and wine, antique shops, and attractive town.
Or a little further down the road is Landau, which is also nice to walk around. Or Bad Durkheim, another wine town, with a great garden, and nice shops.
Posted by
Northwest Arkansas
211 posts
Ginger, thanks for this post. From the diveristy of the responses you can see that there are as many opinions about what to do as there are posters.
Regarding Stuttgart, I think its a great town for a day or two, even more so if you go during one of their festivals. The museums are somewhat compact and limited in scope, yet still very enjoyable. And there is great beer all year. I have never been to the car museums--which are deemed to be outstanding--because I'm not a car guy.
As an alternative day trip, conside Mainz. Primarily for the Guttenberg Museum. Rent the audio tour, see everything, and make sure you get to one of the hourly demos of the printing process. It's in German, but still worth watching.