Stuck in Stuttgart in January. Need Suggestions

There is a guy on trip advisor that is as passionate about Stuttgart as I am about Frankfurt. He lists dozens of things to do there, like palaces to visit, car museums (porsche, mercedes?)and on and on. Check that out for ideas. Suttgart is the 6th largest city, and I don't think you will lack for things to do there. Have you gone to their tourist board site? The last time I looked there, I was amazed at all the wonderful sights this city has to offer. Sometimes I am not sure on what Rick bases his likes and dislikes of a place. Sometimes I think it is whoever was his tour guide just did a poor job of showing off their city. I know he missed some really important things in Frankfurt. So please just don't go by what is in the RS guidebooks.

You could take the TGV (train) from Stuttgart and be in Paris in less than 4 hours!

Why? There is too much to see around Stuttgart. No reason to go all the way to Paris.

I agree that there is a lot more to see and do in Stuttgart than is commonly thought. I lived there for 2 years a few years back. Take a tour of the "new castle" and the "old castle". The city has a great pedestrian zone. Go to the historic opera and catch a show. Eat zwiebelkuchen (onion tart) with the crisp local wine. I used to take the 2 or 3 hour train ride to Strasbourg when I wanted a day or a weekend in France. If all else fails, there is always "The Old Ascott", which was the bar where all the english speaking expats hung out. I don't even know if it is still in business... but it used to be an entertaining place to say the least. Enjoy your stay and best of luck!

How about going to Alsace for a few days? Strasbourg isn't that far...

Hi Chris. I viewed a video travelogue of part of Germany, the video was made not long ago. (It was not hosted by Rick Steves). It featured Stuttgart. Stuttgart is a great city for people on vacation !
The parts of that city that are of interest to tourists are bigger than I thought it is. It has charming old buildings, several old things to see. If I were at Stuttgart, I would want to go in the Mercedez Benz Museum.

In January, submerging in warm water in an indoor pool at Baden Baden sounds good to me.

I agree.Stuttgart is not as boring as some people believe. There are a few museums worth to visit, a park, BMW .
You can take day trips to Strasbourg and Cologne.

I haven't spent any real time in Stuttgart (except to change trains), so I will let those with actual knowledge of the city (not just links found with Google) advise you for that. However, I have spent some time in the surrounding area.

Tübingen is a pretty university town on the Neckar, a short distance by train from Stuttgart.

Hohenzollernburg in Hechingen is an interesting, although not real old, castle. Get the schedule to the castle from the Bahn website. There is only one bus per day from the Hechingen Bahnhof to the castle, and it is synched with a train from Stuttgart.

Freudenstadt, sometimes called the capital of the Northern Black Forest, is nice.

Calw, home of Herman Hesse (Steppenwolf), is a lovely town full of Fachwerk houses, and is only about 1½ hour away by train through Pforzheim.

Ulm is close, on the main rail line to Munich. It features the highest gothic church steeple in the world and, you can climb it to the top for a view all the way to the Alps.

Some great suggestions from all of you on local idea and links to other views! Actually, I was just laughng at the "grey" catagory, and know that millions of Germans who live there have a good city. My main question is winter activities that are open and practical.

Since I had an old Mercedes, the museum will be great. Since I always wanted a Porsche, that might work, too.

Most of my free time in Stuttgart will be at night, any suggestions for locals spots, good restaurants would be appreciated.

That day trip to France sounds great. I read about the spa at Baden-Baden. Think I will try that with a massage and without the spanking...but when in Rome. I was hoping to go to the Mosel, but it seems to virtually close down in winter. Is that correct? Beaune seemed like a short trip for any overnight adventure. Any feedback?

I want to do two seperate three day getaways during my stay. What would you do for three days in that general region? Thanks for your help.

Unless you are shy, the Palais Therme in Bad Wildbad, only about an hour and a half from Stuttgart via train and streetcar (again through Pforzheim), is very nice. However, the pictures are not marketing hype; it IS coed and "textilefrei". You'll find that most German spas are that way; Baden-Baden is an exception, cleaned up for the tourists.

You can get to Bad Wildbad using a Baden-Württemberg-Ticket (all day pass on regional trains, streetcars, buses. €19 for a single, €27 for up to 5 people)

If you want an Alpine experience for one of your three-day getaways, consider Oberstdorf. It's at the western end of the Alps, which form the southern border between Germany and the Tirol, about 3-4 hrs by train from Stuttgart. If you like to ski, the Nebelhorn has more vertical drop than any ski mountain in the U.S.

Bea,

to my knowledge BMW is headquartered in Munich where they also have a well-known museum. The acronym stands for Bayrische Motoren Werke, i.e. Bavarian Motor Works, so I doubt they have anything important going on around Stuttgart. You were probably thinking of Mercedes or Porsche.

You could take the TGV (train) from Stuttgart and be in Paris in less than 4 hours!

I took a flight from Stuttgart once and was in Morocco in 3 hours. Does that count as being a short trip?

Seriously folks. Have any of you spent much time in Stuttgart and the surrounding area so that you can answer Chris' question properly? I think the word "short" should be our clue as to what Chris is looking for.

As to the constant flow of Wiki articles, I think most people know how to pull up a Wiki article without a lot of guidance. I believe that most of the people asking questions on here would like personal opinions or pointers to useful websites that they may not have found on their own.

You could also be in Munich (a great place for a three day Aufenhalt) in just about three hours. But, really, there are sooooo many great things to see in and around Stuttgart. Why does everyone want Chris to go farther?

And, Harry.

"Stuck" in Denver in January?

400,000 people come to Denver in January for our stock show.

And, if that isn't enough, one or two hours away, to the west, is some of the greatest (with the best powder snow) skiing in the world.

Harry, since you love Wiki so much, maybe you have heard the phrase, DNFTT (Do not feed the troll). That's what you are, a troll.

Welcome to the helpline, Chris. It's not always like this. I promise.

Is it true that Harry is 13 years old? When my children were 13 they replied to criticism exactly as he does. They eventually grew up and are quite pleasant human beings now. I wish the same for Harry.

Many years ago I spent six months just south of Stuttgart. There's more to Stuttgart now than there was then. The advise to check TripAdvisor forums is good. I've seen some good suggestions there. The Neckar River valley is beautiful. If you are there in winter look for the alcoholic apple drink that comes in crocks. There are a lot of apple orchards in the valley and they've been making this very dry and powerful drink for years. One of the best meals I had on my last trip to Germany, The Czech Republic and Austria was in a small gashoff near the airport! A grey tourist may just mean a new back door.

Pam

I have heard good things about Maulbruin near by an old monistery

I am honestly suprised and grateful for all the great responses in this unusual "string". I never thought that I would get interest! A couple of quick notes:
I am familiar with Denver and enjoy Colorado, too.
Stuttgart is sounds like it will be fun and a great base.
Although I know Wikipedia, it is fine to get feedback.
Yes, the personal touch is why I asked the questions; books and sites like Wiki are OK but that real experience from different points of view is the really good stuff.
The comment about Paris and Morocco, made me laugh, because I almost thought about it...then came to my senses.
The info about Bavaria does not hurt, because I am headed there in late February, so keep that info coming, too.
I am impressed with the information and passionate involvement with members of this site. Thank you for making my first posting so much fun and so successful for my planning.

Happy Thanksgiving! Can we change the tone of this string? I had my 12 year kid read this and he thought it was funny. Know what I mean? Let's talk about travel here and elsewhere.

Yes, Happy Thanksgiving to you all and that includes you too Harry.

Take heart, Harry. You're paranoid, but don't let that deter you. We are all out to get you.

The Arlberg mountains in Austria ara about a three hours drive from Stuttgart. The names of the best resort towns there are Lech, Zürs and St. Anton. This is also where the British royal family goes skiing. You can combine Mt. Arlberg (Austria) with the Lake of Constance, especially the nearby towns of Bregenz (not really that worthwhile) and Lindau (most worthwhile).

Hi Chris, I lived in Stuttgart for a year and have been back to visit twice since then. Strasbourg, France is a great day or even 1/2 day trip if you wanted -- you could be back by dinner. The church/cathedral in the center of town is gorgeous. The river there is so pretty and there's cafes along the water. Tuebingen and Heidelberg are also beautiful towns that you could get to rather quickly from Stuttgart. An even quicker trip you could make while in Stuttgart (you can even take the S-bahn I believe) is to Ludwigsburg. There's a beautiful castle there to tour and they have a Christmas Market until right before Christmas.
As far as restaurants and nightspots, our favorite restaurant is Hotel Ketterer which is at the tail end of Koenigstrasse. As far as nightlife, I am extremely biased. I worked at Biddy Early's Irish Pub and actually met my husband there. ;) They usually have live music and are usually pretty packed on the weekends. If you go to Stuttgart in December, they'll probably have the Christmas market going on, and you have to try the Gluehwein. (A hot spiced wine)
I'm not an expert on the city, but I really enjoyed my time there and have many fond memories!

Andreas and Amy: Thanks for you help. I will try the pub out during the week in Stuttgart. My friend is at the Ketterer so the restaurant sounds like a good choice. The suggestions in Austria might be a nice outing. I was thinking of Beaune, so Strasbourg would work well. Thanks, again