I'm hoping to tap into the collective wisdom of all of you here. Here's the situation... We have a month-long trip to Europe coming up, late April to late May, and was originally planning to end the trip in Stuttgart where we were going to stay with a friend for couple nights. Well, it turns out he will be out of the country then, so now we're not quite sure what to do with the extra two days. If we had known about this a bit earlier, we would probably have just added an extra day here and there to the rest of our trip, but with hotel availability issues, deposits already paid, etc. we thought finding another place to go to would be the easiest and cheapest way to go. So the question is if you had a couple free days, somewhere within a few hours of Fussen and Stuttgart, where would you go and why? Some additional info... Our trip has us coming from Salzburg and then Fussen. We still need to fly out of Stuttgart so this place X has to be relatively close to both Fussen and Stuttgart, say within 6-7 hours total train time from Fussen to X and X to Stuttgart. We won't have a car so it will have to be train travel. We thought about Rothenburg but found it takes close to 5 hours to get there and enother 3+ hours to Stuttgart, so we'll just save it for our next trip. We're not big museum people and I think by the end of the trip we'll be "museum-ed" out anyway. We're open to both small towns/villages and big cities, so give us all your suggestions! Thanks in advance for your help.
Posted by
San Diego, CA
638 posts
You might want to consider Berchtesgaden, it near Salzburg, though it is a bit out of the way the train does go there.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19242 posts
Without knowing what you like, I think you might like Sigmaringen. There is a Hohenzollern castle there that has been built over a 1000 years. The residence area was rebuilt after a fire a couple of hundred years ago, but it is other wise intact. Probably the best way to get there is to go from Füssen NW to Ulm (you can climb the Gothic Müster there), then SW to Sigmaringen. The next day you go through the Schwäbisch Jura to Stuttgart, maybe stopping in Tübingen.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5813 posts
A couple of years ago, a German co-worker recommended the town of Tübingen as a pleasant place for a visit. It is a university town. I never made it there so can't personally recommend it ... but perhaps one of the other posters on this board can comment. It is only about an hour by train from Stuttgart.
Posted by
Los Angeles, California
1986 posts
Munich
It is a relatively short rail ride from Fussen, and a main line station, so i would expect you can get to Stuttgart efficiently. Lots to do and see. You will not run out of stuff to see just walking around the town centre (even without Museums). Or consider Nuremburg for two days (not as much to see as Munich though)
Posted by
Chicago, Illinois, USA
131 posts
Munich! We spent a fabulous five-day weekend in Munich last October right after Octoberfest. We did a day-trip to Saltzburg and a day-trip to Fussen. Munich was wonderful! Train to/from Fussen is an hour and a 1/2. English Gardens, the Residence, the museums, incredible Thai food, and respectfully loved the 1/2 day trip to Dachau Concentration Camp. Munich was incredible! Three days in Munich was just enough... I'm sure we'll be back someday! You could do much of this in two.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
With a car on your limited time schedule, I could have recommended some great towns in the region of Swabia or the Allgau. Without a car... meh, just do the easy thing, go to Munich. Or why not Stuttgart?
Posted by
Germany, Germany
813 posts
I can easily find you two days worth of things to do around Stuttgart. Ludwigsburg palace in the town just north of Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg. Takes 1/2 hr on the S-bahn. Fun tour of the palace, cute town, nice gardens to walk around. In downtown Stuttgart, tour the Mercedes factory, see the Porsche Museum, indoor Markthalle (fresh food), Schloss Solitude, plenty of historic sites in Stuttgart, great department stores, high end shops. Near to Stuttgart, Metzingen outlet stores (people from all around the world come to shop here), Hohenzollern castle, Lichtenstein castle, university town of Tubingen. Stay downtown or at the SI Zentrum hotel (Millenium) where you have a broadway style theater, movie theater, restaurants, plus 10 min from the airport. I can give you restaurant recommendations, too.