What to do in Stuttgart?

If you are in to cars a tour of the Porsche and/or Mercedes factories could be in order.

If you want further advice, there is a Stuttgart Board on Tripadvisor. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g187291-i826-Stuttgart_Baden_Wurttemberg.html We visited Stuttgart in 2009. It was Christmas Market time and we were meeting a friend. So, we did not really see the sights. It is a nice town with plenty of cafes, restaurants, etc.

There are two Romantic style castles just south of Stuttgart. Lichtenstein Castle and Hohenzollern Castle. They are only about 25 miles from each other. Excellent day trip out of the city.

The Stuttgart Oktoberfest-known as Cannstatter Volksfest-is still happening until the 14th. Carnival rides, big beer tents to get food also, etc. You have to have tickets in the evening for tents, but during the day it's no problem. You can take a direct bus to the town of Metzingen which has many nice outlet stores, great shopping. Downtown area is nice, you should just spend a whole day walking the main street, nice art museum too. Ludwigsburg town has a very nice Palace, Ludwigsburg Palace, which is having a large pumpkin exhibit in their extensive gardens. The theme is 'Switzerland' so large cows made of pumpkins, a Matterhorn made of pumpkins, etc. plus specialty foods of pumpkin. Ludwigsburg is an easy 30 min. train ride from Stuttgart.

Kathy's advice is good. I would try to make it to the Canstatter Volksfest (also referred to as the place it's at - the "Wasen") for an afternoon, it's really fun. If you want to go to a beer tent, try to arrive before 5 on Friday or before 12-1 on Saturday. Otherwise you can check out the "Almhutt'n" area near the back of the fest (although if you take U-Bahn 11 from the main strain station or Charlottenplatz it will drop you off not too far from that area) is a nice place to enjoy the rotating bar and live music without the need for reservations or arriving early. The "Mitte" is a walkable area with a few minor attractions - the Schlossplatz, the Alte Schloss which has just re-opened the Celtic Archeology part of the State Museum inside, the Markthalle, which in front of it on Saturday will have a great flea market, the Staatsgallerie classic art museum, the Lapadarium of Roman and Celtic statues, and the "Cube" modern art museum are all very close to each other. If you get bored of Stuttgart proper (between fest and just being here on a weekend I doubt it) you can head to the Mercedes or Porsche museums, or to nearby Esslingen for a beautiful preserved old city, just 10 minutes away by train from the main train station. Be sure and try some Swabian food while you're here! It's delicious. Alte Kanzlerei and Amadeus are slightly upscale and modern Swabish, but for cheaper heartier places, any "weinstube" will have a menu full of local specialities. Have fun!

One of my friends just got back from the Pumpkin show at the Ludwigsburg. They really enjoyed it. Have seen the photos and it looks like a lot of fun and well worth a visit.