Stuttgart Holidays

Stuttgart city breaks

Wine trails, car museums, an A-lister zoo, and more parks than you can shake a stick at… there’s a jolly for everybody in the German city of Stuttgart. You might know the capital of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg for its car manufacture industry – heavyweights Porsche and Mercedes-Benz both have their stylish headquarters here. But look beyond the va-va-voom and you’ll also find a tip-top foodie scene, loads of nightclubs, and a jam-packed calendar of festival and events.

Buff up on art and history

The best way to get under the skin of Stuttgart is to go full-blown tourist and take a whistle-stop tour of some of the city’s key landmarks. Our faves include the 18th-century Solitude Palace, and the Staatsgalerie – an art gallery crammed with works by artists like Matisse, Picasso and Dali. There’s also the Landesmuseum Wurttemberg, a castle bursting with Baden-Wurttemberg art, handicrafts and archaeology.

Time for a breather

From above, Stuttgart’s a patchwork quilt of different shades of green. It’s got a top collection of parks, including Killesbergark – 50 hectares of gardens, fountains and sculptures. This park is a must-visit in the summer if you’ve got green fingers. It’s got a magnificent ‘valley of roses’, as well as eye-popping displays of 200 varieties of dahlia. Your park to-visit list should also include Killesbergturm, where a 40-metre-tall tower is worth the climb for views over the city.

Excellent events

The Stuttgart calendar is studded with all kinds of festivals and events. We’re talking wine and beer festivals in the summer, Fruhlingsfest in the spring, and of course, the annual tinsel-clad Christmas bonanza in the winter. July plays host to the Summer Festival of Cultures, which is a rainbow-tinted whirlwind of music and food from destinations like Jamaica, Cuba and the Middle East.