Things to do in area around Stuttgart ?

Benedict XVI

My wife and I will be in Stuttgart a few days before and after the Ireland v Germany game on Sept 2nd.

Can anyone recommend things to do or see in the region around the city, we will be renting a car so we will have little trouble getting around.

We are not to pushed is sitting outside pubs in the city getting pi**ed for 5 days

mikedragon32

Take a trip to Karlsruhe for a day. It' a pretty nice town, with a Chateau (for want of a better word) at the heart of it. Should only take an hour by Autobahn to get there, but if you take some country roads to get there, you'll have some nice scenery and the Black Forest to enjoy. Indeed you could easily spend days exploring the Black Forest. There are loads of Spa towns to visit around the region too. Just look for "Bad" or "Baden" in the town name.

Pforzheim is the centre for jewellery production in Germany and there are some factories there you can look around.

Luxembourg and Strasbourg aren't too far away either if you're so inclined.

Unshelved

Get the train to Tubingen - a really lovely medieval university town. Goethe went to college there - see if you can find the plaque on the wall with the inscription "Goethe puked here" (in German). Apparently he liked a drop while he was a student.

Crash

I'm quite glad that every suggestion so far is "...get out of stuttgart." hate the place, so very much. Tubingen and Karlsruhe would be fantastic spots to go see though, well worth a visit.

Unshelved

Have to disagree with you there Crash - I liked Stuttgart a lot. It's not very touristy - but there are a lot of interesting things about it - and I liked the emphasis on art and culture in the city's architecture. Walking tours are available from the tourist office and are worth a go if you want to find out more of the city's history.

Also it's worth hiring bikes and cycling though the city's parks - there's miles of them and one leads into another - really lovely.

I've heard that the city's beer festival in September is great fun - much better than the mob-ridden Octoberfest in Munich - will that coincide with OP's trip?

AnitaMcCluskey

Head to Donaueschingen to see the source of the River Danube. About an hour from Stuttgart on the Autobahn. Also, head to Kontanz and the lake Bodensee. About 2 hours away from Stuttgart, Absolutely beautiful, especially during the warmer weather around August / Sept and definately worth the drive. Seriously, I live quiet near there and just recently had some family and friends over from Ireland who said they prefered to stay around that area rather than stay in a pub for their entire holiday. Driving through the Black Forest is amazing so you won't be disappointed no matter what you do.

Alligator Wine

&#231 wrote: »

I'm quite glad that every suggestion so far is "...get out of stuttgart." hate the place, so very much. Tubingen and Karlsruhe would be fantastic spots to go see though, well worth a visit.

Definitely disagree with this. I lived in Stuttgart for a year and there's plenty to see and do if you just like going for a ramble, and like the outdoors. The walk up through the park takes about 30 mins from the main train station, then you end up at the mineral baths where you can relax inside or outside for a small fee. Or if you're not feeling up to it just get the U-Bahn. The zoo is also at the end of the park and is good for a laugh.

I spent one August evening up in Schloss Solitude watching shooting stars. Went to the museums a few times, there's a couple in the city center, the state gallery has stuff from the middle-ages to post-modern.
For eating and a few quiet drinks there's a really picturesque square within walking distance from Koenigstrasse, called Hans im Glueck platz, try the Kaesespaetzle or Maultaschen in a restaurant called Mattaese there, and a pint of Dinkelacker in Bar Deli.

Take one of the Strassenbahn up to the TV tower, Fernsehturm, it's well worth it to get a panorama of the city, you can see how small it actually is from up there, and the way its totally surrounded by hills and woodland.

You'll probably be in luck too festival wise, every weekend there was something happening, be it a wine Fest, Bier Fest, Traditional Food.

Also as mentioned before, Tuebingen is a must, also check out Esslingen (about 20 mins on the S-Bahn)

Enjoy!

Bluetonic

Benedict XVI wrote:

My wife and I will be in Stuttgart a few days before and after the Ireland v Germany game on Sept 2nd.

:eek:

mikedragon32

Just to clarify, I never said not to stay in Stuttgart, I've only ever used the airport and travelled by u-bahn as I normally stay in Maximilliansau, outside Karlsruhe.

I can't recommend anything in the city, because, strictly speaking, I've never been!

Can't have Crash getting too upset!

phil me up

hi ya benedick

myself and the wife are thinking of going to the match too may i ask who u booked ur flights did u buy a package how much was it how long are u staying for ect
and any other info would be great might see u over there

Benedict XVI

phil me up wrote:

hi ya benedick

myself and the wife are thinking of going to the match too may i ask who u booked ur flights did u buy a package how much was it how long are u staying for ect
and any other info would be great might see u over there

Booked flights from Shannon to Frankfurt Hahn the day the fixture was announced.
As the venue was not announced the day of the fixture we looked a map of German World Cup venues and reckoned that Frankfurt was about the most central to places the game could possibly be held, and luckly enough it was Stuttagrt, thankfully not Berlin, Leipzig or Hamburg.

At this stage I would imagine direct flights from Ireland to cities reasonably close to Stuttgart are thin on the ground.

Bluetonic

phil me up wrote:

hi ya benedick

myself and the wife are thinking of going to the match too may i ask who u booked ur flights did u buy a package how much was it how long are u staying for ect
and any other info would be great might see u over there

Might I suggest you take a read of this extremely long thread which will cover everything you could ever ask.

http://www.foot.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=33458

phil me up

thanks bluetonic/ benadick

just booked my flights from dub to franfort theres still some 1cent flights left if anyones interested so just book the hotel now and im off

thanks again guys for all the help

Unshelved

Direct flights from Dublin to Stuttgart are available on Hapag-Lloyd Express - see www.hlx.com. We flew with them before and they're fine. They're putting on extra flights for the Ireland-Germany game.