Stuttgart is the administrative center of the Baden-Wurttemberg region in Germany and one of the largest cities in southwestern Germany. In the surroundings of Stuttgart, there are many interesting towns and resorts; some being included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The distances between the cities are relatively small, and most cultural and historical sites can be visited on day trips from Stuttgart.
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10 Best Day Trips from Stuttgart
The land of Baden-Wurttemberg is full of beautiful natural landscapes, castles, palaces, and thermal resorts. Almost every town in this region is worth seeing for people traveling to Germany. Stuttgart is a rather interesting city too, especially in terms of architecture and landscape design. Several palaces, an old castle, numerous art galleries, botanical gardens, and parks are preserved. It is a good idea to mix observing Stuttgart with day trips from Stuttgart to its closest surroundings. There are unique objects and monuments, towns, and resorts around Stuttgart worth visiting for one or several-day trips. There are many ideas of where you can go from Stuttgart, be it towns, mineral or lake resorts, castles, or natural parks. You can also visit neighboring France if you wish. In terms of distances, each destination is easy to reach on a one-day trip without an overnight stay.
Day Trip 1: Ludwigsburg
Distance from Stuttgart: 12 km
Why visit Ludwigsburg? Ludwigsburg is one of the most obvious ideas for where to go when staying in Stuttgart. Ludwigsburg is rightfully considered to be a town of palaces since there are three large palace complexes located here. In fact, Ludwigsburg as a town was built exactly around these palaces, and not vice versa. It was in Ludwigsburg that the royal dynasties of the House of Wurttemberg have been living for a long time, and one of the palaces still has the name of the Ludwigsburg residence.
In the town, the main tourist attractions are the Ludwigsburg Residence, the Favorite Palace, and the Mon Repos Palace. All three buildings are designed in a lush Baroque style and attract attention with their magnificently decorated facades and preserved interiors. All three palaces are open to visitors.
How to get to Ludwigsburg: You can get to Ludwigsburg from Stuttgart by commuter train; the journey time is only 15 minutes. A visit to Ludwigsburg will not leave any traveler indifferent, and the beauty of the town is available at any time of the year. Train schedules can be checked here. You can also go by car via motorway #B27. There are a lot of car rentals in Stuttgart. Online you can find a lot of information on car rental services such as Rentalcars or DiscoverCars.
Day Trip 2: Tubingen
Distance from Stuttgart: 40 km
Why visit Tubingen? Tubingen is a colorful medieval town on the river Neckar. Despite the fact that the historical center of Tubingen is quite compact, it is full of various attractions, be it Hohentubingen Castle and St. George church, both built in the 11th century, or the Town Hall with an astronomical clock from the 15th century. The tiny island of Neckar is also worth strolling around through a beautiful sycamore alley. It is also a good idea to combine traveling to Tubingen with visiting Hohenzollern Castle which is located nearby.
How to get to Tubingen: You can use both trains and buses to reach your travel destination, but trains depart from Stuttgart more often, nearly about every half an hour during the daytime. The travel time is approximately 1 hour. You can check train schedules here. If you travel by car, follow road #B27.
Best tours in Tubingen:
Day Trip 3: Hohenzollern Castle
Distance from Stuttgart: 65 km
Why visit Hohenzollern Castle? Hohenzollern Castle in Baden-Wurttemberg is an important architectural object similar to Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. The castle, which belonged to the Hohenzollern dynasty, is, without exaggeration, the architectural “pearl” of the region. The huge castle complex stands alone above the surrounding area and makes a great impression with its majestic Gothic cones. You can wander around the castle complex all day, so it is recommended to set aside a whole day to visit Hohenzollern Castle or combine it with visiting towns, located nearby, for instance, with Tubingen.
How to get to Hohenzollern Castle: You can get to the castle from Stuttgart by train. As a rule, all trains have a change in Tubingen, the final station is the town of Bisingen. The castle is located just on the outskirts of this town. There is a road, directly leading from Stuttgart to Hohenzollern castle, so a car trip is also possible, just follow the #B27 motorway. Car rental services in Stuttgart can be booked in advance.
Day Trip 4: Karlsruhe
Distance from Stuttgart: 75 km
Why visit Karlsruhe? Karlsruhe is often called the “sun city” due to its architectural features. The city is built in such a way that all the streets of it stretch from the main square, where the palace is located. However, the Karlsruhe Palace is not the only interesting object in the city; the Grand Ducal Palace and the Gottesaue Palace also deserve tourist attention. Among the museum complexes, the Kunsthalle (Karlsruhe Art Museum) and the Center for Art and Media Technology are definitely worth visiting. If you stay longer in Karlsruhe, you can also explore its surroundings. For example, take the funicular up Mount Turmberg and see the ruins of Hohenberg Castle.
How to get to Karlsruhe: You can get to Karlsruhe directly from Stuttgart without making changes by train or bus. In addition, the cities are connected by highway #A8. The travel time is just 1 hour, making the city one of the easiest day trips from Stuttgart.
Day Trip 5: Ulm
Distance from Stuttgart: 90 km
Why visit Ulm? Ulm is known as a town with the tallest cathedral in Europe, which is even taller than the famous Strasbourg or Cologne Cathedrals! It is 162 m high, isn’t it amazing? You can climb up on it, by the way, but you need to overcome 700 steps to reach the top. Besides the cathedral, tourists can also visit such remarkable places in Ulm as various medieval towers, the Town Hall, some tiny and beautiful chapels, and a picturesque fishermen`s quarter. There are a lot of half-timbered houses which makes the town so unique. It would be wise to remember that a huge Legoland amusement park is located near Ulm so tourists often combine visiting both the town and the park, especially when traveling with kids.
How to get to Ulm: There is a train connection between Stuttgart and Ulm. Trains run every half an hour during the day. The travel time varies from one hour to one and a half. When traveling by car, just follow the #A8 motorway.
Day Trip 6: Baden-Baden
Distance from Stuttgart: 110 km
Why visit Baden-Baden? Baden-Baden is a famous thermal resort in the southwest of Germany. Tourists come to Baden-Baden on day trips from Stuttgart to relax and solve some health problems, since there are numerous mineral springs here, and the healing forest air also contributes to recovery. The resort is surrounded by forests and mountains of the Black Forest National Park.
But even if you do not plan to undergo water treatment in one of the thermal complexes of Baden-Baden, for example, in the thermal baths of Caracalla or Friedrichsbad, then even just taking a walk in this beautiful resort town, you will feel full of strength and energy. Non-resort attractions of Baden-Baden include, in particular, the Lichtentaler Alley and the Lichtental monastery, the ruins of the Roman baths, the Botanical Rose Garden, several well-known museums, the City Theater, and much more. In the area around Baden-Baden, you can also visit the Old and New Castles and some natural attractions by taking the cable car up Mount Merkur hiking in the Black Forest National Park, or relaxing on Lake Mummelsee.
Tip: Take part in a private Bade-Baden walking tour to experience all the famous sights.
How to get to Baden-Baden: There are a lot of direct trains to Baden-Baden from Stuttgart running daily. The travel time varies from 1 to 2 hours. It is also a good idea to rent a car in Stuttgart to travel to Baden-Baden and to go deep into the National Park.
Day Trip 7: Heidelberg
Distance from Stuttgart: 120 km
Why visit Heidelberg? Heidelberg is an absolutely beautiful town that surprisingly was not damaged by bombing during the Second World War. Its entire historical part is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The old town is now a pedestrian area, open for walking. The castle, bridge, university, Town Halls, and churches – all these sights attract a huge number of tourists every year. If you spend one day in Heidelberg, you can also take a cable car up the mountains and wander through one of the many natural observation decks. Heidelberg is located in the Neckar River valley and is surrounded by magnificent mountains.
How to get to Heidelberg: You can get to Heidelberg on day trips from Stuttgart by all means of transport, including a train, bus, or rented car. The travel time varies from 1 hour to 2.5 hours one way.
Day Trip 8: Freiburg
Distance from Stuttgart: 200 km
Why visit Freiburg? Freiburg is a southern corner of Germany with almost 300 sunny days in a year. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But Freiburg attracts visitors not only because of the local climate but also because of a great number of historical attractions. The main square of the town is Munsterplatz. It is called Munsterplatz because of the huge Cathedral (Munster) located here. The cathedral is 116 m high and is decorated with Gothic and Roman elements. It was built in the 1330s and preserved its authentic look. There are a lot of other great architectural objects on the square and nearby.
After viewing the town center, I recommended taking a funicular and climbing up the local mountains. There are funiculars available for climbing up such mountain tops as Schlossberg, Roskopf, and Schaunisland. Do not forget that Freiburg is the “gate” to Europa Park, one of the most famous amusement parks in Germany. You can take either a direct train or a bus to reach the park from Freiburg.
How to get to Freiburg? There are no direct trains to Freiburg from Stuttgart, but you can get there with a small change in Karlsruhe. The travel time is about 2-3 hours. One more excellent idea is to rent a car to go to both Freiburg and Europa Park. Stuttgart and Freiburg are connected with the #A81 motorway.
Day Trip 9: Lake Constance
Distance from Stuttgart: 200 km
Why visit Lake Constance? Lake Constance is one of the largest lakes in Germany and one of the best day trips from Stuttgart. It is located in Baden-Wurttemberg and Bavaria regions and in Austria and Switzerland on the opposite side. It is suited for swimming and sunbathing during summertime. Lake Constance is also known for its thermal resort called Meersburg. Besides, the island of flowers called Mainau is located in the middle of the lake. The island of flowers is an almost all-year-round festival of flora and a lot of travelers visit it to enjoy the beauty of the place and take great pictures. Tourists can stay in such lake resorts as Friedrichshafen, Meersburg, Konstanz, and some others. Konstanz is the “gate” to Mainau Island.
Tip: By taking part in a guided Constance City Tour, you’ll learn more about the region.
How to get to Lake Constance: Travellers can take a train or a bus to Friedrichshafen and Konstanz from Stuttgart. Meersburg is reachable only by bus or a combination of a train and bus. The travel time is about 2-3 hours. Some tourists prefer a car to get to the lake.
Bonus Destination 10: Strasbourg
Distance from Stuttgart: 150 km
Why visit Strasbourg? All previous destinations for traveling from Stuttgart are located in Germany, but day trips from Stuttgart to neighboring France are also possible! Strasbourg is the most obvious point to visit. It is a unique city with great architecture and wonderful views, be it Strasbourg Cathedral, a historical center with its colorful buildings and cozy small bridges, awesome canals, or modern Euro-Quarter. By the way, Strasbourg is great to visit both during the spring-summer season and the autumn-winter one because Strasbourg is well-known for its majestic Christmas fairs!
How to get to Strasbourg: Despite the distance, you can reach Strasbourg from Stuttgart in just 1 hour by high-speed train! You can also use buses or a rented car. In the case of a rental car, you need to follow roads # A5 and A8. Do not forget that you might need cross-border insurance for traveling to France.
Don’t forget to save this post for planning the best day trips from Stuttgart!
