Stuttgart Region

Car culture reigns in Germany's Motor City of Stuttgart, which has both a Mercedes (above) and a Porsche museum.

The Stuttgart region is home to the state capital, the German motor city of Stuttgart

Yes, Stuttgart may be a modern industrial city—which, by the standards of most Europe visitors means "uninteresting"—but in this case it is that very industry that makes it worth visiting, especially if you are into fast, sleek and stylish automobiles.

Stuttgart is home to both DaimlerChrysler (a.k.a. Mercedes-Benz) and Porsche (and Bosch electronics, for that matter), and both car companies have built excellent museums dedicated to the histories of their fabulous and widely-coveted automobiles. It's a car-guy dream come true.

(Considering the speed and power of these two venerable car brands, it's only fitting they be based in a city that owes its name to its millennia-old origins as a horse farm "stud garden.")

Add in some fine art, a royal palace and zoo, and suddenly a European "modern industrial city" becomes a must-see.

Top Stuttgart region experiences

Mercedes Museum ★★★

The Mercedes-Benz museum is a Guggenheim for gear-heads, 160 vehicles and countless placards dedicated to the history of the Daimler company—and the parallel world history of the late 19th and 20th centuries—spiraling down nine stories of a massive, curvaceous structure in a double-helix of exhibits... » more

 

Porsche Museum ★★

This mighty flying wedge of a museum opened in 2009 to showcase the history of the planet's most lusciously curvaceous luxury sports car. The space showcases some 80 models of sleek Porsche machines, including the 1939 "Type 64" prototype and the 1948 Porsche 356 "No. 1" Roadster from which all future Porsches owe their lineage.... » more

 

The V8 Hotel ★

The Nirvana of boutique hotels for car aficionados lies in Motorworld, a sprawling complex of classic car dealers and mechanics in the Stuttgart suburb of Böblingen. These warehouse-sized showrooms are packed with 1930s Cadillacs, 1960s American muscle cars, 1980s Lamborghinis, 2000s McLarens... and dozens of Mercedes, BMWs, and Porches from every decade and all in cherry condition... » more

 

The State Art Museum ★

Stuttgart's Staatsgalerie is one of the top fine art museums in Central Europe, with works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Hans Holbein the Elder, Tiepolo, Monet, Picasso, Cézanne, and Warhol as well as excellent medieval and 20th century German works... » more

 

Ludwigsburg ★

The pale-yellow baroque quadrangle of the main palace was built in 1719–33 by Donato Giuseppe Frisoni to house the ducal court in the best Baroque and Rococo frippery ducal money could buy. Frescoed ceilings, crystal chandeliers, parquet floors, and a Neoclassical theater (with the world's first revolving stage) fill the 452 rooms... » more

 

Wilhelma zoo

King Wilhelm I had these pleasure grounds and botanical gardens laid out in a Moorish style in 1842. Upon his death in 1880, they were opened to the public and, after World War II, animals were brought in and zoo exhibits installed in and around the carefully tended gardens and greenhouses.... » more

 

Honorable mention (not in Stuttgart, but definitely car-related)

Drive a race car ★

You can climb in the passenger seat of a race car and feel what it is like to scream around Germany's Hockenheim Ring—or even take to the track at the wheel of your own car (note: this is almost certainly not allowed by any rental car contract; still)... » more

 

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