What to do in Stuttgart?
 

Curious if any fellow Pelicaners have recommendations for sites to see or things to do in around Stuttgart... besides the obvious... yes, I will be visiting Porsche and taking a side trip to Munich to visit BMW.

This trip is far from definite but I have an opportunity to tag along with my wife on a business trip this winter. She will be working for 3 days or so and I think I will visit the Porsche museum/factory during this time. More interested in other things to do that she would enjoy (she recognizes and understands my car love but isn't into it as much as I am)?

Being winter, maybe a couple days skiing in the Alps? Historic sites? Museums?

Thanks for the input. ...and keep your fingers crossed I can get the time off. We may be in the midst of a big project at my company. Good for business, bad for travel :)

Get down to Austria for a few days of skiing or just sightseeing.

Isn't the Ruf shop close to Stuttgart. (Pfaffenhausen??)

Get the Michelin guide, lots of stuff to see and do in that region. I'd go just for the food and driving the autobahn.

Need someone to carry your bags??:D

Pfaffenhausen is in the middle of nowhere, about halfway between Stuttgart and Munich. You need to tell them in advance you're coming, as it's a small shop that probably closes for lunch. Less less than two hrs. southeast of Munich is the orginal Porsche Museum in Gmuend, Austria, which is excellent. If you're going skiing, you'll probably want to go to Garmish-Partenkirchen. I think that has to be the closest to Suttgart, which isn't very close at all. Stuttgart is closet to Switzerland than all the other places.

The Mercedes Benz museum is also very worth the time for a visit, and is located in Stuttgart.

Yes, the M/B museum is much better than the new Porsche museum (although designed by same firm)...Head up to the observation deck of the Fernsehturm TV tower for awesome views, head to tthe center of town for great shopping (especially the market) Wonderful toy store as well with all sorts of Porsche/VW miniatures. If travelling to RUF, the best place to stay is in Mindelheim (just a few miles away)....Try the Alte Post, we stay there every 3 years when we attend Frundsbergfest.

To go through the Porsche factory you need a reservation. I was a member of PCA for just this purpose. They sucked at this, never happened.

It ended up my daughters Grandmother in law who lives over there called and got us a spot.

If specific to staying around Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg palace is really nice to see. I don't know what it would be like in the winter but in the spring, the structures, gardens and atmosphere is beautiful.

When you drop down to Munich, the Deutsches Museum is terrific. If you miss some of the other car marque museums, you'll probably see some anyhow at the Deutches museum.. wide range. Aviation, art, mechanical, etc..

Vizit zee local tahvern, and spek wit zee fräuleins. Bouncy bouncy.

What are you smoking?

Wow!

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I stepped away from my computer for most of the day, part of which was spent on the 911, and I can't believe how many responses I've gotten.

I am going to make a list and do some research on them. As for the car museums/factories, I've begun researching and realize most of them require reservations, at least for the factory tours. It looks easy enough to set up though. I hadn't thought of MB, but probably just because I've never owned one. I have owned or own an equal number of P-cars (if you count the Poor man's Porsches) and BMWs, so they were the first I thought of.

I'm sorry we can't go now and partake in Oktoberfest festivities but we will definitely enjoy some good beer. Thanks also for the other suggestions!

Did I miss something here?

Don't bother with Garmish,, do yourself a favor and hit St Anton or Ischgle (sp).
Rick meant well but he's a Virginia boy who lives in Az,,

I sure missed something.

Not sure where you are coming from why don't you take a minute to explain.

I think it was the third sentence that tripped his *crack pipe alarm*. He lives in Germany, FWIW.

Probably better served by making constructive suggestions rather than cracking on others.

Back to the topic at hand...

+1 on the Mercedes museum. Fantastic.
+1 on Ludwigsburg. The palace there was worth a stop.

You're an hour or so away from the museums at Sinsheim and Speyer. If you haven't been to these before, they are excellent destinations.

Others have come up with travel suggestions, but you're not far away from the black forest.

For other car-related destinations in southern Germany, this book is tough to beat for more ideas:
Via Corsa Car Lover's Guide to Southern Germany: Ronald Adams: 9780982571019: Amazon.com: Books

hookers and blow!!!

The Sinsheim Air Museum is close to Stuttgart. I passed it going to and leaving Stuttgart, but did not have the time to stop by.

http://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/en/en/aircraft

EDIT: Looks like Kevin beat me to it. :D

I wasn't suggesting Garmish is the best, just the closest if he plans to stick between Stuttgart and Munich. There's plenty nearby in SW Austria too. I've never skiied there, but Badgastein and Innsbruck are easy drives from Munich. But I don't know when the season starts. I went to the Grossglockner in Heiligenblut in July once and froze my nuts off.

Read a Lonely Planet about the town and it will tell you everything.