12 Other Things to Do in Stuttgart During the Cannstatter Volksfest
We all know Stuttgart, Germany is home to the world’s second largest beer festival—the aptly named Stuttgart Beer Festival, or Cannstatter Volksfest in local terms. However, though Stuttgart may be but a blip on your beer festival radar, there’s more to this city than just pretzels and prost-ing.
While you’re in town for the Cannstatter Volksfest, peel yourself away from the beer tents for a bit (you can do it!) and check out some of the cool things to do in Stuttgart:
Car museums
This is Germany after all—a country famous for its speed limit-free Autobahn and the feats of vehicular engineering that make love to it. While attending Oktoberfest in Munich you can visit the popular BMW Museum, but in Stuttgart you have Porsche and Mercedes-Benz.
1. Porsche Museum
Stuttgart serves as both the birthplace and the headquarters for Porsche, so naturally this is where you can find a museum dedicated to them.
The Porsche Museum features close to 100 automobiles (both street models and race cars) and over 200 smaller exhibits on the history and manufacturing of Porsche. You can visit on your own (with an audio guide) or take one of their museum tours. And you can even book a private tour if you and the Porsche 911 need some alone time.
2. Mercedes-Benz Museum
Also born and headquartered in Stuttgart is Mercedes-Benz, with a dedicated museum spread out over 9 levels across 16,500 square meters of floor space.
The Mercedes-Benz Museum features over 1,500 exhibits telling the company’s history and stories, showcasing the technology, and introducing you to more than 160 automobiles—from race cars to what they’re calling “futuristic research vehicles.”
They, too, offer guided museum tours of many sorts: the classic tour, the “mobility of the future” tour focusing on the future of automobile engineering, the motorsports tours, and many more.
Art museums
Some could call a classic Porsche a work of art, but if you’re not among them, there are a number of actual art museums that make up some of the cool things to do in Stuttgart too.
3. Staatsgalerie
Made up of two museums—the Alte (Old) and the Neue (New)—the Staatsgalerie is one Germany’s premier art museums.
The Alte Staatsgalerie houses collections of German, Italian, and Dutch paintings as well as art from 1800-1900 (including impressionist works). The Neue Staatsgalerie houses a more modern collection including works by Picasso, Miró, Dalí, and more.
4. Kunstmuseum Stuttgart
For the lover of more modern and contemporary art, there’s the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. Opened in 2005, this museum is famous for its architecture alone—resembling a solid glass cube from the outside but inside actually occupying the space of an underground traffic tunnel system.
Located in the heart of Stuttgart, the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart consists of three floors of exhibition space featuring works by artists like Otto Dix (the museum’s pride and joy), Willi Baumeister, Joseph Kosuth, and others.
Outdoor spaces
If the weather is great during your trip to the Stuttgart Beer Festival, why not forget the museums altogether and head to one of Stuttgart’s great outdoor spaces? Here are some of the things to do in Stuttgart in great weather:
5. Wilhelma Zoological-Botanical Garden
North of the city on the grounds of a historic royal castle is the Wilhelma Zoo and Botanical Garden—a popular stop with many visitors to the Stuttgart Beer Festival.
Besides housing around 11,500 animals from all over the world, the Wilhelma is home to many beautiful parks, gardens, and greenhouses. What was originally the “pleasure gardens” of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg is now the only zoo/botanical garden in all of Germany.
6. Birkenkopf
Checking out the Birkenkopf is one of the stranger things to do in Stuttgart, but worth a visit no less. The Birkenkopf, at over 1,600 feet elevation (511m), is the highest point in Stuttgart. From here you can get sweeping views of the entire city center and all the way to the Black Forest.
However, what makes the Birkenkopf unique is that it is actually an artificial hill built atop the rubble and ruins left from World War II. After the war, 1.5 million cubic meters of rubble were stacked up to form what is now the Birkenkopf. At the top you can still see ruined buildings and a plaque explaining the hill’s history.
7. Killesbergpark
Killesbergpark is a beautiful urban park full of public art, fountains, gardening events, and a farm with animals. In short, it’s a great place to sober up between festival days.
The main attraction of the park, however, is the Killesbergturm—a 131-foot double-helix tower with multiple viewing platforms. Visitors can climb the tower for free for more awesome views of Stuttgart.
Palaces and such
Because this is Europe, you can still expect a list of royal palaces (and the like) on this list of things to do in Stuttgart. Time to fancy-up your beer festival trip.
8. Ludwigsburg Palace
Ludwigsburg Palace is known as the “Versailles” of this part of Germany. It’s made up of 452 rooms across 18 buildings and you’re going to visit every single one of them. Okay, that’s not true, but you do get to tour the place!
Ludwigsburg Palace, if the statistics above didn’t clue you in, is the largest palatial estate in Germany and dates back to the early 1700s.
As one of the coolest things to do in Stuttgart either before or after your time at the festival, you can take a 90-minute guided tour of the palace to see many of the rooms, the palace gardens, and learn a ton of fancy fun facts.
9. New Palace and Schlossplatz
Unlike Ludwigsburg Palace which is a little outside the center of Stuttgart, the New Palace is found in the center of the city on what is known as the Schlossplatz. This former royal residence now houses some government offices but tours can still be arranged.
Though the New Palace is the centerpiece of the Schlossplatz, checking out this massive public square is still one of the neat things to do in Stuttgart. Schlossplatz is a great place to spend some time walking around, admiring the historical architecture, or enjoying one of the many open-air concerts.
10. Old Palace
Also found at the Schlossplatz is the Old Palace (circa 10th century), today the home of the Landesmuseum Württemberg. The Landesmuseum features collections of priceless archaeological artifacts, art, cultural history dating back to the Ice Age, and more.
More things to do in Stuttgart
11. Markthalle
Stuttgart’s Markthalle, with its Art Nouveau style, is the city’s central market. Stop by and browse the specialty foods, wine, produce, cheeses, spices, and more.
12. Fernsehturm
If you haven’t gotten enough stellar views of Stuttgart yet, head to the Fernsehturm—a 710-foot tall telecommunications tower. Though it is a working tower, visitors are welcome! The tower features viewing platforms and restaurants for sky-high dining.
Ready to check out the fun things to do in Stuttgart? Join one of our Cannstatter Volksfest tours today!
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