My husband and I have booked flights into Stuttgart for early July (2nd-9th) and we plan to rent a car and do a circular tour. We would like to visit the Black Forest but are flexible as we would like to see the best towns, castles, vinyards and other places of historic or sightseeing interest. We spent a weekend in Stuttgart recently so we%26#39;re happy not to re-visit the city (we just picked the airport as it was convenient flight-wise).
I would appreciate recommendations of places to visit and recommended routes, as well as where to stay and eat. It is our wedding anniversary on the 5th (Sunday) so we%26#39;d like to eat and stay somewhere special that night, but on others nights we are happy to stay in good quality bed and breakfast accomodation.
My husband is fluent in German, so we do not need to stay in English-speaking accommodation.
Thanks to everyone in advance for all their recommendations. Louise
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Well, for a great place for food for a wedding anniversary would be in Baiersbronn ( www.baiersbronn.de ), a village in the Black Forest ( www.schwarzwald-tourismus.de ) which has Germany%26#39;s best restaurant and also two other Michelin-starred ones, definitely the place to dine in Germany. However, it might already be too late for reservations.
My recommendation for things to see would be to purchase two maps in the Shell regional map series of Germany (available from Shell gas stations and bookstores), Map #24 centered on Stuttgart and Map #16 which includes the southern part of the Black Forest to Lake Constance, and adjoining parts of Switzerland and France. These maps have everything needed to have an enjoyable vacation, with hundreds of places of interest and the attractions are rated.
Starting close to Stuttgart ( www.stuttgart-tourist.de ) are the well preserved medieval center of Esslingen ( www.esslingen.de ), and Germany%26#39;s largest perfectly preserved Baroque palace (in www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de which is an excellent source of the wonderful castles, palaces, medieval monasteries, and gardens operated by the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg- www.tourismus-bw.de ), the Swabian Versailles, in Ludwigsburg ( www.ludwigsburg.de ). It has the best palace tour I%26#39;ve been on in Europe. Going down the Neckar River from Ludwigsburg are some lovely towns Besigheim ( www.besigheim.de ), Lauffen ( www.lauffen.de ), and Bad Wimpfen.
Tuebingen ( www.tuebingen.de ) with its hilly cobblestone streets, castle, interesting shops, and one of Europe%26#39;s oldest universities is always a joy for us to repeatedly visit, it is our favorite town in Germany.
There are three (there are many more) wonderful medieval monasteries fairly close to Stuttgart which I enjoy repeatedly revisiting: Bebenhausen by Tuebingen; Maulbronn north of Pforzheim; walled fortified Comburg by Schwaebisch Hall (a nice town in its own right), all are in www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de . For real castles, however fortresses in ruins, Hohenneuffen and Hohentwiel are excellent ( also in www.schloesser-und-gaerten.de ). Some excellent intact castles are Burg Hohenzollern ( www.burg-hohenzollern.com ), Schloss Lichtenstein ( www.schloss-lichtenstein.de ), and Germany%26#39;s oldest castle in the loveliest town on Lake Constance ( www.bodensee-tourimus.com ), Meersburg ( www.meersburg.de ). The castle/palace ( www.hohenzollern.com )in Sigmaringen ( www.sigmaringen.de ) is also excellent.
The Danube River west of Sigmaringen where it cuts through the Schwaebische Alb ( www.schwaebischealb.de ) is idyllic with many castles and palaces perched on the cliff tops. Another idyllic river through the Alb is the Grosse Lauter River (you can canoe on the placid water if desired- www.kanutouren.com ) with one of the highest concentrations of German castle ruins, and Germany%26#39;s oldest state stables ( www.gestuet-marbach.de ) are at Marbach (Gomadingen).
The Lake Constance area is very nice, with the Swiss Alps across the lake. My favorite areas of Germany are the previously mentioned Swabian Alb and Upper Swabia ( www.oberschwaben-tourismus.de only in German) with Germany%26#39;s highest concentration of beautiful Baroque churches and monasteries and the Baroque Road ( www.barockstrasse.org only in German). Steinhausen is called the most beautiful village church in the world.
The spa town of Baden Baden, Heidelberg, and the three walled towns of the Romantic Road, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbuehl, and Noerdlingen, are all within a two hour drive of Stuttgart. Ulm with its record church spire height cathedral is also nearby.
There are numerous vineyards in many of the area I%26#39;ve mentioned, and beside vineyards Stuttgart also has many attractions you%26#39;ve probably haven%26#39;t seen. The new Porsche Museum opens tomorrow to join the excellent Mercedes Benz Museum. The TV tower is the world%26#39;s first modern one and has an observation deck. Wilhelma ( www.wilhelma.de ) is Europe%26#39;s largest combined zoo-botanical garden. Weissenhofseidlung is a collection of architecturally famous houses built for a 1927 exhibition of world-reknown architects. The opera and ballet are excellent. Museum am Loewentor has an excellent collection of the wonderful local dinosaur and Ice Age mammals, and Museum Hauff in nearby Holzmaden has an excellent collection of fossils from the fossil quarries there, in which with a small fee you can also collect.
For other ideas in this area of Germany, just click on my name and look at the hundreds of my forum posts on this area.
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Many thanks, MarcoPolo, this is most comprehensive and very much appreciated. Regards, Louise
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