The most amazing Christmas markets in Stuttgart are part two of our travel visiting three German cities during the pandemic. You can read about our adventure in Dusseldorf as well as Frankfurt.

Hotel Steigenberger Graf Zeppelin

We traveled from Dusseldorf to Stuttgart by train. The train ride took about 4 hours. Once we arrived, we walked to our hotel. Vi had booked the Steigenberger Graf Zeppelin. As our rooms were not ready as we arrived early, the hotel offered to store our luggage in a special room. The hotel had a great location across from the train station and about a 5-minute walk to the city center. They offered an amazing breakfast.

Stuttgart Sights

The Stuttgart City Library

We started our Stuttgart visit with a 3-hour walking tour with a local. It was a cold sunny day. After a long train ride, it was great to stretch my legs. Our first stop was the City Library. We were not quite sure what to expect, but what an amazing building. From the outside, it looks like a giant cube with a lot of windows. It almost looks like an inverted pyramid. Inside, every floor looks the same, It has an open interior, and the walls are lined with bookshelves and books. It was opened in September 2011 and is one of the most photographed buildings in Stuttgart.

The rest of the tour consisted of walking through the adjacent mall, then a bit through the city center where we saw all the amazing lights in Schlossplatz.

Stuttgart’s Schlossplatz

The Schlossplatz is the largest square in Stuttgart and is located by the new Palace that was built between 1746-1807. This area holds multiple large events every year, such as open-air concerts, various fairs, and markets. As we were there for the Christmas markets, we had the opportunity to see eight amazing lights sculptures that represent Stuttgart’s famous landmarks.

Museum Hotel Silber

From the outside, it may look like an old hotel, but the inside tells a deeper and darker story. This hotel was at one point used as a Gestapo headquarter during the year 1937-1945. It started as an elegant hotel during the years 1874-1919, then it became a post office in 1928. The building always kept the original name. I can highly recommend the audio guide who will take you through the entire exhibition. It was very sad yet interesting.

Landesmuseum Württemberg

Württemberg State Museum is the main history museum of this German state. Its location is inside the old Castle of Stuttgart. It was founded in 1862 by King William I. There are over one million objects of great value in this region. As I admire gemstones, I loved the exhibition with all the jewels. It is worth a visit.

Markthalle Stuttgart

The Stuttgart Foodhall is located in the city center. The market opened in 1914. There are 33 booths are selling amazing flowers, food, bread, and other goodies. I can recommend a visit to all the “foodies” out there.

Stuttgarter Schlachthof – The Pig Museum

Sometimes when traveling, you get to see or visit something unexpected. How about a Pig Museum? A whole museum filled with pigs. All sizes. Think 50000+ pigs in 25 rooms. A whole lot of pigs. It is the largest pig museum in the world. The museum is housed in an old slaughterhouse – how fitting is that?

Stuttgart Christmas market

What would “The most amazing Christmas markets and more in Stuttgart ” be without a visit to the Christmas market? We were so incredibly lucky. Before we departed Dusseldorf, we found out that the German state of Bavaria canceled all Christmas markets the very morning we were supposed to arrive there.

When walking downtown on our first evening in, we noticed an area that looked like a Christmas market. No, could it be? It was a smaller area that had been closed in by fences. Inside they were selling typical Christmas market food and drinks. We just had to experience this. It is what we came for. To enter, you first had to show your Covid green pass – fully vaccinated. You also had to check in with the Luca App. Once we had downloaded the app, registered, and checked in all we had to do is showing the QR codes to the guard before we could finally enter.

The place was fairly crowded. Everyone was wearing masks, except when they were taking a sip or a bite of a little something. If you have followed our Christmas market trips, you will know the Gluhwein cups are very special, and to us, they are a true collectible. Stuttgart raised the bar for the cups. They were amazing. We had to try quite a few different drinks to get all the mugs. The regular Gluhwein, as well as hot apple wine, were so good.

Luckily we did it all the first night. When we came back the second night, they had been shut down.

Restaurants

Carl’s Brauhaus

Carl’s Brauhaus is an amazing brewery restaurant located at the Schlossplatz. It is a very busy place, with great staff that takes good care of you. The food, as well as the beer, was very good. It was so amazing that we went back a second time on our very last night. The crispiness of the skin on the pork knuckle was amazing. It was a place where both locals and visitors go to.

Block Haus

The Block Haus is a chain steakhouse that was located across the street from our hotel. As it was very cold this evening we opted to go somewhere close. The steaks were very good and staff friendly.

Coffee houses & Pastries

No visit to a European city would be complete without a daily stop at a coffeehouse or two. They have amazing pastries that just need to be sampled together with a cup of coffee or cappuccino.

Ludwigsburg

When planning the trip to Stuttgart, we researched an amazing Christmas market in the city of Ludwigsburg. Ludwigsburg is located about 7.5 miles (12km) north of Stuttgart and is easily reachable by train. We decided to still go there despite the Christmas market being canceled. There was so much to see so we ended up spending a full day.

Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg

Ludwigsburg Palace is one of the main attractions of this city. It is sometimes referred to as “the Versailles of Swabia”. There are over 450 rooms in 18 different buildings. It was built 1704-1737 for the Wurttemberg monarchs. You can tour part of the Palace, but they do not allow any photography inside. If you go during the colder months, bring a coat as there is no heating inside.

Blühendes Barock

The gardens of the Residenzschloss are called the Blühendes Barock – blooming baroque. They consist of over thirty acres of land, and the gardens have changed many times. At the time of our visit, they had a pumpkin exhibition as well as an unexpected light show. We were strolling in the gardens in the darkness, sipping a Gluhwein. Felt like winter.

Marktplatz

The Marktplatz is located in the middle of Ludwigsburg. This is where the Ludwigsburg Barock Christmas market takes place. All the huts were being taken down as the state of Bavaria canceled all events. I can imagine how special this place will be during a normal year. I hope to be able to see it in person one day.

Ludwigsburg Museum

They have a nice little museum by the tourist office. You can learn about the local history and see many artifacts. It is worth a visit.

To wrap it all up…

Stuttgart is an amazing city with so much history and many sights to see. We only saw a small part of what this city and region has to offer. There is a very good tourist office in the city center. You can get all kinds of information, as well as go shopping for one of the specialties of this region. 3 days were not enough and I would love to return one day, to experience the real Christmas markets in Stuttgart.

The most amazing Christmas markets and more in Stuttgart also included a one-day trip to Heidelberg. We decided to make this side trip as they still had their Christmas markets open. You will be able to read more here.

If you liked to read about this Christmas market trip, you can read all the other ones right here.