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If you're from the Stuttgart area, pile in the car and see where the open highway takes you! Here are a few favorite villages, towns and small cities that are worthy of the time.
Location: 10 miles/25 minutes north of Stuttgart
Love it for: its historical town center with a spacious square framed by graceful arcades and Baroque churches.
Don’t miss: at the end of September each year, the city becomes a huge antiques market, with around 170 dealers offering treasures from their stalls. (Sept. 28-29, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. both days)
Location: 12 miles/ 25 minutes southwest of Stuttgart
Love it for: dozens of charming historical buildings, several of which date back over a thousand years; its narrow cobblestone streets and peaceful canals, overlooked by a castle on a hill.
Don’t miss: hiking through the vineyards surrounding the town during its annual Weinwandertag each May.
Location: 20 miles / 30 minutes east of Stuttgart
Love it for: an Old Town brimming with half-timbered houses, romantic alleyways, modern sculptures and the surrounding nature of the Rems Valley.
Don’t miss: SchoWo, or Schorndorf Week, is a lively city fest with concerts, street acts, a parade and plenty more to see and do. It takes place July 12-16 and July 19 in 2019.
Location: 28 miles / 50 minutes south of Stuttgart
Love it for: the market square and its stunning Town Hall and with its painted facades and astronomical clock; an avenue lined with plane trees; colorful, stately homes along the Neckar River and a castle towering high above the town.
Don’t miss: ChocolART, an international chocolate festival with plenty of tasty treats. In the evenings, the facades of the buildings of the town are lit up in illuminations. This takes place Dec. 3-8 in 2019.
Location: 40 miles / one hour east of Stuttgart
Love it for: its two strikingly beautiful squares and buildings representing architectural styles from Romanesque to Gothic to Baroque; a setting surrounded by rolling hills, and an almost Mediterranean flair.
Don’t miss: take in the Remstal Gartenschau, a themed walk by some of the town’s prettiest sights and natural beauty spots.
