What to See in Stuttgart, Germany: Free Audio Guide

Stuttgart is the capital of Baden-Württemberg and a city shaped by royal history, art, architecture and the automobile. From palace gardens and historic houses to the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche museums, there are plenty of things to do in Stuttgart. Neywo’s free audio guide for Stuttgart covers 273 narrated places, helping you explore the city as you walk.

What to See in Stuttgart

Schloss Solitude

West of Stuttgart, Schloss Solitude is one of the city’s most distinctive Rococo landmarks. Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, commissioned it in 1764 as a hunting retreat. Designed by Johann Friedrich Weyhing and Philippe de La Guêpière, the palace was completed in 1769 as a grand complex combining Rococo and emerging Neoclassical influences.

The original estate included avenues, gardens, a hedge maze, theater, orangery, riding hall, chinoiserie house and zoos. Its gardens and nearby forests were also maintained for court hunting. After falling into disuse, the palace underwent restoration between 1972 and 1983, bringing its interiors back to life.

Württemberg Mausoleum

On the hill known as the Württemberg stands the Württemberg Mausoleum, also called the Grabkapelle Rotenberg. King William I of Württemberg commissioned it after the death of his second wife, Catherine Pavlovna of Russia. The memorial, built between 1820 and 1824, became the final resting place of the couple and their daughter, Maria Friederike Charlotte.

Giovanni Salucci designed the circular building, which has three porticos and a free-standing dome. Its interior follows the tradition of a Russian Orthodox church, with a vestibule, nave and chancel. Corinthian columns and marble statues of the Four Evangelists add to the solemn character of the space.

Mercedes-Benz Museum

The Mercedes-Benz Museum traces the history of one of the world’s best-known automotive brands. Its collection includes more than 160 vehicles, from early motorcars to important Mercedes-Benz models and associated marques.

The building is an attraction in its own right. Designed by UN Studio, it is based on three overlapping circles whose centers have been removed. The resulting triangular atrium recalls the shape of a Wankel engine, while a double-helix layout accommodates 16,500 square metres of exhibition space.

The museum opened to the public on May 19, 2006, directly outside the main gate of the Mercedes-Benz factory in Stuttgart.

Porsche Museum

At Porscheplatz in Zuffenhausen, the Porsche Museum presents the development of the carmaker through road and racing vehicles arranged in chronological order. Highlights include the Porsche 356 No. 1 Roadster, different generations of the Porsche 911, and the Porsche 550 and 917.

The museum building, completed in 2009, appears to hover above the ground on three supporting columns. Outside, three tall pillars form a sculpture, each carrying an iconic Porsche 911 from a different decade. Porsche’s connection with Stuttgart began in 1931, when Ferdinand Porsche moved to the city and began designing engine components.

Staatsgalerie Stuttgart

The Staatsgalerie Stuttgart is one of the most important art museums in Baden-Württemberg. Its collection includes paintings from the High Middle Ages onward, nineteenth-century sculptures and an extensive graphic collection.

The museum combines the original Alte Staatsgalerie, which opened in 1843, with the Neue Staatsgalerie. Designed by James Stirling and opened in 1984, the extension is regarded as a masterpiece of postmodern architecture in Germany. The museum complex was rebuilt after being practically destroyed during the Second World War and reopened in 1948.

StadtPalais, Museum for Stuttgart

The StadtPalais, Museum for Stuttgart, tells the story of the city from the Wilhelm Palais on Konrad-Adenauer-Straße. The classicist city palace previously housed Stuttgart’s central public library, the city administration and the German Foreign Institute. Air raids in 1944 caused major damage, and the building was later reconstructed before being converted into a museum.

The museum opened on April 14, 2018. It provides a useful introduction to Stuttgart’s urban history while also showing how the city’s historic buildings have been adapted over time.

Weissenhof Estate and Weissenhof Museum

The Weissenhof Estate, or Weißenhofsiedlung, is one of Stuttgart’s clearest showcases of early modern architecture. Built for an exhibition in 1927, it brought together seventeen architects under the artistic direction of Mies van der Rohe. The result was twenty-one houses, including apartments, detached homes and terraced buildings.

The buildings explore practical ideas about modern housing, with flat roofs used as terraces, continuous bands of windows, streamlined façades and open interiors. Their colours were not limited to white: some architects used light pink, orange, blue and green.

The Weissenhof Museum occupies a semi-detached building designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. Opened in 2006, it focuses on the history of the estate and modern architecture. Since 2016, the building has formed part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated to Le Corbusier’s work.

Kunstmuseum Stuttgart

In the centre of Stuttgart, the Kunstmuseum is recognizable by its cube of glass and stone. Opened in 2005, it presents modern and contemporary art together with selected works from Stuttgart’s municipal collection.

During the day, the glass façade gives the building a sleek appearance. At night, the illuminated limestone walls become more prominent. The collection includes artists such as Otto Dix, Willi Baumeister, Adolf Hölzel and Dieter Roth, with particularly important holdings of works by Otto Dix.

Klösterle in Bad Cannstatt

Klösterle is the oldest surviving residential building in Stuttgart, dating from around 1465. This half-timbered house may have been inhabited by Beguines, a religious community of women, during the Middle Ages.

Its most unusual feature is a Gothic chapel built into the first floor. Klösterle is also associated with the Stadtmuseum Bad Cannstatt, but the historic house itself remains the main reason to visit.

Burgholzhof Observation Tower

The Burgholzhof Observation Tower offers wide views over Stuttgart’s vineyards, Bad Cannstatt, Hallschlag and the Neckar Valley as far as Esslingen am Neckar. The protected historic landmark rises about 27 metres above Burgholzhof, with a covered main platform 18.7 metres above the ground.

The viewpoint is reached by a wooden staircase with 100 steps. The lower section is built from Cannstatt travertine, while the upper part is made of brick with travertine framing its corners. The foundation stone was laid on May 25, 1891, and the tower opened on September 19 of the same year.

Straßenbahnwelt Stuttgart

Straßenbahnwelt Stuttgart follows more than 140 years of urban transport history. The story begins with Stuttgart’s first horse-drawn tram from 1868 and continues through the development of electric trams and the modern light rail era.

Across approximately 2,500 square metres, the museum displays historic vehicles and objects from the operation and technology of the city’s tramways. One highlight is the Stuttgart classic GT4, which remained in service until modern light rail systems replaced it in 2007.

MHPArena and Neckarpark

MHPArena is a major sporting venue in Stuttgart’s Neckarpark district of Bad Cannstatt and the home stadium of VfB Stuttgart. Completed in 1933, it has been rebuilt and expanded several times and can accommodate 60,058 spectators.

The stadium hosted the fourth World Championships in Athletics in August 1993. Athletes from 187 countries competed in 44 events between August 13 and 22. The venue has also carried several names, including Neckarstadion, Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion and Mercedes-Benz Arena; since July 1, 2023, it has been called MHPArena.

Explore Stuttgart with Neywo

Neywo offers six walking tours, one bus route and one bike route in Stuttgart:

• Six walking tours, ranging from 1.15 to 3.88 km and from 58 to 103 minutes, with 4 to 11 narrated stops each.
• One bus route, 7.7 km and 33 minutes, with 9 narrated stops.
• One bike route, 4.4 km and 22 minutes, with 6 narrated stops.

The walks cover Stuttgart’s old town, the cultural mile, Weissenhof and Killesberg, the Leonhard Quarter, Bad Cannstatt and Neckarpark. The bus route runs from Killesberg Park to the old town, while the bike route follows the Green U from Killesberg to Rosenstein Park.

Download Neywo and explore Stuttgart at your own pace. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, with no group and no schedule. After Stuttgart, continue discovering Baden-Württemberg or explore more of Germany.