The Danube Valley from Sigmaringen to Tuttlingen is not so widely known and is not as popular as the nearby Black Forest. But these stunning views are worth spending a day biking, hiking, or even just taking the train along. In this topic we will look at the Danube source and the Danube Valley (with maps) and get to Sigmaringen.
around stuttgart
Schwäbisch Gmünd and Aalen
Schwäbisch Gmünd and Aalen lie on the “short” road from Stuttgart to Nuremberg. Here the Swabian Alb ends, passing into the hilly Swabia, with deep winding valleys in which tributaries of the Neckar flow – three tributaries begin near Aalen. Previous generations fully appreciated the landscape: the Romans and medieval Swabians left in the region the remains of ancient Roman fortresses and a chain of half-timbered towns with city walls.
The region is suitable for excursions from Stuttgart or Ulm or for short holidays.
Bad Teinach Zavelstein castle and crocus fields
Once the inhabitants of the small town Zavelstein thought about the fact that the use of the land kills wild crocuses, and decided to fix it. First, they fenced off a piece of the fiel. Then they achieved that almost the entire field near their village fell under protection. They did not give it away for the construction of houses, did not build a nursing home, did not plow it up for rapeseed. But simply guarded so that once a year you could look at purple fields.
Schiltach in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald)
Preparing for the travel I rated for myself Schiltach in the Black Forest as “a particularly picturesque city” from the descriptions and photographs. Reality confirmed it: Schiltach is indeed a very picturesque town, very half-timbered and very floral. Unfortunately, we got into a midday break and could not go to the pharmacy museum, but we had a wonderful walk und visited another museum.
The town is located at the confluence of two rivers. To complete the picture, some kind of castle is missing. The castle was, but it is all over. There is only the castle hill, a covered wooden bridge and ruins remained – the rest was sold for building materials at the end of the 18th century.
Bad Urach Waterfall
Bad Urach – is a small spa town near the outlet town Metzingen. Suitable for day trips from Stuttgart (train) or in conjunction with something else. In the city itself there is an old center, a small palace, a thermal pool. There is a ruine of fortress on the hill. But most of people walk to the waterfall.
There are quite high hills around, limestone, eaten away by holes. With the stream, 5 kg of lime and God knows what else is carried out per day. So you shouldn’t drink the water, despite all its transparent stream appeal.
The Bad Urach waterfall is the third highest of those German ones that are outside the Alps (the first two are in the Black Forest), only 87 m.
Places to visit near Stuttgart. Map
Here we will focus on the places to visit near Stuttgart. In this article, I tell you about sights in the Stuttgart region that can be reached in short drive by car or by train. Excursion destinations in the Black Forest and on towards Lake Constance see other articles.
Esslingen Old town and map
Esslingen is located in the Neckar Valley near Stuttgart. Behind it the Neckar becomes unnavigable upstream, and from Stuttgart to Esslingen endless factories, plants and power plants stretch along the river.
Therefore, despite the fact that the old city itself is pretty, you can easily replace it with another one. You can find the same well-preserved half-timbered house in less industrial places: in Tübingen, Bad Wimpfen, Besigheim, not to mention the Black Forest.
Ludwigsburg palace and gardens
Ludwigsburg palace and gardens are not so well known. However, apart from Wilhelma, this is the most interesting place in the region. It is a must-see if you are staying in Stuttgart. In this post we see Ludwigsburg palace, gardens around, Favorit park up to Monrepos palace. I tell also about Ludwigsburg pumpkin festival.
Be sure to check if there are any extra activities. The city hosts a street music festival, while the park hosts musical fireworks and a great pumpkin festival.
Stuttgart zoo Wilhelma. Flowers
The zoo-botanical garden, unique in Germany, was built in Stuttgart in the middle of the 19th century for King William (Wilhelm) 1 of Württemberg. Therefore the name Wilhelma. About 9000 thousand animals are represented. Greenhouses are open to the public: among the most important are collections of orchids, magnolias (March), camellias (winter).
It would seem that over the years we have studied Wilhelma inside and out. And nevertheless, each visit brings at least small, but discoveries.
Stuttgart zoo Wilhelma. Animals
I think the previous topic has convincingly proved that Wilhelma is worth a visit for the sake of flowers alone. Now let’s add the animals as well. Map is on the end of the post.