Stuttgart for families

Children never get bored in Stuttgart. With its leading-edge, high-tech, hands-on museums, its exciting theme parks and its outdoor activities (cycling, horse riding, boat trips on the Neckar), the Stuttgart region has plenty to keep youngsters occupied and interested.

Stuttgart itself has two of Europe’s finest and most exciting museums: the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the impressive Porsche-Museum. What’s not to like about cars? Kids (and their parents!) are happy to spend hours here.

Then there is the Wilhelma Zoo, the only park in Europe to combine a zoo with botanical gardens – in the grounds of a 19th-century palace! Favorite attractions include the monkey breeding center, the demonstration farm with its petting zoo, and the Amazon display with its alligators.

At the Hauff Museum of the Prehistoric World (Umwelt Museum Hauff), children love the models of dinosaurs, prehistoric crocodiles, flying Plesiosaurs and the strange pterosaur, a predator that looks like a long-necked cousin of the turtle. As well as learning all about the Jurassic period, children can have a go at bashing rocks with a hammer and chisel – as Stone Age people did.  

The Schwaben Park in Welzheim is a theme park for little ones. Rides and petting zoos, the Free Fall Tower, the chimpanzee and the theater pet show are all set in lovely gardens. Nearby, the Ebnisee is a small lake, where little ones can splash about. Rent a row boat, pedal a pedal boat, enjoy a barbecue, have fun!