STUTTGART

STUTTGART

Understand Stuttgart was founded in the 10th century; its name is a modern version of the original Stutengarten ("mare's garden"). Presently it is the 6th largest city in Germany. It is most famous for its automotive industry - both Porsche and Mercedes-Benz have their headquarters in Stuttgart and both have car museums. Stuttgarters are amazingly friendly people who will forgive you if German isn't your first or second (or any) language. If you do speak German well: beware of their dialect - Schwäbisch German can differ from other forms of German (be prepared to hear the word "gell" a lot!) They love to practice other languages (especially English). Stuttgart is a big city with a small-town atmosphere. By planeStuttgart has one airport, located in Leinfelden-Echterdingen. Various airlines including low cost airline TUI serve direct flight connections between Stuttgart and major German and European cities. It will not be difficult to book a flight to Stuttgart from outside Europe connecting through a major hub such as London Heathrow or Paris Charles de Gaulles. Fares usually don't differ if you fly into Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg or Stuttgart. Lufthansa has an agreement with Deutsche Bahn/German rail and your commuter flight from Frankfurt could be actually be a train ride. This is very convienent if you head for Stuttgart CBD. Delta Airlines has a direct service from Atlanta to Stuttgart. Depending on the success the route will maintain service, but considering the US Military Overseas Headquarters is located here, it seems most likely.. You'll most likely want to go to the center of Stuttgart but are now standing somewhat outside at the airport in Leinfelden-Echterdingen. The best way is the Public Transport which is clean, cheap and safe. Public Transport The S-Bahn line S2 or S3 will bring you to Stuttgart's center within 27 minutes (see Timetable from station 'Flughafen' to station 'Hauptbahnhof'). Several bus lines head for other destinations. Taxis will be waiting at the airport and are the fastest connection to SAP in Walldorf. To call airports taxi service: Phone 0711/ 9 48-44 09 To call Stuttgarts Taxi Central: Phone: 0711/ 56 6061. By trainThe main station (Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof) is located in the very center of Stuttgart. Timetables for trains and booking are available on the webpages of Deutsche Bahn AG. For getting on from Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof and around in the city of Stuttgart itself, see Public Transportation below. If you are in a wheelchair or pushing children in strollers and don't know the station, figuring out how to get out of the station is difficult. The entrances at the front of the station have many stairs and signs pointing to the appropriate door are difficult to find. To enter or exit the station, go to the north side entrance near the Intercity Hotel. Outside, there is an incline down to the street level and a ramp leading down into the Stadtbahn and S-Bahn stations. By carThe state highways A8 and A81 form a cross near Stuttgart ('Stuttgarter Kreuz'). The City is located in the upper right quarter of that cross. West/east-Highway A8 passes Stuttgart slightly to the south, north/south-highway A81 passes slightly to the west. Generally, follow the sign "Stuttgart Zentrum" to get to the center of Stuttgart (and try to not lose yourself in a suburb district: there are smaller towns all over the place melted together to form Stuttgart.) Smaller but important routes from the center of Stuttgart to the areas outside are the B10 (to the east: Esslingen, Göppingen), B14 (to the southwest: 'Stuttgarter Kreuz', Sindelfingen, Böblingen) and B27 (to the south: airport, Tübingen, Reutlingen, to the north: Ludwigsburg). During rush hours, all streets in the region will be a mess! Avoid 07:30 to 9:30 o'clock and 16:30 to 18:30 o'clock. Highway A8 between Stuttgart-Karlsruhe is always a potential traffic-jam during worktime. Never ever during rush hours drive near 'Pragsattel' (traffic node, connecting the northern suburbs). It kills your dayPublic transportationPublic transportation is provided by the Stadtbahn (U-bahn) and S-Bahn. For short distances, it is best to use the Stadtbahn (or bus if necessary). For longer distances (to get to the suburbs) the S-Bahn is faster but has fewer stations than the Stadtbahn. Unlike the UK, Stuttgart's public transport is fully integrated and a travel ticket can be used on any mixture of buses and trains/trams that may be required to complete the journey. Public transportation at late night (after 0:00am) is a problem! On the weekend there are night buses, but they are infrequent (1:11am, 2:00 am, 2:22am, 3:10 am and 3:33am) and on odd routes. Be careful if you have a very early airplane since there are no connections to the airport in the early morning between 1 and 5. If you are staying for more than a day, for added mobility buy a special 3 days ticket ("3-Tage-Ticket"). These are available from: Hotels The airport The tourist information office at the end of Königstraße nearest Hauptbahnhof - but make sure you take proof that you're a tourist (eg. hotel booking confirmation). There are two types of 3-day tickets available; one covers the main Stuttgart city and the other is valid for the entire VVS network, including Ludwigsburg. The city transport network is separated in zones. The city of Stuttgart is only Zone 10 and 20. Normal tickets are available at the many automats in the stations. Travel tickets are usually purchased (and priced) to cover the number of zones for the journey. "All day" tickets are good value for visitors as are "four-journey" tickets. These "four-journey" tickets have to be stamped in the machines on the buses and trains/trams - once at each end and on both sides. Fare-dodging is severely frowned upon and plain-clothes inspectors are on constant patrol. There are six S-Bahn lines (S1...S6) and 12 Stadtbahn lines (U1...U9 + U13...U15) and several bus lines. Most lines will lead via Hauptbahnhof, ending in a layout that is pretty centralistic: If you want to go somewhere, chances are, you have to ride via Hauptbahnhof. The following Stadtbahn or S-Bahn stations are located in the heart of the city: Hauptbahnhof, Schlossplatz, Charlottenplatz, Stadtmitte (Rotebühlplatz), Feuersee, Rathaus, Staatsgalerie, and Berliner Platz (Liederhalle). For a complete de******ion see the official map of rail network. A speciality of public transportation is the rack-railway between Stuttgart-Marienplatz and Stuttgart-Degerloch. It is the only urban rack-railway in Germany! There is an old cable-car running from Stuttgart-Heslach to the cementary. It is landmarked. is a useful tool that gives prices and detailed information on how to reach every location, including foot paths to buildings. Stuttgart's public transportation on the web - Homepage: http://www.vvs.de - English version: http://www.vvs.de/en/index.php Escalators in Germany are a two-lane affair. "Gehen" on the left (to walk with the escalator) and "Stehen" on the right (to stand still). Non-compliance of this scheme is frowned upon! WalkingIn the inner city, walking is no problem. The distances are not far and a traversal of the inner city by foot can be easily done within 25 minutes. UK visitors should prepare themselves for small cultural differences: The Germans will patiently wait at a pedestrian crossing, even when no traffic is coming, until the "green man" comes on. If pedestrian crossings are provided, Germans won't cross a road anywhere except at a crossing. Stuttgart is quite safe. Even at night one may walk alone through the city without fear. One rare exception is the central city park, which should be avoided during late night hours. Of course, always use common sense when walking in a foreign city at night. The biggest danger for a pedestrian in Stuttgart is probably the cars. To get a sense for the inner city, you should get to know following streets and places: Königstraße: Hauptbahnhof, Schlossplatz, McDonalds 1. Rotebühlplatz: Calwer Passage Marienstraße: McDonalds 2. Rathaus: Marktplatz (Rathausplatz), Schulstraße Stadtpark: Staatstheater, Staatsgalerie, Charlottenplatz Bolzstraße, Friedrichsbau, Liederhalle [edit] BikingBiking in Stuttgart is not recommended for the city lies in a basin of a hilly region the Stuttgarters call "Kessel", literally "cauldron". There is a lot of car traffic, and routes for bikes are not well developed. Biking in the outlying areas of Stuttgart, e.g. in the Neckar Valley or the Schönbuch (just south of the city) is very nice. Stuttgart is one of the greenest urban areas in Europe. There are many paths through the surrounding forests which are in very good shape. [edit] By carIf you intend to drive by car inside Stuttgart, the only possibility to park are parking blocks at about 1,50 EUR per hour. One secret hint might be the parking place at the Landtag. Some parking blocks are closed during late night, providing no way of getting your car out. The street layout and numerous tunnels in Stuttgart can be confusing for tourists. Driving by car is not recommended. Car drivers should know following ring and how to get there and off again, if trying to master an inner city ride.