Half an hour away from Stuttgart, in the town of Ludwigsburg, is the vacation home of Stuttgart’s Regents, Dukes, and Kings. Ludwigsburg Palace is one of the best preserved Baroque palaces in Germany. Building began in 1715 and the town of Ludwigsburg grew around the castle. Today you can take a tour of the castle and/or its gardens.
The English castle tour (once a day) is the best castle tour around. Not only will you get the see the throne rooms, the bedrooms, the sitting rooms, the theater, the dance hall, the church, but you also get a tour of the servants’ quarters and a very interesting recollection of the history of the castle and the people who lived there. This is the most interesting and informative tour of the many castle tours available in Germany.
Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg was modeled after Versailles in France. Ludwigsburg Castle is every bit as impressive as Versaillesand and the outstanding tour makes it the most highly recommended palace to visit in southern Germany. At only 5 Euros, the tour is a also a deal.
An extra tour of the gardens is highly recommended if you have time. The gardens include the Märchengarten (Fairy Tale Gardens) with statues of characters from the most well-known German fairytales. Children can search for the Frog Prince or try to find their way around a large maze. An artificial ruin of Emichsburg castle is where Rapunzel lets down her hair to the delight of all children.
By Train: Take the Stuttgart S-Bahn to Ludwigsburg (see map at left, green circle with the letter S). Follow the map and walk to the castle.
By Car: From Stuttgart take the B27 Towards Ludwigsburg. The B27 will turn into Stuttgarterstraße. Take a right onto Schorndorferstraße. You will see the gardens. Take your first left and there will be parking on your left. You may want to drop off children and elderly at the gate (on Stuttgarterstraße) before parking.
