Stuttgart

Sichtbar (visible) helps you to keep everything in perspective and look great at the same time: In the purist and stylishly designed shop you only find selected pieces, and many of the glasses have come in directly from one or the other trendy fashion week. Sichtbar not only promises the latest trends but also keeps its promise. The labels are national and international - a good mix. They include: Dsquared, Oliver Goldsmith, IC!Berlin, Mykita, Marni, Oliver Peoples, Paul Frank, REIZ, Robert La Roche, Tom Ford. And if you have perfect eyesight, don't be sad - there's a huge selection of sunglasses, too.   You won't just find the perfect advice when it comes to style, the optician's team, too, is extremely capable and has an individual solution for every desire. Custom-made designs are part of the standard programme. Tip: For the lovely little ones you can get the wonderfully colourful glasses by Bbig.

In 2005, the fantastic new building was inaugurated and since then people keep wondering: What's more spectacular, the building, whose glass shell shines brightly at night, or the objects that are displayed on 5,000 m² inside? The collection is grouped around four topics: The ornament, the subversive-ironic strategy, the transition from the free to the applied arts and the political-sociocritical approach. The latter is characterized by Otto Dix - the museum owns the biggest collection of the expressionist, including some masterpieces from the 20th century. Yet also Adolf Hölzel, Willi Baumeister, Fritz Winter and Dieter Roth are well worth seeing. The collection spans from the 18th century to the present, and if you get tired from looking at so much art, you can recover your spirits on the top floor. The restaurant Cube is known for great food and a wonderful view of the city. If you don't have much time, just get an espresso in the bar o.T.

If you have enough of the bustling Königstraße shopping mile, just follow the flow to the listed building of the Parliament of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Here you fill find the Plenum, a culinary oasis of calm in Stuttgart. In principle you can, while waiting for your order to arrive, continue with sightseeing: The restaurant is entirely glassed-in and offers the most beautiful view of the Eckensee, the castle, the opera and the palace gardens. If you look around the inside of the restaurant you will discover dark parquet flooring, discreet tables and Phillip Starck chairs.   This is where the chic and elegant locals come to enjoy coffee and cake or one of the many fascinating main dishes. The menu includes extraordinary delicacies made of primarily regional products, without appearing over-the-top. Whether a sandwich with buffalo mozzarella or braised veal cheeks, everything is reasonably priced. Except for the dessert. Yet those are really quite something: Coconut tart on sheep's milk yogurt-chamomile ice cream and papaya sauce, pralines of goat and cow milk cream cheese with pepper compote or sweet caprese - buffalo mozzarella sorbet with strawberry salad, fried Thai basil, vanilla olive oil and pine seed brittle. Yummy!

Whether in an apartment, a double or a dorm room - at the Hostel Alex you always have a comfy stay. The idea is just as simple as it is successful: You combine the service of a hotel with the prices of a hostel. The rooms are simply but beautifully furnished, and those who are out and about a lot won't make much use of a luxurious hotel, anyway. Instead of gold fixtures, antiquities and knick-knacks you get a hearty breakfast and nice people from all over Europe that you can get to know along the way.   If you want to stay longer and cater for yourself, then an apartment would be perfect for you. If you book early enough, maybe the one with the rooftop terrace will still be available. Doubles start at about 56 euros a night, and the big apartment at 90 euros (for two persons).