Stuttgart

The blood sisters have long been a star at the fashion heavens that no one wants to miss! And where did this never-ending family story begin? 2001, in a little shack near the Stuttgart train station. The founders of the label, Christina Haneberg and Karin Ziegler, have long passed this stage: As early as 2003 they won the first award for best fashion designer newcomers. Blood sisters attract attention, after all. Their collections are popular all over Europe, but since you happen to be at the point of origin you should absolutely visit the main shop in Stuttgart, the L'aufbrezelsteg. Take at least one piece of this unconventional, authentic, amazing, unique, exciting and passionate fashion home with you.

The pleasures of the night are the main points on the agenda of the concept store Night Delight in Stuttgart. Spread over 35 square metres of minimalist architecture Ulrike Brucher offers a range of fine products: lingerie (for example by Huit, Stella McCartney, Princess Tam Tam), cosmetics (Escentric Molecules, Jimmyjane) and jewellery (Saskia Diez, Arena CPH).   She explicitly wants her customers to sample the fragrances or slip into the sheer silk pieces. In the meantime you can taste the hand-made chilli chocolate. The in-house Ecoline received the must-have seal by women's magazine Elle.   The store concept even exceeds its opening hours. In this sense, you can find the so-called Slip-O-Mat by Night Delight in selected bars in Stuttgart and Berlin that provides female nighthawks wearing the wrong undies with the essentials for a hot adventure: a fine string and a pack of teeth cleaning tablets.

A city tour with a four-legged companion? Why not. In the Hotel Seybold pets are warmly welcomed. This is said and done easily, since the villa from the turn of the century is located in the countryside, at the edge of Stuttgart. You can enjoy the city from a wonderful perspective day and night - the view over the nightly sea of lights is simply unbeatable. Who else has enjoyed this view? Jose Carreras, for example, Michael Schumacher and the entire team of flowers and flowerpots on the balconies. The place has a calm and family-style atmosphere, including a very personal service that starts with a hearty breakfast. The rooms are spacious and airy, and each of them is individually furnished. In the Seybold you feel less like a guest, but more like a family friend. If you want to cook for yourself and or travel with your family, you can rent one of the apartments with kitchen. Doubles start at 95 euros a night.

This hotel kills two birds with one stone. It's close to the city centre, just like you wish for as a city hopper. Additionally it's located in a quiet, green area - which is unusual for a hotel with such a proximity to the city centre. If you come home from your shopping expedition or cultural trip in the city you can afterwards take a stroll through the forest or have a match on the tennis court. In the fitness and sauna area with view on the forest relaxation and recharging your batteries are on the daily agenda. The 94 rooms and two suites are dominated by a modern country style, combining historical and contemporary design. In the recently refurbished hotel complex the guest finds among natural materials like oak, marble and felt a harmonious atmosphere for recreation - and in this way experiences an exciting connection to the forest in front of the door. 

The Schloss Solitude (Solitude Palace) is worth a visit simply because of its location on the heights southwest of Stuttgart, opening up to a magnificent view of the landscape. It was built on behalf of Duke Carl Eugen, between 1763 and 1769. The castle is the magical centre of a grand complex that is considered an impressive example of the late rococo.   Visitors can explore the inside of the castle throughout the year as part of guided tours, and they do this in great numbers: Stroll through the banquet rooms, the white hall, the music room and the meeting room, and visit the Duke's apartment to get in idea of how noblemen used to live their private lives. Carl, for example, liked to relax in the marble hall and the palm tree room. The ceiling paintings by Nicolas Guibal as well as the frescoes in the basement are particularly interesting.   In 1990, the Academy Solitude Palace has moved into the officer and cavalier buildings. The academy offers apartment-studios to young artists and hosts a number of events that promote aspiring young artists at the interface between the arts and sciences.

Once upon a time... there were people with lots of money. For example King William I., who had a private garden built that would put row house owners on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Today the former retreat of the royal has been converted into a public garden, attracting 2.1 million visitors a year. Special feature: It's a zoological-botanical garden, with exotic animals as well as unusual plants. Free guided tours will help you when your biological and botanical knowledge is exhausted after the first few steps.   The complex was designed in a Moorish style by the architect Karl Ludwig von Zanth. The Swabian kign flirted with the idea of an Alhambra at the Neckar. Today the Moorish country house, the ballroom and the Damascene Hall are reminiscent of that. Take your time, there's a lot to discover that even turns the most hardened city dwellers into nature lovers: magnolia, lily pond, subtropical terraces and a sea of flowers. On top of everything you have lots of wild animals that you would expect in a zoo.

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!

Is this a nightclub? Or an escort agency? Don't be fooled by the velveteen name of the restaurant. It's a restaurant offering Haute Cuisine of the finest kind. Until not long ago, the chef, Matthias Herrmann. has cooked for the star-rated Zirebnstube. Now he has ended up in the red-light district of Stuttgart. Not because he fell from his glory, but because he can realize his own culinary ideas in the restaurant of Remo Heine.   The menu changes daily and is just as short as it is creative. Rarely do you find more than six dishes, but all of them are so delicious that the gourmet will have a hard time deciding. The interior is, just like the name, reminiscent of Paris: Slightly luxurious, but not overly so. Very stylish and also comfortable.