Small Towns in Baden-Württemburg Germany Worth Visiting

Having lived in Stuttgart, Germany for 5 months of my life, and due to Stuttgart’s industrial and relatively dry nature, I spent a solid amount of time exploring surrounding villages in the region. So, I’ve compiled a list of my favorites.

Esslingen Am Neckar

Esslingen is a beautiful city to the southeast of Stuttgart, with lots of old German cathedrals and traditional German restaurants. There’s plenty of great viewpoints, but the best one I found was from Dicker Turm, a type of old city wall that overlooks Esslingen’s medieval rooftops.

*The view overlooking Esslingen from Dicker Turm.*

Horben

I put this tiny tiny village on here because nearby is the Schauinslandbahn, which is a cable car that takes you up to the hills of the Black Forest. Not far from the cable car station at the top of the hill is the Berghotel Schauinsland, where I spent a week and a half in July of 2022 and it was an enchanting experience. I highly recommend checking the hotel out and staying if it’s an option, since the hotel and the surrounding area are absolutely beautiful.

Hiking trails stretch throughout the area and at the hotel you get a fantastic view of the rolling hills of the region. You’ll also be able to see the Swiss Alps on the horizon.

Of course, I’m probably biased, but this place holds a special spot in my heart.

*The area around Horben and the Berghotel is beautiful.*

Ludwigsburg

Having studied at the Filmakademie in Ludwigsburg for five months, I’m a little biased. However, that doesn’t mean that Ludwigsburg isn’t a very pretty little town. There’s lots to do, with tons of little shops, delicious restaurants with great patios and multiple large parks to hang out in. The castle grounds and especially the town square are the prettiest places in Ludwigsburg, but this little town has plenty of hidden gems.

I highly recommend the Gyros Store on Alleenstraße next to the Filmakademie, it has probably the best street gyros I’ve had on my travels.

*Ludwigsburg’s city center usually has some sort of festival or market on the weekends in the summer*.

Reutlingen

Reutlingen is a small town about an hour or so south of Stuttgart by train, and it’s a nice place to spend a day on a weekend wandering around. The winding streets and cafes are really pretty, and there are plenty of parks and places to explore.

Unfortunately I don’t have any good pictures of Reutlingen, but it’s a very nice town.

Tübingen

Tübingen is a beautiful city just to the west of Reutlingen and perhaps my favorite on this list. It has my favorite coffee shop in the whole entire world, Suedhang, and the vibes of this adorable little town are unmatched. When I was there in the summertime there were people playing pianos in the winding streets, riding kayaks down the river ways, and flowerbeds everywhere you looked. I highly, highly recommend visiting Tübingen.

Hopefully this post has convinced you to check out some of these amazing towns! Let me know in the comments if I missed any, and I’ll try to check them out the next time I’m in Germany!