Trying to decide which one to visit - welcome all opinions!
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Being an American who has now lived in Stuttgart for almost three years, it is definitely my favorite city. It is calld the greenest city in Europe and has abundant forests, parks and vineyards within the city. The steep hillsides ar very attractive although most things are in the valley floor. There is plenty to see and do in Stuttgart as both a resident or a tourist. There is excellent opera and ballet, many excellent museums, and several good art galleries, and plenty of cafes to sit outside and watch the world go by any time of year. There are many events that attract over a million people including th spring and fall beer festivals, Europe%26#39;s largest and probably most beautiful Christmas Market, and the Wine Village. Stuttgart also has Europe%26#39;s second largest mineral waters with three large associated baths and Europe%26#39;s largst combination zoo-botanical garden set amidst the nice Moorish architcture of this former palace.
Within 100 km are the walled towns of the Romantic Road (Rothenburg, Dinkelsbuehl, Noerdlingen), two nice old college towns (Tuebingen, Heidelberg), three excellent medieval monasteries (Comburg, Bebenhausen, Maulbronn), parts of the Black Forest, the Schwaebische Alb (low limestone mountain range) with numerous castle ruins and caves, two fairytale-like castles (Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Lichtenstein), Ulm with its climbable record height cathedral spire, and numerous towns with dlightful old town centers. Nearby Esslingen has an excellent medieval town center and Ludwigsburg Germany%26#39;s largest perfectly preserved Baroque palace, with its tourable rooms, four excllent museums, a porcellan manufacturer, extensive gardens and two smaller associated palaces set in a deer park.
Information can be found at www.stuttgart-tourist.de
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Having just been there, I%26#39;d say start with Berlin. However, it really depends on what you%26#39;re looking for. Berlin is a large, but friendly city with plenty of sights and history. It%26#39;s easy to get around and to get the feel of the place in 3 days.
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You%26#39;ve posted on Berlin forum, presumably for a reason? I love Berlin, it%26#39;s very dynamic and full of history, with some beautiful parts (and some less so as all big cities). Obviously it depends a lot on your interests. Smaller places tend to be %26quot;prettier%26quot;; i like Freiburg im Breisgau a lot too for example and that%26#39;s also an intersting area to explore.
In any case our favourite might not turn out to be yours. Germany has so much to offer, whatever you chose I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll enjoy it.
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I think Berlin is my favourite city in the world - whenever I visit, I feel like I%26#39;ve come home and will be going back for the fourth time in two weeks.
It%26#39;s not the prettiest of cities, or the most romantic, but it definitely does something for me. I find the people friendly, the history fascinating and just love being there.
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I actually meant to post in the Germany forum, not sure why I ended up in Berlin? Perhaps it is fate!
We are actually coming to Germany primarily to go to the Christmas markets but I want to go somewhere that has something more to offer than just the markets. The only other places I have been to in Europe are Prague and Venice, so we%26#39;re looking forward to going somewhere different.
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Dresden is beautiful...
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I was in Berlin at start of Christmas markets last year, first time I%26#39;d visited that time of year (picking up keys to our apartment, that%26#39;s what big Berlin fans we are!) and it was really magical.
We%26#39;d been in Cologne%26#39;s Christmas markets the previous December (stopped off en route to friends in Giessen) and I really preferred Berlin as it didn%26#39;t seem so overrun by tourists, more variety in the different markets too. I liked the one near the Gedächtniskirche as it was a bit more haphazard in layout of stalls.
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Stuttgart is excellent for Christmas markets. Besides having Europe%26#39;s largest and most visited one, there are two other large themed Christmas markets 15 minutes away by S-bahn which each attract over 1 million visitors: Esslingen Medieval and Christmas Market which is medieval themed and takes place in the heart of this excellently preserved medieval town center; and Ludwigsburg Baroque Christmas Market which has a Baroque theme being close to Germany%26#39;s largest perfectly preserved Baroque palace with its tourable rooms, four excellent museums, porcellan manufacture and sales, extensive gardens, and two smaller associated palaces set in a deer park. Several days can be interestingly spent at this palace alone. Stuttgart also has several days worth of excellent things to do besides the Christmas market including the Mercedes Benz museum which is loved by all visitors irregardless of age or gender.
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Another vote for Berlin here. I agree with what Janie1 said above.
I have been to Berlin countless times because my partner%26#39;s a Berliner. I hope to return countless more. I find that there are limitless things to do there. So many interesting areas and neighbourhoods, museums, cafes, restaurants, stores, you name it. Obviously a lot of unique and interesting history too. No, it%26#39;s not the most beautiful German city, but I%26#39;d say it%26#39;s the most interesting. The transportation system is great.
Having said all that, lots of German cities are worth visiting! Germany is a very enjoyable place to visit, and relatively inexpensive compared to the other (western) European countries!
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Thanks for all your replies...the Mercedes Benz museum was mentioned, is there a VW museum? My husband is a Kombi fanatic!
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