With its 3 huge Schlösser (chateaux) scattered about town, quite simply Ludwigsburg will take your breath away. Just 20 minutes by train from Stuttgart and you could be standing in the broad Marktplatz deciding what to see first.
Alternatively, in the summer, you could cruise here slowly on the Neckar river — oohing and aahing at the stunning sights positioned alongside it.
Named after the Duke Eberhard Ludwig, this charming little town is known for its baroque atmosphere. And you don’t need to go far to see why. It has the vast, Versailles-inspired Residenzschloss wedged in the center of town, with 18 separate buildings and over 450 rooms!
The estate includes 3 new museums, refurbished in 2004 to celebrate their 300th anniversary. The Barockgalerie houses paintings from the Staatsgalerie collection. The Modemuseum displays a huge collection of original royal clothing and accessories. And finally, the Keramikmuseum showcases some delicate porcelain and majolica ceramics — some of which are still made (and sold) locally in Ludwigsburg.
The palace gardens (a 74 acre park no less) are open to the public as a separate attraction for the annual Blühendes Barock flower festival. Once inside, your ticket also allows access to the Fairy Tale Gardens for the younger visitors, a delicate Japanese garden and a decent sized exotic aviary.
Walk a further 10 minutes north from here to find the neighboring chateau of Schloss Favorite. Built inside the same park, this secluded 18th century palace was the venue of many extravagant parties in previous centuries.
Further afield, the spacious rococo Seeschloss Monrepos — set alone on a grand lake — is surrounded by vineyards. This impressive residence is still owned by the Württemberg family, who sell their home-grown wine from here.
Ludwigsburg is also famous for its film academy — the only one in Baden-Württemberg. As a result, the town regularly hosts film festivals drawing huge crowds to the area. This cultural link blossoms during the Schlossfestspiele (June–Sept) when the palaces host concerts, opera, dance, and many other exhibitions. Monrepos holds many of the open-air concerts — with the added attraction of being able to hire your own boat to take out onto the lake.
