The capital of the Baden-Württemberg state, Stuttgart is located in the “cauldron,” a vineyard-laced valley on the banks of the Neckar River, ringed by a necklace of green hills which blend eventually into Germany’s Swabian Alps and Black Forest. A long-time agricultural center, Stuttgart also become known as the “cradle of the automobile”, with the Mercedes-Benz Museum and Porsche Museum now among the city’s top tourist attractions. In addition to the numerous cultural attractions, the area’s forests, hills, vineyards and riverside make running in Stuttgart a pleasure.
The best places to run in Stuttgart include some beautiful parks and gardens near downtown that are also great for sightseeing, such as the Castle Gardens and Rosenstein Park. Runners can also enjoy waterfront running on the long multi-use path along the Neckar River (including Max-Eyth-See) or the paths around Rotwildpark/Barensee. For great views of the city from the surrounding hillside, the Schimmelhüttenweg, Fernsehturm Stuttgart, and Birkenkopf offer plenty of scenery and hill training opportunities. Rösslesweg is a unique 50 km hillside loop around the city that can be used as an anchor for running in Stuttgart. If you visit on a Saturday, don’t miss Parkrun at Kräherwald.
Getting around Stuttgart is a cinch. In addition to the U-Bahn local rail/subway, there are buses, a tramway, and the S-Bahn light rail. Our thanks to Sanwald Laufteam, for their help with this guide!
