Automotive sights in Germany?

[Wadeski]

Hey guys,

I'm planning a motoring history themed trip to Germany soon, and was hoping to tap the PH Mother Brain for knowledge.

So far, things on the potential to do list are:

Porsche museum (stuttgart)
Benz museum (stuttgart)
Benz Memorial Trail (how many people know the first car journey of significant distance was driven by a woman?)
Nurburgring or Hockenheim circuits
V8 Hotel in Stuttgart

Any other things to look out for? Ideally in the stuttgart / mannheim / heidelburg area but can be further away.

[Phil Music]

I can recommend the car and plane museum in Speyer (Technikmuseum Speyer), between Mannheim and Hockenheim circuit. Make sure to visit Rosensteinpark in Stuttgart, near the Mercedes museum for a break if it is a nice day.

[Phil Music]

Other sites:

Luisenpark in Mannheim is great.
Schlosspark Schwetzingen.
Heidelberg Schloss.

Anything is particular you are interested in? Park, museum, going out?

[RDMcG]

You could also do the BMW Museum in Munich, (much better than the Porsche)., ,and if you want to pop across the border to France, the Schlumpf collection in Mulhouse is simply amazing. If you are in Berlin, there is one great freebie that i visited... I wrote a note on it for Autoweek,,,,,

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100514/CARNEWS/3...

[Pabl0]

Some places with approximate distance from Stuttgart

The Audi Forums in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm - ~40 miles is Neckarsulm, ~100 miles is Ingolstadt

Fritz B. Busch Car Museum - ~ 100 miles.

BMW World in Munich - ~120 miles

The VW "Transparent Factory" in Dresden - ~260 miles

VW`s Autostadt family theme park in Wolfsburg - ~260 miles.

Plus some more here http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cac...

[Wadeski]

wow, top answers already

going out not so high on the agenda as I'm visiting with my dad, but anything historic / unusual is ace. Odd bits of history (like the M-B trail) are spot on, the kind of "did you know?" pub trivia stuff boring people like me love

[Spudler]

Sinsheim...




not far from the Audi factory either.

[RDMcG]

If you want something a little different you could try the Unimog Museum in Gaggenau, and get a ride:.


http://www.black-forest-travel.com/places-of-inter...

[Ricepilot]

Sinsheim is bloody fantastic.

Probably the best museum I have been to. Prepare to spend a long time there if you do go.

[byrrul]

Definitely recommend Sinsheim and Speyer.

You can drive a tank in Brandenburg, http://www.panzerkutscher.de/en/index.htm

I'm interested in Cold War stuff so I went to a lot of the old airfields that have been turned into museums in the former DDR, also some cool bunkers.

If you go to the see through factory in Dresden, the museum at the old Trabant factory in Zwickau is worth a look. http://www.horch-museum.de/

Also as an automotive theme there is a number plate museum http://www.nummernschildmuseum.de/index_e.html it is good, but I'm sad, I collect number plates.

Eisenach has the http://www.ame.eisenachonline.de/ museum which is at an old BMW factory (I think) then became EMW after war, now Opel produces cars nearby.

So much to see, so little time......

Edited by byrrul on Tuesday 7th September 20:57

[PH5121]

I've visited the Porsche museum, the Mercedes museum, the Auto Technical museum at Sinsheim, the Audi plant at Neckarsulm (which has a display of historic cars and toured the R8 production line) and would recommend all as being worthwhile visiting.

If you are staying in the Stuttgart area it is a very scenic drive through rolling country side and wooded valleys up to the Castle at Langenburg (which is owned by a cousin of the Queen or Prince Phillip). It sits on top of a hill which is a historic hill climb and there is a car museum there. It is also not far from Rothenburg which is a medieval walled town, and possible the most touristy place in Germany I have been to, but worth a visit. You then can get on a section of de restricted motorway back down to Stuttgart.

Edited to change Ludwigsburg to Langenburg - got me burgs mixed up!

Edited by PH5121 on Thursday 9th September 08:24

[RDMcG]

PH5121 said:

I've visited the Porsche museum, the Mercedes museum, the Auto Technical museum at Sinsheim, the Audi plant at Neckarsulm (which has a display of historic cars and toured the R8 production line) and would recommend all as being worthwhile visiting.

If you are staying in the Stuttgart area it is a very scenic drive through rolling country side and wooded valleys up to the Castle at Ludwigsburg (which is owned by a cousin of the Queen or Prince Phillip). It sits on top of a hill which is a historic hill climb and there is a car museum there. It is also not far from Rothenburg which is a medieval walled town, and possible the most touristy place in Germany I have been to, but worth a visit. You then can get on a section of de restricted motorway back down to Stuttgart.

Near Ludwigsburg is also the ediaeval toewn of Bad Wimpfen, which is simply beautiful and well worth a walk around.

[Stuart Davidson]

A couple of other suggestions:

As well as 'Mercedes-Benz world' at the factory in Stuttgart there's also the Mercedes Classic Center out at Fellbach!

Mercedes-Benz Classic Center
Stuttgarter Straße 90
70736 Fellbach

It's worth a visit. There used to be a huge old MFI type warehouse almost next door to it that had closed down and was used as a store for all overspill vehicles from the old museum. I remember getting shown around there and peering under the dust covers of some phenomenal cars... and then going for a whizz around the car park in one of the original Riding Car replicas!

Not sure if you can do AMG or BRABUS factory tours independently. AMG are just out at Affalterbach.

It might also be worth taking in one of the rounds of the DTM (Oschersleben on 19th Sept) (Hockenheim on 17th October) Usually good fun. I also like the trip over to Nuremberg.... especially for the Norisring Weekend in July. It's rather odd at times seeing the road circuit layout windng through the historical geography of the Nazi party grounds.

[Red&WhiteMonkey]

My better half is from Ludwigsburg, its a lovely part of the world and well worth exploring.

[shakotan]

Spudler said:

Sinsheim...




not far from the Audi factory either.

Not far, as in, London is not far from Doncaster?

[Hugo a Gogo]

anyone ever been to the army museum in Koblenz?

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wehrtechnische_Studie...

looks interesting

[Hugo a Gogo]

also Meilenwerk is in Stuttgart http://www.meilenwerk.de/Meilenwerk_Stuttgart_Was_...

there's one near me in Düsseldorf, it's worth a visít

basically classic owners pay for their cars to be stored somewhere where people can see them, and there are car sales and workshops in the same place and a restaurant/biergarten

[Spudler]

shakotan said:

Spudler said:

Sinsheim...




not far from the Audi factory either.

Not far, as in, London is not far from Doncaster?

If you can do London to Doncaster in a half or so, then yeah.....
tt

[shakotan]

Spudler said:

shakotan said:

Spudler said:

Sinsheim...




not far from the Audi factory either.

Not far, as in, London is not far from Doncaster?

If you can do London to Doncaster in a half or so, then yeah.....
tt

Half a what? Hour? Even on an unrestricted autobahn you'd need to be travelling at 320mph AVERAGE SPEED.

If you meant half a day, that's not exactly "not far".

(PS - Your ellipsis has two too many periods...)

(PPS - See?)

[shakotan]

(Waits for the sound of the penny dropping in Spudler's head, as he realises he meant the Porsche or Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart - 50 miles from Sinsheim - and not the Audi Museum, which is in Ingolstadt - 160 miles from Sinsheim.)

Edited by shakotan on Wednesday 8th September 21:09

Edited by shakotan on Wednesday 8th September 21:10