Ludwigsburg

Palace morning and Märchengarten afternoon on a Ludwigsburg day

Ludwigsburg's palace and gardens take a full day. Take the first guided tour of the Residenzschloss state rooms, lunch on the arcaded Marktplatz, then spend the afternoon in the Blühendes Barock gardens and the Märchengarten. Towards evening, walk through the Favorite park to Seeschloss Monrepos and its lake, or ride the S-Bahn to Stuttgart.

Arrive by S-Bahn before ten and walk up from the station to the Residenzschloss. Join the first guided tour of the state rooms, built between 1704 and 1733, and leave time for the museums inside the wings and the baroque palace theatre.

Lunch on the Marktplatz, where the Catholic and Protestant churches face each other across the arcaded square. In the afternoon, return to the palace for the Blühendes Barock: the formal south garden first, then the Märchengarten in the valley below. From late August, the pumpkin sculptures take over the paths, and the whole visit can stretch to three hours.

Towards evening, walk north through the Favorite park, past the hunting lodge built in 1713 to 1728 and the fenced deer and mouflon, then follow the avenue to Seeschloss Monrepos for the lake at sunset. If the evening is still young, the S-Bahn puts Stuttgart 15 minutes away for dinner. A second day could be spent on a Neckar cruise or on a regional train to Heilbronn or Heidelberg.

Maultaschen, Spätzle and Württemberg Trollinger

Ludwigsburg eats Swabian food. Order Maultaschen in broth or fried with egg, Käsespätzle, Linsen mit Spätzle at lunch or Zwiebelrostbraten on Sundays, and drink Württemberg Trollinger or Lemberger by the quarter litre. Traditional inns around the Marktplatz cook these dishes, and in pumpkin season the garden stands sell pumpkin soup.

Ludwigsburg eats like the rest of Swabia, and the dishes are hearty. Maultaschen, large pasta pockets filled with minced meat, spinach and bread, come either in broth or sliced and fried with onions and egg.

Käsespätzle, soft egg noodles baked with cheese and topped with fried onions, is the standard vegetarian order, and Linsen mit Spätzle, lentils with noodles and sausages, appears on lunch menus. Zwiebelrostbraten, a roast steak under a heap of crisp onions, is the Sunday choice.

Württemberg is red-wine country, and the slopes along the Neckar grow Trollinger and Lemberger, served by the quarter litre in a handled glass. Traditional inns around the Marktplatz cook these dishes; the cafés on the square are best for coffee and cake. During the pumpkin exhibition, food stands in the gardens serve pumpkin soup and pumpkin ravioli.

Pumpkins, palace festivals and Advent in the Ludwigsburg year

Ludwigsburg's calendar follows the Blühendes Barock, which opens in mid-March and peaks in May. The Schlossfestspiele fill June and July, the pumpkin festival runs from late August to early November, and the baroque Christmas market takes over the Marktplatz through Advent. The Venetian Fair returns every two years in early September.

The Blühendes Barock opens in mid-March, and the spring beds reach their peak in May. A street-music festival takes place in the gardens at Pentecost, and a summer light show and fireworks with music bring evening visitors. The palace also hosts the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, a festival of classical concerts and stage works held each June and July.

Late August marks the start of the event that most visitors come for: the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival, in which thousands of pumpkins are shaped into large sculptures around a yearly theme. Each run brings carving shows, a weighing championship and a pumpkin regatta at weekends, and entry is included in the garden ticket.

When the gardens close in early December, the action moves to the Marktplatz. The baroque Christmas market is held through Advent, with stalls arranged between the two churches. The Venetian Fair, a masked costume festival on the Marktplatz held every two years in early September, is the other festival worth checking for.