Stuttgart has a lot of forest inside its boundary, and two stretches of water that locals treat as their weekend escape. Neither needs a car if you don’t have one with you.
The Parkseen and the Bärenschlössle
West of the city, in the Glemswald forest, three linked reservoirs — the Pfaffensee, Bärensee and Neuer See — run in a chain along a wooded valley. A flat path circles and connects them, busy with walkers, runners and prams. At the centre stands the Bärenschlössle, a small white former hunting lodge with a café and beer garden. The full circuit is a couple of hours; a shorter loop around just the Bärensee is easily done. The woods here are the old Rotwildpark, and a fenced enclosure near the lodge still keeps red deer and wild boar.
Max-Eyth-See
On the other side of the city, by the Neckar in the north, the Max-Eyth-See is a lake made from an old gravel pit and now a nature reserve. A path rings it in about forty minutes, with the vineyards and the Grabkapelle on the Württemberg hill across the water. Herons and cormorants; rowing boats for hire in summer.
Good to know
- The Bärenschlössle is reached by bus; the Max-Eyth-See by U-Bahn to Hofen or Max-Eyth-See
- Both are busy on warm weekends — go in the morning or on a weekday
- Swimming is not allowed in either lake
- The Bärenschlössle café keeps limited hours in winter