Stuttgart Stadtmitte (Stuttgart City Center)

Complete Set of Photos

To get to the city center from the Vaihingen campus, we have to take the S-Bahn (commuter train). We get a free unlimited pass for the first semester that we study in Stuttgart, which is a very good deal. This is where most of the important stuff in the city is, along with the rest of the Universität Stuttgart campus. You can get within a 5-minute walk of just about anywhere in Stuttgart with the S-Bahn, U-Bahn (inner city subway) or bus system. 

The Neues Schloss, or "New Castle," is located in the Schlossplatz. This was a castle for some duke or something but now it's government offices. There is the nice park area and fountains and so on in the lawn, so it's a nice place to go hang out for a while. When the German national soccer team had a game against Ireland in Stuttgart, they projected the game on a screen here. The whole area was filled with soccer fans watching the game, providing a very interesting atmosphere. This is also where the Night Buses leave, at 1:11, 2:22, and 3:33 AM, after the S-Bahns have stopped running for the night. 

The Hauptbahnhof, or "Main Train Station," is where you can take the Deutsche Bahn trains that go just about everywhere in Europe. There is also a tower here that people can climb for free. It gives a really cool view of the city.

The main shopping street of Stuttgart, Königsstrasse, is located in the city center also. There are many upscale stores and department stores, as well as a McDonald's. There, you can order a "Big Mäc" or other burgers. They taste about the same as the US but it costs more here. On this street, there are also some big electronics stores. There is "Media Markt," which is similar to Circuit City, and "Saturn," which is similar to Best Buy. There are also movie theaters here (this is where I saw "Snakes on a Plane" in German).