Hello! <BR>I've seen some really great suggestions on this forum! <BR>Would anyone be kind enough to suggest factory tours for Southern Germany? I will be <BR>there for approx 3 weeks and would like to include local products and production as part of my experience!!

What about touring an automobile factory? Porsche and Mercedwes both have a museum and a factory in Stuttgart, and BMW is in Munich. <BR> <BR>Go to a brewery somewhere. There are some 1800 breweries in Germany, or maybe more. <BR> <BR>Glassmaking in Zwiesel in the Bavarian Forest over near the Czech border. <BR> <BR>A toy factory? Try Nuremberg. <BR> <BR>A cuckoo clock factory? Try the Black Forest. <BR> <BR>Sorry I can't help with details. You have to look up the German Tourist office on the Net.

agrees with above. I cant give any tip for the times of opening the factories changes fast. Even in summer a few dont offer this. And it depends on what You are interessted in. If You just wanna good deals, buy the german book "Schnaeppchenfuehrer". You get easily in every bookstore. You dont need a lot of german to read it, but You have all real outlets at one glance including times, how to get there... If YOu have any special wish to see, drop me a line, perhaps I can find out how, when and where to get in the factory. <BR>have fun <BR>Gar

thank you both very much!

Just a note from experience...if you want to visit the BMW Factory in Munich you should reserve a spot on the tour at least three weeks in advance. It's pretty popular!

This info is a few years old, but the book may still be out there. When in Germany visit the book store at a U.S. military installation. They will not ask for your ID. In the store we purchased a book for military dependents on outlet shopping/factory tours in Germany. Handy little book. Hopefully they still have an updated version available even with the troop cutbacks.

If you're into clothes, the largest designers (Boss, Escada, Bally...) have their factory outlets in southern Germany, close to very pretty ans charming Tuebingen.

dave is right. <BR>You have to go to the town called METZINGEN (about 1/2h south of Stuttgart). Here you will find germanys largest factory outlet stores in one place (city centre). HUGO BOSS, JOOP and ESCADA are the biggest!