Bee

Hi, We have two days to drive from Geneva, Switzerland to Stuttgart, Germany where my two teenagers who are car buffs want to visit the Porsche and Mercedes museums. I was wondering if there are any great stops on the way where we can spend a night or two. Our final destination after visiting the museums is Munich where we fly off for the U.S. <BR>Thanks very much.

Rex

First the good news and the bad news about the Porsche place. I went there in 2000 with a Porsche owner, managed to get on the factory tour (we had one authorized ticket; they let all three of us go) - - and it was absolutely awesome. The "museum" however is hardly worth driving to go see. About the size of a 4-lane bowling alley - - or maybe a little longer. If you can;t get tickets to go on the factory tour, you're missing nine-tenths of the attraction.<BR><BR>And you want to stay overnight between Zurich and Stuttgart? You realize, I assume that it isn't all THAT far (see www.viamichelin.com for mileage and map) - - that you would have to slpit it up? But if you choose, I can tell you that a drive-through of Villingen-Schwenningen left a very good impression on me (had lunch there, didn't stick around). I don't actually remember if the resturant we stopped is in Villingen Schwenningen. Pleasant tree-lined streets, quite devoid of touristy anything is what I recall.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Bee

Rex,<BR>Thanks for the info on the porsche museum. Sounds like the factory tour is what we are really looking for. Any idea how we can get an authorized ticket??<BR>Thanks also for the tip on Villingen-Schwenningen. We are driving from Geneva and thought staying in a small town and driving into Stuttgart will be better than overnighting in Stuttgart.<BR>I love this site because of tips from people like you that are immensely helpful.<BR>Bee

Tex

From a Porsche dealer. They'll assist you if you are potential buyers. You know, serious ones.<BR><BR>Or if you can get an owner to put in a good word for you. Never know what those teenage sons of yours will ultimately want to buy!<BR>

Daniel

T&uuml;bingen and Esslingen are charming towns near Stuttgart, with lots of halftimbered buildings. <BR><BR>T&uuml;bingen is an old university town, but the students are of course out of town in the summer. Many halftimbered buildings. <BR><BR>Esslingen has some of the oldest halftimbered buildings in Germany, and some of the steepest vineyards (great walk with view). <BR><BR>Esslingen is just a few minutes from Gottfried-Daimler-Stadion (for Daimler-Benz Museum) on the same S-Bahn (suburban train) line, S1.<BR><BR>Mercedes was the 11 year old daughter of Emil Jellinek, the Austrian importer of the cars. The new 1899 model was named after her.<BR><BR>Schloss Ludwigsburg just north of Stuttgart is the largest baroque palace in Germany.<BR><BR>Geneva to Stuttgart is about 310 miles/497 km. Stein-am-Rhein and the westend of Lake Constance/Bodensee are obvious stop overs.

Andre

Bee,<BR><BR>St. Gallen would also be a nice stopover - beautiful cathedral and monastery.<BR><BR>Hoever, if you are aiming for total car museum overdose, you could hit the one in Mulhouse (France), near Basel. It's simply awesome, especially the Bugatti collection.<BR><BR>Check their site out:<BR>http://www.collection-schlumpf.com/schlumpf/en/accueil.html<BR><BR>Hope this helps,<BR>Andre

Daniel

Yes, Mulhouse is a good idea. Mus&eacute;e National de l´Automobile has a collection of more than 600 cars. It is a mile/2 km north of the city centre.<BR>

Daniel

And just 10 miles west of Mulhouse is Thann, the south end of the Route du Vin through the wine villages of Alsace.

Rex

It's a bit of a different route to go via Mulhouse, but I agree that the museum would be VERY worthwhile for any car buffs. Mulhouse isn't as "attractive" a city as those in the Black Forest, in my opinion, but the Schlumpf really is special. Especially thjinking that one person collected all these vehicle (something like 700)! And for clarification, the Mus&eacute;e National de l´Automobile and the "Schlumpf collection" are two names for the same thing.<BR><BR>If you do via the France route (you could still cut over through Basel and head to V-S as well), I can also recommend a nearby Logis de France in Froeningen. It might be better suited to other readers traveling as a couple without kids (lovely, romantic - - not so much to do right around it).<BR>

Rex

Oh, and I forgot to address your question about the factory tour tickets. Little to add here; the dealer is the way to go. I think you can call the place directly, but I struck out trying that 8 weeks ahead in 2000; my Porsche owner friend succeeded through Porsche North America.<BR>

Babs

The Mercedes Factory is in the town of Sindelfingen outside of Stuttgart. They run tours continously and it is well worth the visit! Very impressive to see the German way of doing things. Getting into Porsche isnt quite so easy. You have to have some kind of connection.<BR>Baden-Baden and the Black Forest area is also very nice. The two teens might also enjoy a trip to Heidelberg for a visit to the castle and a spectacular view. Also many quaint restaurants and Inns.

Wayne

I also vote for the auto museum in Mulhouse. And from there, you might go a little farther east for your overnight stop, to Titisee. Lovely little spot on a lovely lake.

Bee

Thank you all for all your extremely helpful suggestions and tips. You have helped to narrow down our choices a lot and in so doing reduced our anxiety level. <BR>I hope to be as helpful when we return from our 18 day drive through parts of Europe. (Munich-Prague-Venice-Sion-Geneva-Stuttgart-Munich).<BR>Thanks again.<BR>Bee

Trip

I'd have to second the Tuebingen nomination. They have an old car museum not far from the university district. It might be an interesting complement to your "car buff" trip. They have a great old city, marketplace, and cute castle to boot. I'd say, give Tuebingen a try!

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Clif

I would definately try to get tickets for the Porsche factory tour. I've been twice and got the reservation through one of the larger Porsche dealers in my state(NC). I had to contact several before I found one that was familiar with the process. The subject of owning or potentially buying a Porsche never came up. Rex is right about the museum. It's realy not worth the hassle of finding a parking spot. Good Luck!

kay

Go thru Austria to Innsbruck then north(?) to the German village of Mittenwald,lovely spot to spend a day or two. Might want to see if the Post Hotel has a room-book directly with the hotel by letter inquiry and then by fax or phone.

mj

Bee,<BR>This may seem like car museum overload but have you considered BMW and Audi?<BR><BR>Plant tours of either of these marques must be reserved weeks in advance but their museums are excellent. BMW is just north of the Olympic park, entry fee to museum is ~10euro. Audi's in Ingolstadt (about 45 minutes from Franz Joseph Airport) is free and quite a bit larger than BMW's. Ingolstadt itself is not a bad town to visit in it's own right - a fair amount of the old town wall and buildings remain and are open to the public.

stella

All the towns and villages on the banks of Lake Constance, but especially Friederichshafen where they have the Zeppelin Airship Museum, Constance and picturesque Meersburg.<BR>In Fr.hafen they have trips in the airship (anhanced technology eliminated all the potential dangers). It's the most impressive experience I ever had.<BR>Check &gt;&gt;www.zeppelin-museum.de&lt;&lt;

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