From a traditional Christmas Market to state-of-the-art illuminations
In winter Stuttgart has countless attractions on offer that invite locals and tourists alike to linger and enjoy. Mulled wine, punch and gingerbread are as much a part of the Christmas season as atmospheric lighting and stories with an Advent theme. These and more are waiting to be discovered in Stuttgart when the days get shorter and the nights get colder.
Stuttgart Highlights
Since the winter of 2018 the "Stuttgart Highlights" have generated a unique, enchanting Christmas atmosphere in Baden-Württemberg’s state capital. For the duration of the "Stuttgart Highlights there are illuminations along Königstraße, Germany’s longest pedestrian zone with a length of 1.2 km. Around 110 trees down the middle of the shopping boulevard are decked with countless thousands of LED lamps, bathing it in a warm white glow. Since 2021, Schulstraße has been an illuminated link between Königstraße and the Christmas Market on the Marketplace: a canopy with more than 29,000 warm white LED-lamps and smaller light curtains on either side give the street a festive atmosphere.
Stuttgart Christmas Market
Stuttgart’s Christmas Market will be held from 26th November to 23rd December 2025. With around 300 stalls and a tradition dating back more than 300 years, it is not only one of the finest of its kind in Germany, but also one of the oldest and largest in the whole of Europe. It was first documented in 1692, but its roots go back a lot further. The Christmas Market stalls cover the area from the New Palace and Königsbau to Schiller Square, with the Old Palace and the Collegiate Church, and the Marketplace. In Stuttgart, the lovingly-decorated roofs of the stalls in particular never fail to delight its visitors – from Santa Claus with his fluffy white beard to traditional Nativity figures or wonderful winter landscapes. Each year visitors and a jury choose the best Christmas Market stalls. There’s also lots of traditional Swabian Christmas enjoyment available in the form of a wide range of specialities and delicacies: there has been a "Springerle" stall on the Marketplace for more than a decade now, selling not only the carved wooden moulds needed to produce this traditional speciality, but also the aniseed-flavoured biscuits themselves. And "Hutzelbrot" – a sweet fruit loaf made of dark yeast dough, is also of course an absolute 'must' when strolling round the Christmas Market. Children will be enthralled by the join-in Christmas activities, a genuine miniature steam engine and the live animals in the Nativity scene.
The opening ceremony of the Stuttgart Christmas Market is on 26th November on the Renaissance inner courtyard of the Old Palace, where a concert of Christmas music can also be heard almost every evening. Stuttgart’s Christmas Market is open Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m..
Additional information under: www.stuttgarter-weihnachtsmarkt.de/en
Christmas Garden
Lovers of architecture, nature and contemporary light art will find all of these at the Stuttgart Christmas Garden. In the winter, the Wilhelma Zoological and Botanical Gardens are transformed into a romantic fairy-tale wonderland with glittering light installations and audio-visual effects. The circular walk of about two kilometres takes visitors past illuminated animal sculptures and laser animations in the redwood grove.
Additional information under: www.christmas-garden.de/stuttgart/en
You’ll find even more yuletide offers and Christmas markets in the region under www.stuttgart-tourist.com
