Stuttgart, Germany

Oh man! This is the place for car lovers, there are arenas sponsored by Porsche and Mercedes-Benz along with their respective museums housing an enormous car collection. Even the buses in town have the latest electric-hybrid technology to showcase Germany’s engineering prowess. If Munich’s Deutches Museum shows the old, Stuttgart shows the new.

Out by the Hauptbahnhof, there’s a beautiful Schlossplatz where the Neues Schloss and stock exchange are located. This vast plaza is a meeting place for young people, punks, tourists, and families as well as being perfect for Instagram shots of photogenic European architecture. Speaking of the Neues Schloss, there’s also a well-preserved Altes Schloss.

Stuttgart has a range of railway types for urban transportation of which my favorite is the Zahnradbahn – a railway with a cog climbing up metal teeth. This helps the train mount steep inclines without the use of a cable. There’s also the Sandseilbahn – a wooden cable car still running on its original 1929 rolling stock.

From the Bauhaus tower of the Neues Rathaus to the 12th century tower of the Stiftskirche at Schillerplatz, there are plenty of fine architectural examples from different periods. Königsstraße, once an empty wide avenue, is now remodelled into a bustling shopping street. Sports, history, cars, Stuttgart has it all.