Hauptbahnhof or flughafen?

January 18, 2012 6:21 AM

I'll be spending a Saturday night in Stuttgart, Germany in February. Can you please help me decide where to stay?

I'll be arriving in Stuttgart in the late afternoon on a Saturday and have a flight at 9:30 the next morning. I can't decide whether I should stay in a hotel near the airport for convenience, or whether it would be better to stay in a city center hotel. I'd be interested in seeing a little bit of the city while I'm there if it works out, so that's +1 for staying in the city I guess. I also suspect it might be easier to find somewhat more budget-friendly accommodations in the city, since I'm only seeing a couple of options near the airport. But, this is at the end of a trip that I think will have left me exhausted and Stuttgart isn't the main focus of the trip, so convenience is also pretty high on my list of priorities. Is it easy to take the train or get a taxi to the airport first thing in the morning if I stay in the city? Or will it make my life much easier to just stay in one of the hotels near the airport?

I'm a reasonably experienced traveler but have never been to Germany (and do not speak German).

posted by ootandaboot to Travel & Transportation around Stuttgart, Germany (3 answers total)

You can take a train directly from the airport to the main railway station (the first trip from the railway station to the airport on the S2 is at 05:25 and takes 27 minutes, so you could easily make your flight), but if it's a situation of "land in the evening, eat, sleep, go to airport", I'd just stay near the airport if I were you, given the timing.

However, if you do go into the city, Stuttgart is (like all cities in southern Germany) extremely safe and most people you will encounter in that short time will speak English to some extent.
posted by cmonkey at 6:54 AM on January 18, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks cmonkey, the point about safety is a relevant one as far as whether I want to spend the evening exploring the city or just holed up in a hotel (I'm a young woman traveling alone).

A follow-up point: I'll be arriving via train, not to the airport, so there's no back-and-forth involved with staying in the city center.

Also, I forgot to add that I'd welcome any specific hotel recommendations!
posted by ootandaboot at 7:11 AM on January 18, 2012

Oh, if you're already arriving by train, then you might as well stay in the center. I don't have any specific hotel recommendations (personally, I'd just find one on booking.com that fits the budget), but as long it's near an U-Bahn station, you won't have much trouble making your flight.

Be aware that Stuttgart is not a very exciting city, even by southern German standards.
posted by cmonkey at 7:28 AM on January 18, 2012