Three quarters of a mile with no cars on it
The Königstraße (King Street) runs 1.2 kilometers, about three quarters of a mile, from the main station down to Wilhelmsplatz, and it is closed to traffic along essentially all of it. That makes it one of the longest pedestrian zones in Germany and the spine of downtown Stuttgart. If you arrive by train, you walk out of the station and you are on it.
The retail is mainstream: international brand stores, department stores, chains. Nobody comes to Stuttgart for the shopping specifically. What the street is genuinely good for is orientation, because almost everything in the center hangs off it. Schlossplatz opens up on one side, the Stiftskirche (Collegiate Church) sits a short detour away, and the Markthalle (Market Hall) is within sight of the lower end.
What to notice while you walk it
The street cuts across the flat floor of the Kessel, the bowl-shaped valley Stuttgart is built in, which is why it is the one long stretch of the city you can cover without climbing. Step one block off it in almost any direction and the ground starts to tilt.
Between the main station and Schlossplatz you pass the Bülow Carré, an office and retail block whose ground floor is open to the street and whose three-level garage is one of the most central places to park a car downtown. Allow one to two hours if you are browsing, twenty minutes if you are simply walking from the station to the palace.
