10 insider tips for Stuttgart.

More than 130 years of automotive history across nine levels, from the first motor carriage to modern racing and sports cars. The spiraling architecture is an experience in its own right, and the audio guide walks you chronologically downward through the building.

Check the opening hours and admission before you go, and note that group tours are available on request. If you want to go all in on the theme, pair it with the automotive tour.

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The world's first television tower built in reinforced concrete, opened in 1956. From the observation deck the view runs across the Neckar valley, the vineyards and the Swabian Alb, and on a clear day as far as the Black Forest.

There is a panorama café up top, and the Leonhardts restaurant sits at 482 feet serving modern Swabian cooking. Reserve if you plan to eat there. Getting up is straightforward by light rail, bus or car.

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Stuttgart's front parlor. The New Palace with its baroque facade houses state ministries today, and across the square the Old Palace holds the Landesmuseum Württemberg and its regional history collections.

From here the Staatsgalerie, the Kunstmuseum and the Market Hall are all walkable. In summer, half of Stuttgart lies on the lawns.

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An Art Nouveau building with a glass roof, and inside it pasta makers, exotic fruit, international cheese, fresh bread and Swabian specialties. Entirely weatherproof, which makes it the obvious move on a rainy day.

It is also the easiest place to start eating your way through Swabian cooking without committing to a full sit-down dinner.

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The glass cube on Schlossplatz shows art from the 19th century to the present, with a focus on Otto Dix and Swabian impressionism. The exhibition runs over several levels, partly through restored underground tunnels.

A dedicated series gives emerging artists a stage. After dark the cube glows from the inside, which is worth walking past even if you do not go in.

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Stuttgart has hundreds of public outdoor stairways, called Stäffele, that once connected the vineyards to the residential quarters. They are still ordinary public rights of way, freely accessible at any hour, and walking them is the fastest way to understand how vertical this city actually is.

Guided Stäffele tours take you through corners most visitors never find, often with stops at local producers. Wear real shoes and sign up in advance, because the groups are small. Going on your own works too.

The Zacke has run since 1884 from Marienplatz in Stuttgart-Süd up to Degerloch, climbing gradients of up to 17.8 percent over a little more than a mile. It is not a tourist attraction with a separate ticket: it is part of the public transit network, so a normal VVS fare covers it.

The view opens up over the Kessel as you climb. Get off at an intermediate stop and explore the Lehenviertel or the cafés along Tübinger Straße.

Stuttgart is a genuine wine city, with vine terraces climbing the hills inside the built-up city area. Fall is the best time, when the leaves turn. Walking paths cross the slopes with the city below you.

The seasonal Besenwirtschaften, temporary taverns that Württemberg winegrowers are allowed to open in their own premises for a few weeks each year, pour their own wine alongside hearty food.

An Art Nouveau pavilion high above the city, half café and half beer garden. In the afternoon and early evening the seats along the park wall, the ones with the panorama, go fast.

Important: the Teehaus runs a season from roughly March through October, opens only in suitable weather in the shoulder months, and stays closed from November through February. The surrounding Weißenburgpark and its landscaping are worth the walk even when the café is shut.

The Birkenkopf was piled up from World War II rubble and is now a green recreation area. Locals call it Monte Scherbelino, roughly the mount of shards. The climb is moderate and family-friendly, and the top gives you a full circle over the city, the vineyards and the countryside beyond.

There are benches to catch your breath, and unlike the TV tower it is usually much quieter.