Guess which HQ this is.
Southern Germany is home to four luxury car manufacturers, all of which have campuses you can visit. For the car enthusiast, the STEM student, fans of history and technology, and those who want an automotive upgrade, these can be a really fun experience. Who among us didn’t look at Car & Driver and drool over a Porsche or Bimmer? Here’s a quick rundown of the best of the bunch.
Mercedes’ headquarters in Stuttgart boasts the best museum of the four, with a presentation that ties scientific and historic developments to its cars and innovations. Mercedes also has the best array of cars, from beautiful, swooping 1930s sedans to futuristic race cars to buses and trucks. This was the last of the four I visited, and my favorite of the bunch. Fascinating, whether you love Mercedes or not—this would probably make my top ten list of European museums.
Porsche lives across town in Stuttgart, and their museum showcases both their cars and their racing successes. The race car focus was largely wasted on me, and I wanted instead to see more of their ‘regular’ sports cars. Still, it’s hard to complain about a building full of Porsches.
Notably, the company also has several driving experiences in Germany (as well as here in the US) that can be pre-booked. If you’re a Porsche guy or girl, that’s worth a look.
Stuttgart is the capital of ‘the other’ southern German state, Baden-Württemberg, and is located roughly two hours south of Frankfurt and two hours west of Munich.
Speaking of, Bavaria’s capital Munich hosts BMW Welt, a super-sleek museum, delivery center, factory complex, and headquarters. It’s located north of the city center and right next to the retro-futuristic Olympiapark and is the most visually impressive of the HQ’s. Its museum doesn’t have the comprehensive feel of Mercedes’—but it did sell me on test driving a BMW SUV (or two) when I got home. Make of that what you will.
Last on our list: the Audi Forum north about an hour of Munich in Ingolstadt, easily reachable by train and then bus. Their museum, while impressive, is probably the least flashy of the four. They do offer a number of varied factory tours in Ingolstadt—and they have a second Audi Forum at their factory complex in Neckarsulm, not far from Stuttgart.
All of these are generally interesting, but if you own a car made in one of the tour-able factories, it’s a next-level experience.
Bonus: I’ve not visited this one yet, but ‘the people’s car’ VW is also headquartered in Germany and has a large ‘Autostadt,’ or auto city, in Wolfsburg near Hannover.
Want to know more about experiencing these or other fascinating attractions in Germany? Ready to start planning your trip to central Europe? Contact your friendly neighborhood Swiss, German, and Austrian travel expert here.
