Minibus Hire Across Germany

Hiring a Coach in Stuttgart: Rules and Stops

All of Stuttgart is a low-emission zone, and diesel bans apply on top. Before any route or museum, confirm the emission class of the coach.

Why the emission class matters

A green sticker is needed everywhere in the city, for foreign vehicles too; the city sends it by post or e-mail in advance. Diesel vehicles of Euro 4/IV or older are banned citywide. In the inner zone, which takes in the valley basin, Bad Cannstatt, Feuerbach and Zuffenhausen, the ban reaches Euro 5/V.

The exemption for coach trips ended in 2022. A diesel coach therefore needs Euro VI to reach the Mercedes-Benz Museum, the Porsche Museum or the Schlossplatz. Put Euro VI on the booking request.

Full-size coach interior with reclining seats and aisle
Full-size coach interior with reclining seats and aisle

Where coaches wait

The Cannstatter Wasen is the largest coach park, about 200 paid places. Big events can fill it, and during the Volksfest only a few places on P9 and P10 are offered, by reservation. In the centre there are short stops at the Altes Schloss, at Liederhalle and at the Hauptbahnhof, where a parking disc allows 30 minutes.

Building work at Charlottenplatz changes the approach to the Haus der Geschichte. The two coach places there are reached from the side lane coming from Charlottenplatz.

Airports for a group flying into Stuttgart

  • Stuttgart Airport (STR) — about 13 km by road to the Schlossplatz, in the centre of Stuttgart, about 20 min in light traffic; longer at peak times

Stadiums and arenas with coach access

  • MHPArena — VfB Stuttgart football, in the NeckarPark in Bad Cannstatt (named MHPArena since 2023; Mercedes-Benz Arena 2008-2023). Stadtbahn U1 to Mercedesstraße, U19 and event line U11 to NeckarPark (Stadion), S-Bahn S1 to Neckarpark
  • Porsche-Arena — Indoor arena for sport, concerts and shows in the NeckarPark, beside the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle; parking on P9 and P10 (Talstraße), coaches allowed
  • Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle — Large indoor arena for concerts and sport in the NeckarPark; run together with the Porsche-Arena as the Hallenduo
  • Cannstatter Wasen — Fairground in Bad Cannstatt beside the NeckarPark: Cannstatter Volksfest (25 September to 11 October 2026); its car parks are also the main coach park for the city

Day trips by coach from Stuttgart

  • Esslingen am Neckar — about 16 km, about 35 min
  • Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg — about 16 km, about 35 min
  • Tübingen — about 44 km, about 1 h
  • Kloster Maulbronn — about 44 km, about 1 h
  • Schloss Lichtenstein — about 57 km, about 1.25 h
  • Blaubeuren (Blautopf) — about 82 km, about 1.25 h
  • Burg Hohenzollern — about 88 km, about 1.5 h
  • Ulm (Ulmer Münster) — about 93 km, about 1.5 h
  • Baden-Baden — about 114 km, about 1.75 h
  • Heidelberg — about 122 km, about 1.75 h
  • Triberg (Schwarzwald) — about 126 km, about 2 h
  • Europa-Park (Rust) — about 176 km, about 2.25 h
  • Insel Mainau (Bodensee) — about 179 km, about 2.5 h
  • Meersburg (Bodensee) — about 186 km, about 2.5 h

Coach rules in Stuttgart that change the plan

  • Flughafen Stuttgart (STR) is about 13 km by road from Schlossplatz, about 20 min in light traffic; Flughafen Frankfurt (FRA) is about 198 km (about 2.5 h). Journeys take longer at peak times.
  • At Stuttgart Airport the coach list of Stuttgart tourism shows 18 coach places for setting down and picking up only. The Stuttgart Airport Busterminal (SAB), next to the airport and the motorway, has 18 bus bays for long-distance buses. At Messe Stuttgart there are 57 coach places, for trade fair visitors only.
  • The whole city of Stuttgart has been an Umweltzone since 1 March 2008: only vehicles with a green sticker (emissions group 4) may drive and park anywhere in the city. Vehicles registered abroad also need it; the city sends the sticker by post or e-mail in advance. Diesel bans apply on top: since 1 January 2019 diesel vehicles of Euro 4/IV and older are banned in the whole city, and since 1 July 2020 diesel vehicles of Euro 5/V and older are banned in the "kleine Umweltzone" (the central valley basin, Bad Cannstatt, Feuerbach and Zuffenhausen). The temporary exemption for coach trips into the kleine Umweltzone ended on 31 December 2022, so diesel coaches need Euro VI to enter it unless they hold an individual exemption; Euro 6/VI diesels are not affected. Three signed through routes are exempt, individual exemption permits can be applied for online, and the city page (as of 24 February 2026) shows both bans still in force. These rules are current in October 2026; check them before travel.
  • Stuttgart tourism publishes an official coach-parking list (status January 2026). City centre: Liederhalle (4 places at Breitscheidstraße / Kienestraße and 3 at Breitscheidstraße 5), Linden-Museum (3, Herdweg / Sattlerstraße), Haus der Geschichte (2, Konrad-Adenauer-Straße / Ulrichstraße), Rotebühlbau (3, Rotebühlstraße / Paulinenstraße, parking disc, up to 30 minutes), Altes Schloss (4, Münzstraße / Dorotheenstraße) and Hauptbahnhof (7, Jägerstraße / Ossietzkystraße, parking disc, up to 30 minutes). The 4 places at the Naturkundemuseum am Löwentor (Nordbahnhofstraße) are closed because of building work.
  • The largest coach park is the Cannstatter Wasen (about 200 places, paid, Mercedesstraße / Talstraße, Stadtbahn stop Mercedesstraße). During the Cannstatter Volksfest (25 September to 11 October 2026) only a limited number of coach places is available on P9 and P10, and reservations are made with the car park. Large events can take up the Wasen places at other times too.
  • Other coach places on the official list: Mercedes-Benz Museum (7, Mercedes-Jellinek-Straße, plus 4 set-down-only places, drive clockwise), Porsche Museum (5, from Porscheplatz 1, 9:00-18:00, museum visitors only), Wilhelma (set-down only at Neckartalstraße / Zanthweg), Fernsehturm (16, Jahnstraße / Guts-Muths-Weg) and SI-Centrum (56, paid, Kurt-Schumacher-Straße / Epplestraße).
  • Christmas market 2026 (25 November to 23 December): coaches drive into the city centre via Heilbronner Straße and set down at Börsenplatz, where there are toilets, then leave without turning via Börsenstraße, Schloßstraße, Holzgartenstraße and Kriegsbergstraße to the Cannstatter Wasen (P10, Mercedesstraße 50), where coach parking is free. On Saturdays and Sundays a free shuttle bus takes drivers from the Wasen to the city centre.
  • Burg Hohenzollern (reached via the B27 Stuttgart - Tübingen - Hechingen): from the B27 exit the road leads through the forest to the castle car parks halfway up the hill; the coach park is directly next to the upper car park P1, which has a shop and toilets. From there a shuttle bus (included in the castle ticket) or a steep walk of about 25 minutes leads to the castle gate. Groups are asked to contact the visitor centre in advance.
  • Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg: free public parking for coaches is available within walking distance of the palace; the main entrance is at Schlossstraße 30. Group tours are booked through the Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg.
  • Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof: the main station in the city centre; ICE trains from Frankfurt, Mannheim, München, Berlin and Hamburg, TGV and ICE trains from Paris (about three hours) and IC trains from Zürich.
  • Stuttgart 21: the old terminus station stays in use for years. Deutsche Bahn reset the plan on 26 June 2026: a shorter walking route through the Bonatzbau from December 2027, the long-distance station Flughafen/Messe in December 2030, and the new underground Hauptbahnhof in December 2031; the old terminus remains for trains from Bad Cannstatt until mid-2032. The earlier opening date of December 2026 no longer applies. Rail works on the Digitaler Knoten Stuttgart will continue to bring line closures with replacement buses.
  • Charlottenplatz: during building work, traffic coming from the Heslacher Tunnel / B14 cannot drive straight across the Charlottenplatz junction; the Haus der Geschichte coach places are reached from the side lane coming from Charlottenplatz, turning left from the Planie or right from Charlottenstraße.
  • Germany has a situational winter-tyre rule (StVO § 2 (3a)): in black ice, snow-covered roads, slush, or icy or frosty roads, a vehicle may be driven only on winter tyres. For buses and coaches (classes M2 and M3) the rule applies to the tyres on the permanently driven axles and the front steering axles. Day trips to the Schwäbische Alb and the Schwarzwald use hill roads where these conditions are common in winter.
  • Buses and coaches (Kraftomnibusse) are exempt from the German toll on motorways and federal roads, which applies only to goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes; the A8 and A81 are therefore toll-free for coaches, minibuses and cars carrying passengers.
  • On German motorways a coach may drive at up to 100 km/h only if it is registered for that speed (entered in the registration certificate), has seat belts on all seats and a speed limiter set to 100 km/h; otherwise the limit is 80 km/h. The Sunday and public-holiday driving ban (StVO § 30) applies to lorries over 7.5 tonnes, not to coaches.
  • EU drivers' hours rules (Regulation (EC) No 561/2006) apply to coach drivers: at most 9 hours of driving a day (10 hours twice a week), a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving and at least 11 hours of daily rest.

Car museums, the zoo and the tower

At the Mercedes-Benz Museum, coaches set down on Mercedes-Jellinek-Straße and park there, driving clockwise. The Porsche Museum has five coach places, reached from Porscheplatz 1, for museum visitors from 9:00 to 18:00; it is closed on Mondays. The Wilhelma sells group tickets from 15 people without booking, and visiting coaches park free opposite the Wilhelma-Parkhaus while space lasts. The TV tower has 16 coach places on Jahnstraße.

Christmas market and day trips

For the Christmas market, coaches usually set down at Börsenplatz and then park at the Wasen; the year's arrangement is confirmed when booking. Ludwigsburg palace is 35 minutes away. Burg Hohenzollern takes about an hour and a half; from the coach park a shuttle or a steep 25-minute walk leads to the gate, and groups are asked to contact the visitor centre first. Lake Constance is about two and a half hours, a day that needs careful timing within the driver's hours. On the Swabian Alb and in the Black Forest, winter tyres are compulsory in snow or ice.

Questions organisers ask

Where does a coach meet us at Stuttgart Airport?

The airport is about 13 km from the Schlossplatz. Stuttgart lists 18 coach places there for setting down and picking up only. Where the group meets the driver is fixed with the operator at booking.

Is the new Hauptbahnhof open?

No. The old terminus stays in use, and the new underground station is now due in December 2031. Rail works also bring line closures, so check the current service.

Can coaches park at Messe Stuttgart?

The Messe has 57 coach places for trade fair visitors only. It sits beside the airport, so one coach can serve both on an arrival day.

Other group trips we arrange

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