Nice park to visit with beautiful view over the wine hills. Also has a small restaurant. Parking is close by.
Esslingen is a great little town close to Stuttgart. This town is worth visiting. Walk from the train station up the pedestrian street into the old town. The many half-timbers buildings are amazingly well preserved and picturesque. The small fortress sits on top of the hill behind the old town. You can walk up a flight of over 200 steps or wind up a trail through vineyards to reach the top and an amazing view of the town below. We've been here twice on our trips to visit family in the Stuttgart area, and we enjoy our strolls through this quaint town and feel like we are taking a trip back into the medieval ages.
We walked the town, admired the timber buildings, visited the incredible farmer's market, shopped a little, watched the clock chime at 3 and headed up to the Burg. Well worth the steep walk, beautiful views of the vineyards and surrounding area. Charming little pub at the top where we stopped for a drink, very good attentive service. A lovely way to end the day.
We walked around the old town and had some pastries and coffee. A brief visit but very nice. The old town has buildings from the 1200's and these are quite well preserved. The town is quaint and the country is beautiful.
From the market square, you can either walk up a road through the vineyards or up the stairs. It is quite steep but the higher you get, the better view you have of the town below. The place is quite huge with a lot of green space to sit and relax during the summer and it is definitely worthwhile to stop by and enjoy the view. When you are inside these walls, you can easily imagine how little things have changed over the centuries.For a couple of weeks in July and August, this place turns into one of the biggest open air cinema of the region. The movies are mainly shown in German though and the thousands of tickets are easily sold out if not booked in advance.
This is one of our favorite spots in town. We recommending going up the steps of the old town wall ). You can access the bottom of the stairs by going under the "ring road" from the Marktplatz in between Markt 1 café and the new rathaus. From the town wall you get a great view of Esslingen, the vineyards, and across the Neckar. Behind the wall and "Dicker Turm" (the tower), there's a lovely grassy area perfect for a picnic. The Trodler restaurant perched above is another good option especially in warm weather when you can dine outside. Next to Trodler is a view point with some old cannons kids can climb on. Behind the restaurant is another grassy area, a small soccer "court", and a unique playground (stone tunnel, ropes, and all varieties of swings). For an alternate route down, there's a lovely steep cobblestone path/road (Landolinsteige) that descends down the east side of the park. Alternatively, you can walk through the vineyards, accessed through the arch by the tower. If you don't want to walk, there is parking on the far side of the park on Mülbergerstrasse.
As usual, TA contributors are spot on. We found the lane through the winery to go up and used the stairs to come down - we probably should have walked back through the winery.The view is superb and gives a good perspective of the town. Providing you up for the climb its worth the trouble.
We were in Esslingen for the christmas market, but thought what the heck we will go up and see the burg while we are here. We walked up the stairs and down through the winery. The views both ways were just stunning. If you are not a huge fan of climbing the stairs I suggest walking up through the winery and down the stairs. The stairs are not very wide and is a pain when people are trying to pass each other. Walking up and down through the winery would be best if you have little one in strollers. The stairs is more than 100 steps at a 45 degree incline.
We went up a flight of more than 100 stairs but it was well worth it. At the end of Autumn the view is stunning and you get the see the city from a different prospective. We discovered that there was another way of getting there by car or through the vineyard, but it was after we had 'enjoyed' the flight of stairs. Occasional windows on the left hand side of the fortification open a view to the forest and hilltop houses. The nearby park is an excellent place for kids to cycle or play. As regards food, we saw a closed restaurant at lunchtime but this maybe because we visited on Saturday.
Went for an afternoon adventure into Esslingen, and decided that the Burg would be the best way to see Esslingen and the Neckar Valley. We weren't wrong! A superb site that is easily reached by car or hike up from the Marktplatz near the Rathaus and Churches. We drove to the top and walked around. There's a great little café to enjoy and relax (a weinstube, the Bergschenke) and gorgeous grounds to explore. The covered stairs from the city center are accessed easily and a great feature of the spot. Easily enjoyed in an hour, adding extra time for a coffee. Great idea for any sunny day, year round!