Stuttgart - a tour in pictures

Stuttgart, the little sister to Berlin and Munich, is more affordable and accessible than ever thanks to expanding budget flights. The city has grown-up diversions (it's the largest wine-growing city in Germany) along with child-friendly activities such as animal-spotting at the zoo and swimming in the city's sprawling mineral baths complex. Here, iVillage Travel Editor Clare Spurrell, highlights her favourite places to go, with a photo tour of the city of Stuttgart

Stuttgart is positioned in the bowl of a lush valley surrounded by vineyards and forests, close to the river Neckar, and right next to the Black Forest in Southern Germany. Stuttgart's mix of dramatic scenery, historical interest and cosmopolitan shopping and dining may surprise the newcomer. Despite much of the area being flattened during the Second World War, the palaces and historical buildings have been lovingly refurbished, leaving a city today that has a diverse culture grown from the influences of centuries of artists and free-thinkers.

Arts and culture
For art-lovers Stuttgart is a cultural hotpot of both contemporary and historical art. The State Gallery (Staatsgalerie) has an impressive new post-modern extension built by renowned architect James Stirling, with brightly coloured railings and uplighting leading into a bright green entrance hall. It is dedicated mainly to classic modern art starting with Expressionism and including modernists such as Matisse and Picasso. On Saturday evenings it is open later, allowing art-lovers to wander in after dinner and stay past midnight.

Another arty must is the Museum of Art (Kunstmuseum) which only opened in 2005. Known as 'The Cube,' it was designed by Berlin architects Hascher und Jehre, and is the shape of, well, a giant glass cube. By day it reflects the hustle and bustle of the city in front of the palace square (Schlossplatz) and by night it is illuminated against the night sky.

Parents can leave their children at the drop-in facility where kids spend the day doing activities like painting, while their parents look at the art or head out for some shopping. The Museum of Art is bright, modern and spacious, and needs a good half day to fully appreciate it. I was most impressed with the Otto Dix collection, the famous German Expressionist who had much of his work destroyed by Hitler. There was a room dedicated to the paintings he had done of his wife Martha, which documents their marriage and includes some graphic, but moving, paintings of his children being born.