Getting Around Stuttgart
A working visit to Stuttgart can have two centres. One is the city itself, with the Schlossplatz, the Marktplatz and the main station. The other is the Messe Stuttgart, which stands directly beside the airport, south of the city: ten halls with about 120,000 m² of space, plus the ICS congress centre.
Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof is still the old terminus station. Deutsche Bahn now plans to open the new through station of the Stuttgart 21 project in December 2031, so long-distance trains keep using the existing platforms until then. S-Bahn lines S2 and S3 link the Hauptbahnhof with the airport and the Messe in about 27 minutes. Add the train and its arrival time to the booking, and the car is scheduled for that arrival.
For a day with appointments in the centre and a session at the ICS, booked by the hour, one chauffeur and one vehicle stay with you for the time you reserve.
Stuttgart has a low-emission zone (Umweltzone), with extra driving bans for older diesel cars in parts of the city. Send the full address with your booking; the confirmation then tells you where the car will stop.
Airport Transfers in Stuttgart
Stuttgart Airport is 14 km south of the centre, usually 30–40 minutes by car on the B27. In 2025 it handled 9.6 million passengers on flights to 124 destinations in 40 countries, and its S-Bahn station lies under Terminal 1. Because the Messe is its direct neighbour, fair visitors flying in can be at the halls within minutes of landing, and the approach roads carry both flight and fair traffic on busy days.
Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden is 112 km to the west, 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 55 minutes, and Memmingen is 160 km south-east, 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes. The right one depends on your airline and route.
Book with your flight number. For an arrival, your chauffeur checks the flight status and times the pickup to when you actually land, and your booking confirmation shows where to meet the chauffeur. For a departure from Stuttgart, what counts is the length of the drive, not the time on the clock: 30–40 minutes from the centre to the terminals on a normal day, more when a large fair opens. Journey times vary with traffic and weather. You set the pickup time yourself, and the confirmation shows it.
Long-Distance & Cross-Border Travel from Stuttgart
The roads out of Stuttgart reach several business cities within a morning. Heilbronn is 61 km north, 55 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes; its Konzert- und Kongresszentrum Harmonie takes events of up to 3,000 people. Esslingen is 15 km up the Neckar and is the home of Festo's headquarters. Munich is 221 km south-east on the A8, 2 hours 25 minutes to 3 hours 15 minutes, and IAA Mobility fills the Munich fairgrounds from 7 to 12 September 2027; it is close enough for a meeting there and the drive home the same evening. The car goes from your hotel to the other address, so the bags never leave the boot.
Zurich, across the Swiss border, is 219 km away, 2 hours 25 minutes to 3 hours 15 minutes. It is booked as one journey: the same chauffeur and car from start to finish, with no change of vehicle at the border. As Switzerland is not in the EU customs union, customs rules apply at the Swiss border.
Germany has notified the European Commission of temporary checks at its internal land borders, the Swiss border included. Carry the travel documents your nationality and itinerary require.
Groups & Congress Travel in Stuttgart
Group travel in Stuttgart follows two calendars. At the Messe, the CMT travel and leisure fair fills the halls every January. On the Cannstatter Wasen, the Frühlingsfest runs from mid-April into May, and the Cannstatter Volksfest from late September into October: 17 days, with around 4 million visitors. From late November the Christmas market spreads over the Schlossplatz, the Marktplatz, the Schillerplatz and the Karlsplatz.
When you book for other people, all their transfers can be kept in one account, each with its own booking and confirmation. If exhibitors come in on several flights, every arrival gets a transfer of its own. For a delegation moving between hotel and halls, a Sprinter van carries up to 12 people with their bags, and bigger groups go by coach, with up to 56 seats; the vehicle is matched to the load.
Reserve as soon as fair or festival dates are fixed. Local vehicles and drivers are booked up early in those weeks. If your plans go beyond a standard booking, write to support with the dates, addresses, number of passengers, flights and luggage, and the team will arrange it.
