Local Tourism Tips

IEEE VR 2018: the 25th IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces

March 18-22, 2018, Reutlingen, Germany

http://ieeevr.org/2018/

The following link has much information for tourists (German Only): https://tourismus-reutlingen.de

Half day Trips:

Lichtenstein Castle

Weblink: https://www.schloss-lichtenstein.de/en
Note: in March this castle is only open for tours on weekends, so ideal for the Saturday before or after the conference. Getting there: Accessible from Reutlingen by car, or for those adventurous bikers out there- it is a 20k round trip bike trip.

Zwiefalten Abbey and Brewery

Weblink: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwiefalten_Abbey
and http://www.zwiefalter.de/klosterbraeu/ (only in German, they organise group English tours that have to be prearranged) Getting there: Accessible from Reutlingen by car, and again for those very strong bike riders it is a 60k round trip from Reutlingen– where you pass the above mentioned castle).

Porsche Museum

Weblink: https://www.porsche.com/museum/en/
Getting there: Public transit (Deutsche bahn and Stuttgart s-bahn or taxi) should get you to this museum in under an hour of Reutlingen Local tip: Call ahead to enquire about special tours and/or English guided information

Mercedes-Benz Museum

Weblinks: https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/mercedes-benz/classic/museum/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Museum
Getting there: Public transit (Deutsche bahn and a short walk from Stuttgart-Bad-Canstatt station) Local tip: Make sure you also go to their show room where they really sell cars and get in some of their cars. Test drives have to be pre-arranged even by locals, so no driving these beautiful cars without calling ahead.

Burg Hohenzollern

Weblink: http://www.burg-hohenzollern.com/startpage.html
Getting there: Drive a car, or Deutsche bahn to Hechingen, from there take a bus, taxi, or even hike up to the top of this castle in the sky. This Burg is a tight half-day trip and probably longer unless you drive or take the taxi route. Local tip: again call ahead to find out when the English guided tour is to make sure you arrive at the correct time. Also- note that this castle has a webcam- so you can tell your loved ones when you plan to be in the square and say hello to them.

Tuebingen Old Town

Weblink: https://www.tuebingen.de/en/
Getting there: Tuebingen is a ten minute train ride from Reutlingen. Local tip: this old small academic town is beautiful. I recommend a walk from the train station to the Schloss where you walk all the way through the Schloss and around the bike side. If the Main Church Tower is open– don’t hesitate to take the opportunity to get to the top and see beautiful views of the town and the Neckar river. Finally, the market square is worth sitting and having a coffee or beer. Here the old Stadthalle in the central market square has again a webcam.

Day trips:

Neuschanstein Castle

Weblink: http://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/tourist/ Getting there: Drive or arrange a bus trip (you can write to the local Reutlingen Tourist office to enquire about such trips by bus) Local tip: Make sure to purchase tickets before hand, even in March this is a busy place. Arrive early. See both castles, not just the big one. Hike to the waterfalls and if you are there by car- make sure to go down the street to the gondola and go up on the mountain and look down upon this Disney-inspiring castle.

Heidelberg City

Weblink: http://www.schloss-heidelberg.de/en/home/
Getting there: drive or train (Deutsche bahn). Local tip: This is certainly an easy place to visit if you end up flying into Frankfurt; as this city is about 1 hour from Frankfurt and is directly on the way to Reutlingen. This is a lovely city and I can fully recommend the tour of the castle, as well as taking the Fincular all the way up the mountain and getting some views of the city and castle below.