Ettlingen: Palace, Old Town and Routes into the Countryside

Discover the Palace and the Town’s History

The Museum of the City of Ettlingen is housed in the historic palace in the heart of the Old Town. It explores the history and present of the town and region. Across around 1,800 m², it presents collections and changing exhibitions. The museum also offers themed guided tours, activity days and cultural education activities. Depending on your interests, you can combine your museum visit with a guided tour, an activity day or an offering from its cultural education programme.

One striking feature of the palace is the dome fresco in the Asam Hall. Its eight main scenes depict the life and suffering of Saint John of Nepomuk. At the same time, the hall provides a magnificent setting for numerous concerts. Art and culture enthusiasts will therefore find both a specific work with a clearly structured pictorial programme and a venue used for concerts.

The Museum at the Lauerturm also offers a special historical perspective: the adjoining former barn, dating from the 18th century, houses an extensive collection of objects from the working and everyday lives of the rural community around 1900. Its focus differs from the collections and changing exhibitions in the palace, turning attention to rural working and living environments.

If you would like to get to know the Old Town through several stops rather than at just one location, you can follow the Historical Trail. Its 26 stops lead through Ettlingen’s historic Old Town. Another option is the tower of the Museum at the Lauerturm, which visitors can explore via a stone spiral staircase. The two experiences offer different perspectives: a walk through the Old Town, and a climb up the museum tower.

Cycling and Routes through the Countryside

Ettlingen offers leisure cyclists and mountain bikers a range of tours of varying lengths and difficulty levels. When choosing, you can consider the kind of cycling you prefer for your stay and which route length or difficulty suits your plans. Two long-distance routes also pass through Ettlingen: the Rhine Valley Cycle Route and the cross-border Pamina Cycle Route. Both are distinct cycling routes; the Pamina Cycle Route is specifically cross-border.

On foot, hiking trails along orchard meadows and irrigated meadows offer further impressions. They lead in and around Ettlingen and offer wide-ranging views. If you would rather fill your days with outdoor activity than museum visits, these trails can be a focus of your trip. Ettlingen is a suitable starting point for excursions into the Alb Valley.

You can weigh up these different interests when choosing where to stay, without combining them into one set itinerary: the palace, museum and Historical Trail suit a culture-focused stay, while cycling tours and hiking trails offer a different emphasis. A holiday apartment in Ettlingen can serve as a base for the experiences you prefer. Before you start searching, consider which of these themes will matter most for your trip.

The palace festival also shapes the town’s cultural life each summer, transforming the palace courtyard into a theatre stage. Together with the concerts in the Asam Hall, this adds a variety of venues to the cultural programme. If you want to focus your stay on culture, you can consider these events alongside the museum and Old Town.

Discover More Places

If you would like to discover more destinations: Karlsdorf-Neuthard, Oberderdingen, Sulzfeld, Rheinstetten, Oberhausen-Rheinhausen, Waghäusel, Gondelsheim and Bruchsal.

For the broader travel overview: Karlsruhe.