Rastatt: Baroque Residence and Routes Through the Floodplains
Accommodation in Rastatt
Rastatt combines the history of a Baroque residence with routes through the city center and the river floodplains. Rastatt Palace, the palace of “Türkenlouis,” is the earliest Baroque residence on the Upper Rhine. Favorite Palace, in the Niederbühl-Förch district, offers another way to explore the city’s history: its twelve-hectare landscaped garden features exotic plants. If you want to choose between architecture, museum visits and outdoor activities during your stay, Rastatt offers a range of options.
City History on Two Walking Tours
The Historic Route leads through Rastatt’s city center. Along the way, you can explore 24 historic sites in about an hour and a half. The Revolution Trail offers a special perspective on the Baden Revolution: this circular route, about two kilometers long, leads to notable buildings and sites associated with the revolution. Ground markers in Baden’s colors and information boards mark the route. The different themes give you two distinct ways to explore the city on foot—one focused on historic sites, the other on the revolution.
The City Museum is housed in the so-called Vogelsche Haus. It was built around 1705 as a cavalier’s house, based on plans by Domenico Egidio Rossi. Today, the museum documents the Baroque founding of the city, from the late 18th century to the present day. A permanent exhibition is devoted to Rastatt’s 300-year history; temporary exhibitions on urban and cultural history change annually. The exhibits also include a mammoth tusk found in a gravel pit—a remarkable find alongside the city history exhibitions.
Palaces, Churches and Parks
A tour of Favorite Palace and its grounds takes you through magnificent state rooms and showcases Germany’s oldest mirrored cabinet. The collection also includes the world’s largest collection of early Meissen porcelain. Together with Favorite Palace, Rastatt Palace Church is the most significant architectural testament to Margravine Sibylla Augusta (1675–1733). The Catholic St. Alexander’s Church also shapes the cityscape: the Baroque church was consecrated in 1764.
The twelve-hectare park at Favorite Palace offers space for walking, jogging, picnicking, relaxing and photography. Its design as a landscaped garden featuring exotic plants contrasts with the palace’s historic interiors. This lets you combine an interest in architecture and collections with time outdoors, so your stay doesn’t have to consist solely of museum visits.
Rastatt on Foot, by Bike and in the Floodplains
For a walk of a length you can determine as you go, the Murgrunde starts in the center of Rastatt. Several bridges let you choose the route’s length. If you prefer to follow a signposted themed route, you can include the Revolution Trail, with its ground markers and information boards, in your day’s plans. For cyclists, the 67-kilometer “Tour de Murg” cycling route runs from Freudenstadt to Rastatt. Another option is the Great Floodplain Cycling Tour: it crosses the Rastatt floodplains and continues into Alsace on the Saletio ferry.
The nature trails offer a distinctive experience, too. You can hike in the Rastatt Rhine floodplains, which are protected areas. According to the city’s tourism website, they are among Europe’s last large, intact floodplains. The Salmon Discovery Trail introduces the diversity of life above and below water and explores the return of salmon since 2011. This gives you a choice between city history, a walk of a length you choose, a longer cycling tour and nature-themed activities.
When looking for a holiday apartment in Rastatt, the kind of trip you want can be a useful starting point: historic sites and the City Museum for a city-focused stay, Favorite Palace and its park for a residence experience, or the floodplains and their nature themes.
Discover More Places
For further inspiration, you can also visit the pages about Bühl, Loffenau, Weisenbach, Lautenbach, Muggensturm, Bühlertal, Ottersweier and Iffezheim.
For the broader travel overview: Rastatt.
