Rastatt combines Baroque urban history with walking trails through parks and floodplains. When planning your visit, it helps to choose a focus: palaces and museums, a themed walking tour of the city centre, or longer routes on foot and by bike. This lets you tailor your stay to your interests and the amount of time you have.
Baroque architecture and urban history
Rastatt Palace, the palace of the “Türkenlouis”, is the earliest Baroque residence on the Upper Rhine. Together with Favorite Palace, Rastatt Palace Church is the most significant architectural testament to Margravine Sibylla Augusta (1675–1733). The Catholic parish church of St. Alexander also shapes the cityscape as a Baroque church; it was consecrated in 1764.
A guided tour of Favorite Palace and its grounds includes magnificent state rooms, Germany’s oldest mirrored cabinet and the world’s largest collection of Meissen porcelain from the early days of porcelain production. These insights offer a distinct focus for a visit that takes in both architecture and the collection.
The City Museum is housed in the so-called Vogelsche Haus. The building was constructed around 1705 as a cavalier’s house to plans by Domenico Egidio Rossi. Today, the museum documents the Baroque founding of the town from the late 18th century to the present day. Its permanent exhibition covers Rastatt’s 300-year history; special exhibitions that change each year explore local and cultural history. Exhibits also include a mammoth tusk found in a gravel pit lake.
In the wider Rastatt destination
The wider Rastatt destination also offers a distinct way to explore history: the Memorial to the Freedom Movements presents milestones in the development of liberty and democratic traditions from the early modern period to the present day. Exhibits, models, pictures, caricatures and contemporary texts illustrate the revolutionary struggle of men and women across Germany in 1848/49, which ended with the fall of Rastatt Fortress.
Historic routes and trails
The Historic Route through Rastatt’s city centre takes you past six of the eight museums and 23 of the most beautiful and important sights, all accessible on foot in just a few minutes. Allow around an hour and a half for the route, which covers 24 historic sites. This helps you decide whether to explore the city on a shorter walk or a longer historical tour.
The Baden Revolution is also the theme of the Revolution Trail. This approximately two-kilometre circular route leads through the city centre to prominent buildings and sites of the revolution. Ground markers in Baden’s colours and information panels mark the way. If you want to follow a specific historical theme on your walk, this is a clearly defined alternative to the broader Historic Route.
The Mur loop walking route starts in the centre of Rastatt. Several bridges let you adjust its length, so you can choose how far to walk. For cyclists, the 67-kilometre “Tour de Murg” scenic cycle route runs from Freudenstadt to Rastatt. The Great Floodplain Cycle Route crosses the Rastatt floodplains and continues into Alsace by ferry Saletio. If you are planning a guided tour, check the dates in advance.
Park and floodplains
The twelve-hectare park around Favorite Palace is in the Niederbühl-Förch district of Rastatt. Exotic plants shape the landscaped garden. The park is ideal for walking, jogging, picnicking, relaxing and photography. It offers different options from the city-centre routes, without requiring you to choose a particular walking tour.
You can go hiking in the protected Rastatt Rhine floodplains. The Salmon Discovery Trail offers another perspective on nature, exploring the diversity of life above and below the water and the return of salmon since 2011. In Rastatt, landscaped parkland, protected floodplains and nature education provide distinct options to explore.
Discover more destinations: Steinmauern, Ă–tigheim, Moos, BĂĽhl, Gaggenau, BĂĽhlertal, RheinmĂĽnster, Gernsbach
Back to the wider travel overview: Rastatt.
