Böblingen is a city in Baden-Württemberg, near Stuttgart.

Understand

The town is a part of the wider metropolitan area of Stuttgart and has a close neighbour that is similar in size, Sindelfingen. The city can be seen as made up of three parts: to the west of the rail line and around the old airfield a mainly industrial and commercial area; east of the rail station a modern shopping area; and the old town further east going up the hill. The town is influenced by the automotive industry, in particular Daimler (Mercedes). Car manufacturing has a tradition of over 100 years in the area and a lot of businesses belong to the industry.

Get in

By plane

1 Stuttgart Airport (STR ^IATA), ☏ +49 711 948-0. Stuttgart Airport is the nearest international airport. There is no direct connection from the airport to Böblingen, but you can reach Böblingen by Stuttgart's S-Bahn system, changing trains (from S2 or S3 to S1) at Stuttgart-Rohr. Taxi still is in reasonable distance. Some hotels in Sindelfingen offer shuttle service to the airport.   A direct connection to Böblingen station is in the making in conjunction with the Stuttgart 21 project, but it will take at least to 2027 to go in service.

You can also use the Frankfurt Airport (FRA ^IATA), which has a direct high-speed railway connection to Stuttgart, which takes little 80 minutes, landing you at Stuttgart's Hauptbahnhof (central railway station). From there you can use the local public transportation.

By bus and train

Böblingen and Sindelfingen have a unified bus and train system that is a part of the greater unified transport system of Stuttgart (VVS). The standard ticket is valid for two hours and allows access to all bus lines and trains in the area of both cities. StadtTicket for Böblingen and Sindelfingen is valid for the whole day until 7 a. m. the next morning. Trains run at a frequency of two trains at least,  S1  runs four trains during rush hour. Bus lines of the Stadtbus for the most part get served at a frequency of once or twice every hour. On Sundays and national holidays, service is limited to once every hour. Some bus lines to the industrial or shopping areas do not run on Sundays. A layout of the traffic lines in Böblingen and Sindelfingen is here. All informations about public transport in the area of Stuttgart are at the VVS homepage in German and English.

• 2 Goldberg.  S1  Goldberg station has a big park and ride with free capacity. There is a vending machine for parking tickets up to some days, parking tickets at a low fee for a whole month are available at Böblingen station. (updated Apr 2022)
• 3 Böblingen.  S1  S60  Böblingen station has a small and more expensive park and ride and acts as a hub for both cities. Böblingen is a stop for long distance trains to Stuttgart and to the south to Singen and Freudenstadt.  S1  connects to Stuttgart. It is the terminus for  S60  to Sindelfingen and Renningen and for the Schönbuchbahn. (updated Oct 2021)
• 4 Böblingen ZOB. Zentrale Omnibus Station - ZOB. The central bus station of Böblingen neighbours the train station and provides Stadtbus lines to both cities (Pflieger-Stadtbus) and additional bus lines to neighbouring cities.  
• 5 Böblingen-Hulb.  S1  Hulb station is the next S-Bahn stop of the S-bahn line S1 to the south and gives access to the industrial zone of Böblingen-Hulb. (updated Oct 2021)
• 6 Sindelfingen.  S60  Sindelfingen station is next to the car manufacturing plant and allows access to the city centre of Sindelfingen and Sindelfingen ZOB by foot. (updated Oct 2021)
• 7 Sindelfingen ZOB. Sindelfingen ZOB is directly in front of the Stern Center and the Cinemax, just a bit to the north of Sindelfingen station and offers more bus lines. (updated Apr 2022)
• 8 Danziger Straße. Schönbuchbahn (RB 46) (updated Apr 2022)
• 9 Südbahnhof. Schönbuchbahn (RB 46) (updated Apr 2022)
• 10 Heusteigstraße. Schönbuchbahn (RB 46) (updated Apr 2022)
• 11 Zimmerschlag. Schönbuchbahn (RB 46) (updated Apr 2022)

By car

Böblingen is very well-connected to major highways and many think it is even too well-connected, as road noise is a big issue. There are four exits to the Autobahn 81, that runs in north and south direction. The Autobahn 8, which runs in east-west direction, is only a few kilometres away and is connected by Kreuz Stuttgart to Autobahn 81. Additionally, there is the Bundesstraße 464 which runs along the west side of the city. Three exits connect to Bundesstraße 464 and to some neighbouring cities.

The old city has only access roads and only residential parking. You should never drive into these parts unless you know exactly the spot where you want to go and how to get in and out again. Böblingen and Sindelfingen owe their wealth to the development of the car and the car industries. They are the two cities that treat cars like holy cows, but still do milk them a bit. Never touch a car, it is offensive and keep distance. There is only little free parking in the city centre, however in the industrial and commercial area of Böblingen-Hulb the shopping malls offer free parking.

Get around

By taxi

• TAXI ZENTRALE Böblingen Sindelfingen, ☏ +49 7031 19 410, toll-free: +49 800 11 19 410, fax: +49 7031 23 61 63. Since 1969, with 45 cabs day & night on the road. 
• TAXI Yellow, ☏ +49 7031 710657. 

See

• 1 MotorWorld Region Stuttgart (Motorworld Böblingen, Meilenwerk), Wolfgang-Brumme-Allee 55, ☏ +49 7031 306940. Collection of classic cars to view and some to buy. free entry to walk round, but guided tour costs.  
• 2 Stadtpfarrkirche St. Dionysius. Church. (updated Nov 2021)
• 3 Städtische Galerie Böblingen. museum. (updated Nov 2021)

Do

• 1 Summer at the Lake. 
• Christmas Market. 
• 2 Mineraltherme Böblingen (Thermalbad), Am Hexenbuckel 1, 71032 Böblingen (Bus lines 720, 708, 734). €14-28. (updated Apr 2022)

Eat

Budget

• 1 Subway, Postplatz 1. 
• 2 XXXL Gamerdinger Restaurant, Otto-Lilienthal-Straße 8-16, Böblingen-Hulb, ☏ +49 7031 2120. Yes a furniture store, but on the top floor is a restaurant providing reasonable priced meals. 

Mid-range

• 3 Wichtel Hausbrauerei, Graf-Zeppelin-Platz, ☏ +49 7031 3069899. Good beer and food. 
• 4 Brauhaus Schönbuch, Lange Straße 20, ☏ +49 7031 681323. Excellent beer and good food in Bavaria style beer hall and beer garden. 

Drink

• 1 Seegärtle, Tübinger Straße 7, ☏ +49 7031 229828. Nice beer garden with look on the sea of Böblingen. 
• 2 O’Donovan’s Irish Pub, Breite Gasse 5, ☏ +49 7031 465444. 

Sleep

• 1 Mercure Hotel, Otto-Lilienthal-Straße 18, ☏ +49 7031 6450.  
• 2 V8 hotel, Graf-Zeppelin-Platz 1, ☏ +49 7031 3069880. Automotive themed room. Located directly at the Motorworld. €150-200. (updated Aug 2021)

Go next

• Sindelfingen
• Stuttgart
• Waldenbuch