Domed Schloss Solitude, perched above Stuttgart, was built in 1763 for Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg as a hunting palace and summer residence. Blending rococo and neoclassical styles, it is a lavish confection, with an opulently frescoed, chandelier-lit, gilded interior: top billing goes to the pearly white, stucco-encrusted Weisse Saal (White Hall).

　　Hook onto one of the hourly guided tours (in German) to see the interior; private group tours in English available on request. Outside, far-reaching views across the Württemberg plains to Ludwigsburg await. The palace is linked to the latter via Solitudeallee, a partially tree-lined, 13km boulevard made for strolling. The palace once housed an elite school that gave rise to such illustrious pupils as poet, playwright and philosopher Friedrich Schiller.

　　To reach the palace from Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, take the S-Bahn to Feuersee, then bus 92 to Solitude.