Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival-The Best Fall Festival in Germany
The Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival is THE fall event to hit in Germany. There aren’t as many fall farm festivals or pumpkin patches here, but going to a castle and looking at pumpkin displays is the a great alternative. The festival has everything from a gorgeous setting, pumpkin food and drinks, and impressive and interactive pumpkin sculptures!
Ludwigsburg is just outside of Stuttgart, Germany-about a 30 minute drive. The festival takes place at Schloss Ludwigsburg, the city’s palace.
Address: Schlossstrasse 30, 71634
In 2023 the festival runs from August 25-December 3. Beginning on October 28, the festival will come alive with light displays at night as well.
The festival is open everyday from 9:00-8:30. The gastronomy (food vendors) and shops don’t open until 10:30 and close at 5:00.
What to do at the Pumpkin Festival
Upon entering the palace grounds, you will be greeted with a grand royal garden. At our visit in late September the flowers were blooming and beautiful! The palace really is lovely and would make a great place to visit any time of year-festival or not.
The pumpkin festival is set up behind the palace. Once you walk around the back you’ll start seeing vendors selling pumpkin foods, a marketplace where you can buy different types of pumpkins, and giant pumpkin sculptures inline with that year’s theme.
Wander around taking in the pumpkin art and find your way to the gastronomy area where you can try all kinds of pumpkin dishes like pie, bread, soup, spaghetti, even pumpkin fries (pommes)! In my opinion the pumpkin soup and the pumpkin secco (sparkling wine) are two can’t miss dishes.
Also on the palace grounds is the Märchengarten which is like a fairytale area. There are little houses and displays set up telling some of Germany’s favorite children’s stories. You can even find Rapunzel’s Tower where you can yell to Rapunzel to let down her hair (and she will). There are many interactive things in this part of the palace, so don’t miss it!
The palace grounds are quite expansive and you can also find a pond, old carousel, some cages with birds, a Japanese garden and more.
Special Events at the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival
Make sure to check the website for special events happening during the festival. For instance there will be the pumpkin weighing championship, pumpkin carving, Jack O’Lantern display, Thanksgiving celebration, carving the giant pumpkins, and even a visit from Santa Claus all still to come!
How to Get to the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival
If you take the train to Ludwigsburg, you can walk to the palace in about 10-15 minutes from the main Ludwigsburg Hauptbahnhof.
If you come by car, you can park on the street if you find a spot or park at a nearby garage and walk.
It is best to arrive in the morning, close to the opening time. This helps you beat the crowds. By 11:30 AM the lines for food were quite long. We got our food around 11:00 with no wait and plenty of seating available. The festival crowds only get larger through the day. We left around 2:00 when the masses were showing up.
Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival Tickets
You can purchase tickets at the palace when you get there. We arrived in the morning and didn’t have to wait too long. By the time we were leaving around 2:00, there was a line of people waiting to purchase.
The general prices are:
11.50 EUR per adult
5.50 EUR per child
under 4 is free
Family tickets and discounts available
Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival Tips
Bring cash! Cards were accepted almost everywhere in the festival in 2023, but the coffee stand only accepted cash. It’s also a good idea to have some cash for parking just in case. One year I wasn’t able to get the parking app to work.
Arrive early. As mentioned earlier, the festival gets more crowded as the day goes on. It’s best to be there earlier than the masses. We recommend eating early if you can to avoid waiting in line for food and searching for open tables.
Bring your own snacks and water. Even though there are places to buy food and drinks, with kids it's always best to have extras on you for whenever the tantrums strike.
Wear comfortable shoes. The festival and grounds are quite large and you will do a lot of walking.
Bring a wagon or stroller to haul home pumpkins. There is a marketplace with many varieties of pumpkins for sale. It’s a great place to buy some pumpkins to bring home for your fall decor. Having some wheels makes it easier to carry them out.
Overall the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival is truly an enjoyable event for all ages! This year made our third visit and we surely would come back again. If you can’t make a visit in the fall, consider coming in the spring when the palace has an Easter display, summer when they do sand sculptures.
Have you visited the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival before? Tell me below in the comments!
