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Bust out the pumpkin spice lattes, the warm cozy sweaters and ALL the pun-kin puns, because Fall has officially arrived and we can’t possibly contain our inner basics any longer.
And what better way to celebrate the arrival of Autumn than frolicking at the world’s largest pumpkin festival?
… Did we mention it’s easily do-able as a (long) day trip from Munich? This post will walk you through everything you need to know.
NOTE: These photos are from the current 2022 Jungle theme
Yes, that’s right, every year has a different theme! And you can check out more detail on their Instagram Page
Visit the official website of the festival here, though be warned that it is quite outdated. Their Instagram page is an easier source of current info.
Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival 2022: Basic Info
When: August 26 – December 4, 2022
Opening Hours: Festival 9:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Pumpkin Gourmet 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Farm & Souvenir Shop 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Culinary and Decorative Pumpkin Sales 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Where: im Blühenden Barock, 71640 Ludwigsburg (The Baroque Gardens in Ludwigsburg, close to Stuttgart)
Cost
(Same as admission to the gardens. Here are the 2022 prices copied from the Gardens website)
- Adults € 10,00
- Children ( age 4 to15) schoolchildren and students (with valid identification) – € 4,80
- Family ticket 1 (One adult and two children (age 4 to 15)) – € 18,50
- Family ticket 2 (Two adults and two children (age 4 to 15)) – € 27,00
- Each additional child in a family (does not apply for children’s groups such as kindergartens, school classes or children’s birthdays and only in connection with the purchase of a family ticket 1 or 2) – € 3,50
- Severely disabled (50% disability or more) € 8,50
- Groups of 20 people or more (when ordering the tickets together) € 8,50
- Evening ticket from 5.30 pm € 6,50
What happens at the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival?
So yes, it’s a bit of a long day trip, but why is it worth it?
Well here are just some of the fun things you can expect at the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival…
Loads of pumpkins
Well first off, there’s just a truly insane amount of pumpkins on display. No joke, there’s actual piles you can just lay on. It’s pretty great.
Pumpkin/squash showcase
If you’ve ever wondered: I wonder how many variations of pumpkin and gourd there are in the world, well there’s a giant wall to show you.
Giant pumpkin sculptures and carvings
One of the highlights of the festival is the massive sculptures made out of pumpkins, which are based on the festival’s theme for that year.
Last year, the theme was Fairytales, the year before that, it was Pumpkin Forest, and the year before that was Rome, which meant pumpkin aquaducts and all sorts of Rome-themed creations (as you can see in all our photos).
In addition, there are giant pumpkin carvings which are scattered around the festival site.
All kinds of pumpkin-flavoured food
Pumpkin Käsespätzle? Pumpkin prosecco? Pumpkin soup?
If you enjoy the taste of pumpkin, you may just faint from the sheer variety of pumpkin goodness.
Lots of exciting pumpkin shopping
Pumpkin oil, actual pumpkins, and more! You can get every pumpkin product under the sun here.
Lots of fun events
Imagine a bunch of grown adults paddling across a lake in a giant hollowed out pumpkin.
Yes, that actually happens here at the annual pumpkin regatta.
There’s also pumpkin weigh-offs, an international contest for the world’s largest pumpkin, plus carving competitions, live music and on the last day: yes, there’s a chance to go SMASHING PUMPKINS.
How to Get to the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival from Munich
Okay, so here’s the final catch: this day trip won’t be too cheap because sadly, it’s not possible to use the Bayern ticket for this trip as Ludwigsburg is located outside of Bavaria.
BUT basically, to get to the festival, you’ll need to get to Stuttgart, take the S-bahn in Stuttgart to Ludwigsburg and walk (about 10 minutes).
The best, most convenient way would be to drive (around 2.5 – 3 hours).
If going by public transit however, we can recommend…
CHEAPEST OPTION:
- Get the Quer-durchs-Land Ticket, and take a regional train to Ulm, then transfer on a regional train to Stuttgart, and hop on the S4 or S5 to arrive at Ludwigsburg. There are also some regional trains that will stop in Ludwigsburg too. This means you can do the whole day for 2 euros (one person), or 6.50 euros extra for each additional person.
MOST CONVENIENT OPTION: [Any day] Taking the ICE train to Stuttgart and then taking the S4, S5 or a regional train to Ludwigsburg. Use Omio to compare times here.
Lastly, if you REALLY want to save some $, you can consider taking a Flixbus to Stuttgart and then taking the S-Bahn, but this will take a very long time and the savings are minimal.
Have you been to the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival?
If not, what are you waiting for? Have a great time! Again, for more information, you can visit the official website of the festival here.
