The Largest Pumpkin Exhibition in the World
There is nothing that captures this beautiful time of year better than the golden browns, reds and oranges we see falling from the trees, and, of course, in what we grow. If you love autumn as much as we do, you can head to the largest pumpkin exhibition in the world for just €5 for students and €10 for adults!
We woke up one late September Sunday. We were excited that we had a beautiful sunny day. This meant we could finally get down to the pumpkin exhibition and enjoy some autumnal goodness! What says autumn like a nice pumpkin?
We hopped on the train and headed over to Ludwigsburg. We initially had to walk from the train station over to the Residenzschloss, where the exhibition was taking place. It’s a nice walk from the train station as you pass through the sweet old town. As it was still late September, we walked past many people enjoying the last of the sunshine and sipping a coffee on the main square.
We went and joined the back of the queue to go into the gardens surrounding the Residenzschloss. We could already smell the roasting pumpkin seeds covered in cinnamon!
Finally, we got our tickets and could enter inside. The pumpkin exhibition in Ludwigsburg offers everything from DJ scenes to artisan chutneys and Prosecco, all made with pumpkins!
There is even a competition for the biggest pumpkin. They host the largest pumpkins from across Europe. The largest pumpkin from last year was 1190.5 kg. That is literally a tonne of pumpkin fun.
There are hundreds of pieces to see in the exhibition. This year, there is an amazing musical theme with huge pumpkin formations such as a violin, some musical notes and even a grand piano.
We wandered around this exhibition and the grounds of this beautiful gardens for the entire day. The surrounding garden area is immaculate, which is amazing, especially when you consider that this exhibition runs from August until November.
There are even food stalls selling lots of themed treats such as the classic pumpkin soup, pumpkin tarts and those, deliciously smelling, roasted pumpkin seeds. The tastes and smells of this exhibition add something extra special.
This exhibition is a lovely, wholesome day out which you can take at your own pace. You can pose for pictures with the pumpkins for that classic autumn insta shot.
We had a lovely wander around this place. We both loved the exhibition itself and exploring the different gardens surrounding it.
They even have a walk-in aviary. Seeing the variety of birds living in these gardens was amazing. We really enjoyed seeing the Bonsai trees and exploring the Japanese garden.
For all the sights and smells of autumn, this is definitely the place to visit!
We still had a little time before the sunset, so we decided to head across the road to the Schloss Favorite. This Schloss is a nice example of some interesting Baroque architecture. There are deer in the surrounding grounds and walking through the trees on those crunchy leaves gave us the most amazing autumnal feeling.
We came too late in the day to go into the Schloss itself. However, you can do a guided tour of this former hunting lodge for €4 for adults and €2 for students.
The palaces around Ludwigsburg are more than worth a visit at any time of year, but there is something very special about visiting them in the autumn.
We had just started to head back towards the Residenzschloss when the rain started. It rained so much that we got absolutely soaked as we headed back to the train. We both found it so funny that we had just perfectly timed our day with the perfect weather just before the rain came.
Such a great experience. All the pumpkins look incredible. I definitely have to go there this year if I am in the area. Thank you for sharing this story with us!