German car museums and factory tours

[Corranga]

So...

My dad is 60 next year (sshhhh don't tell him I said that!) and I thought some father / son petrol head time would make a good gift. My original thought was a Europe drive and Italian museum / factory tour, but I think that was a bit too crazy as he has a replacement hip and can't really sit around in one place for a long time without it becoming painful, so I'm looking for other interesting options that don't involve me scaring him half to death over 2,000 miles in my passenger seat, probably something more like a flight to somewhere and a rent-a-generic-hatch to get us from hotel to hotel and museum to museum.

So...
He is fascinated by the pre-war German Auto Union / Silver Arrows battles and cars, and I've heard from a not that really interested in cars colleague that Mercedes Museum is quite something.

I did some googling, and discovered that BMW, Porsche, Merc and Audi all have museums next to / near their factories, and are all within about 2 hours of each other.

So, has anyone done the German 4 and if so, are they worth it? Did you factory tour as well, or just museum and are they big enough to warrant a day each? 4 factory tours and museums is maybe a bit overkill, and I was thinking BMW, Merc and Audi plants are probably quite similar, so any recommendations on which ones to tour if possible (I suspect Porsche might be different enough to warrant 2 factories maybe...)

Basically, any and all advice welcome

Chris

[Shug]

The thing with BMW, Mercedes and Audi is whilst they are quite similar companies now, their history is wildly different - from Merc being the first car maker, to Audi's amalgamation from four pre-war german companies, to BMW's aero heritage... Porsche, ironically, might have the more straightforward history (albeit the best in terms of historical cars you'd want to drool at...)

If it was me, I'd see as many as I could, if I had to pick two, it'd be Porsche and Audi - but that's a personal call as I like both manufacturers.

[hendeg]

I've been to Mercedes last year and Porsche a few years ago. Both are in Stuttgart which is pretty handy.

Both are big modern buildings with loads to see. My memory of Porsche is a little hazy but I really liked the story Mercedes go through. You could easily spend a day there.

[Corranga]

The thing with BMW, Mercedes and Audi is whilst they are quite similar companies now, their history is wildly different - from Merc being the first car maker, to Audi's amalgamation from four pre-war german companies, to BMW's aero heritage... Porsche, ironically, might have the more straightforward history (albeit the best in terms of historical cars you'd want to drool at...)

If it was me, I'd see as many as I could, if I had to pick two, it'd be Porsche and Audi - but that's a personal call as I like both manufacturers.

I feel the same, but wasn't too clear in my initial post. I was thinking about all 4 museums, but only 2 factory tours.

A colleague whose wife is German and from around this area has since told me that Mercedes have a museum in Stuttgart and a 2nd location next to the factory, I hadn't realised that.

He also pointed out this hotel, situated in an old US air force base turned airport, which is interesting enough on it's own to warrant further investigation, and that's before we get to the car museum next door, and on site brewery!
http://www.v8hotel.de/en/the-v8-hotel.html

[kerryxeg]

I'm not really a museum visitor, but used up a few hours in Munich visiting the BMW museum, which is right next to a huge BMW factory just beside the Olympic park. The Museum itself was excellent, plenty to see, lots of interactive stuff and a full range of cars and bikes from the ages. The had a nice section devoted to racing engines. If you book ahead I believe you can also do a tour of the factory.

Having done the museum I also wandered over to a BMW Welt, which is an amazing building across the road from the Museum. http://www.bmw-welt.com/en/visitor_info ... times.html Now that is worth a visit just to see the building. Lots about the new technology, like a shopping Mall dedicated to BMW, they also have a wee driving area for car collections and I presume very simple demos. I got there via a couple of trains direct from the airport, pretty easy.

[douglasgdmw]

We have done both the Mercedes and Porsche museum in Stuggart and found them bot fascinating. I would probably put the Mercedes musuem above the Porsche one due the variety and scale of the musuem. We stayed just outside the museum in the Holiday Inn as it was the only one we could find with secure parking for the Evora.

The V8 hotel is great and resides in the Mielenwerk complex. It's a kind of car storage facility that allows the general public to come in and admire the cars owners have in storage (owners can come in and pick them up anytime). This one has a Ferrari, Lambo, Maserati and Lotus service centre:



Definitely recommend a visit to Meilenwerk due to the variety of cars that turn up, we saw a Maserati MC-01 with its very old owner and obviously his daughter as they were staying at the V8 hotel

George

[Fluoxetine]

Visited the Porsche museum in 2014, as part of a euro road trip - Mentioned it before, but what I liked was the access to the exhibits; no 'velvet ropes'.



(There was plenty of security obviously, but everyone seemed to be behaving respectfully while I was there).



We stayed at the Park Inn by Radisson, and that had secure underground parking - 15 minute walk from the centre of town. (Where you can catch the train to the Pork museum - It even has it's own dedicated stop).

[Sanjøy]

Visited the Porsche museum in 2014, as part of a euro road trip - Mentioned it before, but what I liked was the access to the exhibits; no 'velvet ropes'.



(There was plenty of security obviously, but everyone seemed to be behaving respectfully while I was there).



We stayed at the Park Inn by Radisson, and that had secure underground parking - 15 minute walk from the centre of town. (Where you can catch the train to the Pork museum - It even has it's own dedicated stop).

Thinking of doing this as part of a Europ trip with the family Ross, will have passed it by Le Mans weekend though ;(

March 18 to June 12, 2016: “Fascination Sports Cars. - The Future of Performance.” in Berlin

As part of the brand’s “Fascination Sports Car. - The Future of Performance.” exhibition at the DRIVE. Volkswagen Group Forum in Berlin, which runs until June 12, 2016, Porsche is presenting seven select show cars that were as fascinating in the past as they are today. In addition to these seven vehicles, technology models and interactive exhibits offer further insights into Porsche DNA.

Further information can be found here.

June 18 – 19, 2016: Le Mans@Zuffenhausen

Just like last year, the Porsche Museum will remain open round the clock during the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 18, anyone can put themselves in the right mood for the highlight of this year’s WEC racing calendar, be it at the exhibition or in the area around the museum. Visitors may look forward to an extensive programme above and beyond the race. Admission is free for all visitors to the museum on Le Mans weekend.