In 1927, on a hillside overlooking Stuttgart, a group of the most radical architects in Europe built an entire housing estate in a few months as an exhibition of what modern living could look like. The Weissenhof Estate, organised by the Deutscher Werkbund under the direction of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, brought together Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Hans Scharoun, J.J.P. Oud and others, and their flat-roofed, white-walled houses became a manifesto for the International Style.
The estate was controversial from the start. Conservative critics mocked it, and the Nazis later used doctored postcards showing it as an Arab village to attack modernism; some houses were destroyed in the war. About half of the original buildings survive, and the two houses by Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret were added to the UNESCO list in 2016 as part of a transnational site of Le Corbusier's architectural works. One of them now houses a museum where you can see restored interiors and learn the history of the estate.
The estate is a quiet residential area today, with people living in most houses, so be respectful. It sits on the Killesberg, a hill on the north side of the city, close to the Killesberg park and its observation tower. Stuttgart itself sits in a basin surrounded by vineyards and forest, and its streets climb steeply in every direction; the city has hundreds of public staircases.
For motorcyclists, Stuttgart is the home of both Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, and their museums are excellent. Riding in the city is slow and congested, with many traffic lights, but the surrounding hills offer good roads. The Swabian Jura, the Schwäbische Alb, about an hour south, has some of the best biking roads in Germany, with winding climbs up the escarpment. Closer to town, the vineyards along the Neckar valley and the Rems valley make for pleasant rides.
Stuttgart has every service. Note that the city has a low-emission zone that applies to cars but not to motorcycles. Local food includes Maultaschen, large stuffed pasta, and Spätzle, and the local wines, especially Trollinger, are drunk in wine taverns all over the city.