Esslingen, Germany

Esslingen am Neckar sits along the Neckar River about 12 kilometers east of Stuttgart and is home to roughly 94,000 residents. Founded in 777, Esslingen Abbey became the first monastery in southwest Germany. The 1209 Stadtkirche Saint Dionysius preserves a 1480 late-Gothic interior, while the 1329 Town Hall houses Germany's only surviving late-Gothic painted Renaissance ceiling in its council chamber. On a hill above the city, the 1500 Esslinger Burg fortress and its 1688 Dicker Turm overlook vineyards that feed the 1868 Kessler Sektkellerei, the country's oldest sparkling-wine producer. Each December the medieval Christmas market reopens these same streets.