Legend says Karlsruhe began as the dream of a sleeping noble. It’s a fitting tale – we’ve all been sleeping on Karlsruhe while its big brothers, Stuttgart and Mannheim, enjoy all the attention. This city, the seat of Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court, is a lush picture of urbanism defined by the central (and gobsmacking) Karlsruhe Palace, home to the Badisches Landesmuseum, which chronicles 50,000 years of cultural history. From here, the city grid radiates out, blooming with green spaces that include its Schlossgarten and Schlossplatz – palace courts prime for picnicking. Massive urban forests stretch to the North and South, easily earning the city’s #17 Green Space ranking.
Among the greenery, you’ll find a tech stronghold where citizens work hard (check the #31 Labour Force Participation) and unemployment is low, #19 on our list. The Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion is home to thousands of companies across tech, IT, cybersecurity, and manufacturing, while the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology serves as the headwaters for a healthy flow of start-ups. This year, the Rastatt Tunnel is planned to come into service, part of an evolving route that will eventually link Karlsruhe and Basel, connecting this ascendant city to the rest of the Rhine.