The Residenzschloss is the main reason most people come to Ludwigsburg. It was the primary residence of the Württemberg royal family and is the largest baroque palace in Germany still in its original condition. Guided tours cover the royal apartments; the palace church and the fashion museum in the north wing are separately ticketed but worth an hour each.
The Blühendes Barock (Blooming Baroque) garden surrounding the palace is open from spring through autumn. The baroque formal garden section is immaculate; in summer the fairy-tale garden at the far end is popular with families. Come in May or June when the plantings are at their peak.
The Ludwigsburger Porzellan factory is still making porcelain using 18th-century techniques. There's a museum and a shop; the factory tours give a genuine sense of how the craft works.
The old town around Marktplatz is pleasant to walk. The square hosts a weekly market and several good independent shops. The scale of the baroque grid — wide streets, symmetrical facades — means that even a short stroll feels designed, because it was.