BlackForest
5
Day Itinerary •
Germany
Five days in the Black Forest gives you the full extraordinary depth of southwest Germany's finest landscape, from the Gothic splendour of Freiburg and the Alpine views from Feldberg through the waterfall country of Triberg and the art nouveau spa of Baden-Baden to the birthplace of Hermann Hesse at Calw, the finest Romanesque ruins in southwest Germany at Hirsau and the working Black Forest farmhouses of the Gutach open-air museum. This route covers every dimension of the Black Forest from the sunny southern wine country and the dramatic summit plateau of Feldberg through the literary heritage of Calw and the ancient trail network of the Westweg to the volcanic vineyard landscape of the Kaiserstuhl and the Rhine border city of Breisach with its extraordinary Gothic frescoes. Five extraordinary days in Germany's most diverse forest landscape.
Best Time To Visit
May to October
Getting There
Train to Freiburg from Frankfurt, 2 hours
Getting Around
Car essential throughout
Budget Per Day
Approx 65 to 315 EUR per person per day
Difficulity
Easy to moderate
DAY 1
FREIBURG AND THE SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST
MORNING
FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, THE SUNNIEST CITY IN GERMANY
Freiburg is the most extraordinary city in the Black Forest, its extraordinary Gothic Munster with the finest spire in Germany rising above the finest medieval market square in the southwest, its extraordinary Bachle water channels running through every street, the colourful Fishermen's and Tanners' quarters and the extraordinary Rathausplatz making it the finest small city in Baden-Wurttemberg. The Munster tower climb gives the finest view of the Black Forest. Munster entry free, tower approx 2 euros. Train/Travel: 30 min cable car
MIDDAY
THE SCHAUINSLAND, THE FINEST VIEWPOINT ABOVE FREIBURG
The Schauinsland at 1,284 metres above Freiburg is the finest and most accessible viewpoint in the southern Black Forest, its extraordinary cable car from Horben giving the finest view of Freiburg, the Rhine plain and the Vosges mountains in Alsace beyond. The Schauinsland walking trails through extraordinary Black Forest meadows and spruce forest are remarkable in all seasons. Cable car approx 16 euros return. Train/Travel: 45 min drive
AFTERNOON
THE FELDBERG, THE HIGHEST POINT IN THE BLACK FOREST
The Feldberg at 1,493 metres is the highest point in the Black Forest and the finest summit in southwest Germany, its extraordinary summit plateau of high moorland with views on clear days to the Alps from Mont Blanc to the Bernese Oberland. The Feldsee crater lake below the summit, the extraordinary Bismarck monument and the Feldberg-Steig circular trail are all remarkable. Cable car to summit approx 14 euros return.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Staufen im Breisgau village 20km from Freiburg is the most extraordinary small town in the southern Black Forest, its extraordinary market square, the ruined Staufen castle on the hill above and the remarkable legend of Faust who died here in 1540 making it the finest hidden destination near Freiburg. The surrounding Markgraflerland wine country produces the finest Gutedel white wine in Germany. The walk from the market square to the castle takes 20 minutes. Entry to castle free.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe Friedrichsbad, Freiburg Outstanding Black Forest breakfast near the Munster. Local cherry jam and Schwarzwaelder Schinken. | Lunch: Gasthaus Schauinsland Outstanding Black Forest lunch at the summit restaurant. Local venison and Feldberg trout. | Dinner: Zum Roten Baren, Freiburg The oldest inn in Germany operating since 1120. Outstanding Baden cuisine and local Spatburgunder.
DAY 2
THE BLACK FOREST HIGH ROAD AND THE TRIBERG WATERFALLS
MORNING
TRIBERG, THE HOME OF THE CUCKOO CLOCK AND THE HIGHEST WATERFALL IN GERMANY
Triberg is the most extraordinary tourist town in the Black Forest, its extraordinary Gutach waterfall at 163 metres the highest accessible waterfall in Germany, its extraordinary house of 1,000 clocks, the remarkable Black Forest Open Air Museum and the Triberg market selling the finest Black Forest ham, cherry schnapps and hand-carved cuckoo clocks in the region. The waterfall walk is 15 minutes from the town. Entry to waterfall approx 5 euros. Train/Travel: 45 min drive
MIDDAY
THE SCHWARZWAELDERKIRSCHKUCHEN AND THE ORIGINAL BLACK FOREST CAKE
The Cafe Schaefer in Triberg is the most extraordinary bakery in Germany, its extraordinary original Black Forest cake recipe identical to the one invented by Josef Keller in 1915, its extraordinary display of cuckoo clocks and the finest Black Forest gateau in the region giving it a character unlike any other cafe in Germany. The competition between Triberg's cake shops for the finest Schwarzwaelderkirschkuchen is the finest food rivalry in the Black Forest. Cake from approx 5 euros. Train/Travel: 30 min drive
AFTERNOON
THE BLACK FOREST HIGH ROAD AND THE MUMMELSEE
The Black Forest High Road from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt is the finest mountain driving route in southwest Germany, its extraordinary Hornisgrinde summit at 1,164 metres, the extraordinary Mummelsee crater lake of legend and the remarkable Black Forest panoramas giving 60km of the finest scenic driving in Germany. The Mummelsee walk around the lake is 30 minutes through extraordinary spruce forest. Entry free.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Allerheiligen waterfalls in the northern Black Forest near Oppenau are the most extraordinary waterfall complex in the Black Forest, a series of six cascades descending 90 metres through the ruins of an extraordinary Premonstratensian monastery destroyed by lightning in 1803. The waterfall trail through the extraordinary sandstone gorge past the monastery ruins is the finest 2-hour walk in the northern Black Forest. Entirely free from the Allerheiligen car park.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Hotel Pfaff, Triberg Outstanding Black Forest breakfast before the waterfall walk. Local honey and dark forest bread. | Lunch: Cafe Schaefer, Triberg The finest Black Forest cake in Germany. Buy the original Schwarzwaelderkirschkuchen and eat on the terrace. | Dinner: Berghotel Mummelsee Outstanding Black Forest dinner at the extraordinary crater lake hotel. Local venison and Baden wine.
DAY 3
THE BADEN WINE ROUTE AND THE NORTHERN BLACK FOREST
MORNING
BADEN-BADEN, THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY SPA TOWN IN GERMANY
Baden-Baden is the most extraordinary spa and casino town in Germany, its extraordinary Friedrichsbad Roman-Irish thermal bath where you bathe naked in a sequence of 17 thermal pools in an extraordinary 19th-century Renaissance building, the Caracalla Therme, the extraordinary Kurhaus casino where Marlene Dietrich and Fyodor Dostoevsky gambled and the magnificent Lichtentaler Allee park making it the finest spa destination in Germany. Friedrichsbad entry approx 29 euros. Train/Travel: 30 min drive
MIDDAY
THE KAISERSTUHL VOLCANIC MASSIF AND THE FINEST PINOT NOIR IN GERMANY
The Kaiserstuhl near Breisach is the most extraordinary volcanic landscape in Germany, an ancient volcanic massif rising from the Rhine plain covered in the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards in the country. The extraordinary loess cliff formations, the warm microclimate allowing exotic plants more common in the Mediterranean and the Weingut Dr Heger producing the finest Kaiserstuhl Spatburgunder make it the finest hidden wine destination in Baden. Wine tasting approx 10 euros. Train/Travel: 45 min drive
AFTERNOON
STRASBOURG, THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY CATHEDRAL CITY ON THE RHINE
Strasbourg in Alsace just across the Rhine from the Black Forest has the most extraordinary Gothic cathedral in France, its extraordinary astronomical clock, the extraordinary Petite France quarter of half-timbered canal houses and the remarkable Musee de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame making it the finest day trip from Freiburg. The Strasbourg Christmas market is the oldest in Europe. Entry to cathedral free, astronomical clock approx 3 euros.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Stollen caves at Wolfach in the central Black Forest are the most extraordinary silver mining tunnels in the region, their extraordinary crystal-encrusted galleries, the underground museum of mining tools and the remarkable fluorescent mineral displays giving the finest underground experience in southwest Germany. The Schaubergwerk Silberbrunnenstollen tour is entirely free on specific dates. Paid entry approx 8 euros. The crystal formations in the Black Forest sandstone are extraordinary.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe Konig, Baden-Baden The finest cafe in Baden-Baden since 1872. Outstanding pastries and the best coffee in the Black Forest. | Lunch: Weingut Dr Heger, Ihringen Outstanding Kaiserstuhl wine estate lunch. The Spatburgunder tasting menu is extraordinary. | Dinner: Zum Lowen, Sulzburg The finest restaurant in the southern Black Forest. Outstanding Baden Michelin-starred food. Book ahead.
DAY 4
THE NORTHERN BLACK FOREST FOOTPATHS
MORNING
CALW, THE FINEST HISTORIC TOWN IN THE NORTHERN BLACK FOREST
Calw is the birthplace of Hermann Hesse, the Nobel Prize-winning author of Steppenwolf and Siddhartha, and the most extraordinary medieval town in the northern Black Forest, its extraordinary Nikolausbridge from 1400, the half-timbered market square and the Hermann Hesse Museum in his birthplace making it the finest literary town in Baden-Wurttemberg. The museum collection is the finest in any author's birthplace in Germany. Entry to museum approx 5 euros. Train/Travel: 45 min drive
MIDDAY
HIRSAU MONASTERY AND THE FINEST ROMANESQUE RUINS IN THE BLACK FOREST
The Hirsau Abbey ruins near Calw are the most extraordinary Romanesque monastery ruins in southwest Germany, their extraordinary 11th-century cloister walls, the Owl Tower and the extraordinary Eulenturm giving the finest medieval atmosphere in the northern Black Forest. The monastery was the most important Benedictine centre in Germany in the 11th century. The ruins are in a water meadow beside the Nagold river. Entry free. Train/Travel: 30 min walk
AFTERNOON
THE WESTWEG, THE FINEST LONG-DISTANCE TRAIL IN GERMANY
The Westweg from Pforzheim to Basel is the finest long-distance hiking trail in Germany, its 285km route through the entire Black Forest from north to south passing extraordinary summit meadows, deep river valleys and remarkable viewpoints. The section above Calw through the extraordinary Nagold valley gives the finest single-day section of the trail. Trail markers throughout. Entirely free.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Nagold valley between Calw and Nagold is the most extraordinary hidden valley in the northern Black Forest, its extraordinary medieval town of Nagold with the ruined Hohennagold castle above, the half-timbered villages of Rohrdorf and Emberg in the valley and the complete absence of tourist infrastructure making it the finest undiscovered landscape in southwest Germany. The Goldersbach side valley above Bebenhausen is extraordinary in autumn. Entirely free via public footpath.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Hesse Cafe, Calw Outstanding breakfast at the cafe facing the extraordinary birthplace of Hermann Hesse. Local Black Forest honey. | Lunch: Klosterschaenke Hirsau Outstanding traditional Baden food in the restaurant beside the monastery ruins. Local trout and Pinot. | Dinner: Lamm, Calw Outstanding regional food in the finest historic inn in Calw. Local Black Forest venison and mushrooms.
DAY 5
THE BLACK FOREST OPEN AIR MUSEUM AND BADEN WINE
MORNING
THE BLACK FOREST OPEN AIR MUSEUM AT GUTACH
The Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof at Gutach is the finest open-air museum in southwest Germany, its extraordinary collection of original Black Forest farmhouses relocated from across the region and restored to working condition with farm animals, craftspeople and extraordinary period interiors giving the most complete picture of traditional Black Forest life available anywhere. Entry approx 11 euros. Train/Travel: 30 min drive
MIDDAY
BREISACH AND THE EXTRAORDINARY RHINE CATHEDRAL TOWN
Breisach on the Rhine border with France is the most extraordinary border town in Germany, its extraordinary minster of St Stephan perched on a basalt rock above the Rhine with the finest frescoes in southwest Germany, the remarkable view over the Rhine to the French Vosges and the extraordinary wine cellars of the Badischer Winzerkeller, the largest wine cooperative in Europe, making it the finest hidden town near Freiburg. Entry to minster free. Train/Travel: 30 min drive
AFTERNOON
THE BADEN WINE ROAD FROM BREISACH TO FREIBURG
The Badische Weinstrasse from Breisach to Freiburg through the Kaiserstuhl and Tuniberg wine villages is the finest short wine road drive in Germany, its extraordinary volcanic vine terraces, the medieval wine villages of Ihringen, Bickensohl and Vogtsburg and the extraordinary cooperative wineries offering the finest Baden Spatburgunder tastings in the region. The Kaiserstuhl at sunset is the finest wine landscape in Germany. Tastings from approx 8 euros.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The Glottertal valley 15km from Freiburg is the most extraordinarily filmed landscape in Germany, the valley used as the setting for the long-running German television series Schwarzwaldklinik for over 20 years creating an extraordinary combination of filming location tourism and genuine Black Forest valley beauty. The extraordinary valley walk from Glottertal village through the vineyard slopes to the summit meadows takes 3 hours and gives the finest view of the Freiburg plain below. Entirely free.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Landgasthof Adler, Gutach Outstanding Black Forest breakfast at the finest country inn near the open-air museum. | Lunch: Weingut Stigler, Ihringen Outstanding wine estate lunch in the finest Kaiserstuhl producer. Spatburgunder and local charcuterie. | Dinner: Colombi Hotel restaurant, Freiburg The finest dinner in Freiburg. Outstanding Baden cuisine. One Michelin star. Book ahead.
Where To Stay
Freiburg, Nights 1 to 3 Hotel Zum Roten Baren or Colombi. Approx 90 to 250 euros per night. Calw or Baden-Baden, Nights 4 to 5 Brenners Park-Hotel Baden-Baden or Hotel Kloster Hirsau. Approx 100 to 400 euros.
Top Tips
1. Westweg trail from Calw: download the Black Forest Association app for GPS waypoints. Entirely free and well marked.
2. Hirsau monastery at dawn: the Romanesque ruins in morning mist are the finest atmospheric sight in the Black Forest.
3. Kaiserstuhl Spatburgunder: the volcanic soil produces Germany's finest Pinot Noir. Buy direct from Dr Heger estate.
4. Gutach open air museum: allow 3 hours minimum. The working blacksmith and baker demonstrations are extraordinary.
5. Breisach minster frescoes: the Last Judgement fresco by Martin Schongauer is the finest in southwest Germany.
6. Hesse Museum Calw: the manuscript collection is extraordinary. The author's birthplace room is moving.
Total Budget
65 to 310 EUR/day