4 days going through Germany from Basel, Switzerland toward Belgium

Black forest ( gengenbach )
Rhine - region between Mainz and Koblenz
Mosel River
Luxemburg
Bastogne

What is your destination in Belgium? While not too big top to bottom it is fairly wide, so the route to arrive will be considerably different.

Have you already seen the the Middle Rhine? Do you prefer indoor or outdoor attractions? What month of the year? Do you prefer to sleep in the smallest, most local accommodations, or do you prefer larger hotels? It does sound like you are prepared to change rooms every night of the 4 in Germany. Because the Black Forest and southern Belgium have plenty of hiking and scrambling options, is that your kind of outdoor action?

Don't forget to check on drop charges for leaving the car in a different country. When I rented in Zurich a few years ago, they told me I could only drive in the directly abutting countries. But I think their real concern was Eastern Europe. Check the rules.

I don't mean to just evade your question, but the number of options in Germany for a drive this long are simply staggering. I always use Lonely Planet Germany, but the amount of reading to be done is massive. And (ironic joke) you won't really have seen very "much" of Germany after this drive. Plan to return!

Because the east-west drive at the general latitude of Brussels has several nice Belgian attractions, you might go that far in Germany. But as the previous post noted, there are many routes possible. Although I like nearby Trier, I'm inclined to skip the Luxembourg route because you mentioned Germany by name. There are many Roman monuments in Germany, although not all as good as Trier. BTW, look into the Vitra Design Campus in Weil am Rhein and Augusta Raurica, both around Basel.

To Nigel: We are heading toward Bruges where we will spend 3 nights. We will also stay in some small town for a couple of nights on the way to Bruges.

To Tim: We have been to Germany several times, most recently 4 years ago. We are an older couple and not very active, particularly my husband who has trouble with walking. We enjoy the scenic beauty of Germany, its culture and food. We are coming off a river cruise in the south of France and will be driving across Switzerland, where we have not been in many years. We thought we would like to have a few days in Germany on our way to Belgium. So we are basically looking for some small towns to stop in Germany on route. We could do a different town on each of the 4 nights but prefer staying in 2 places for 2 nights each. That's a little more leisurely and we can see more of each town. We were thinking of staying in some towns in the Back Forest, although our route puts us mostly on the western perimeter. We wold probably go as far north as Heidelberg (although we don't want to stay there) before heading toward Luxumbourg.

Yes, I am very aware of the surcharge for dropping the car off in a different country. That is why we will drop off the car at the Paris airport before we go home.

Thanks for any suggestions.

"We enjoy the scenic beauty of Germany, its culture and food... our route puts us mostly on the western perimeter. We wold probably go as far north as Heidelberg..."

The German wine route is filled with nice towns and good scenery and runs north/south just west of the Rhine River and south of the Heidelberg/Mannheim region:

http://www.germany.travel/en/leisure-and-recreation/scenic-routes/german-wine-route.html

Further south and already mentioned by Stephen, Gengenbach, southeast of Strasbourg France and a few miles from Offenburg, is a charming town with old town wall remnants and towers. You could stay there and drive to Black Forest towns nearby.

https://www.pfeffermuehle-gengenbach.de/files/gengenbach-innenstadt.jpg

In the Black Forest, the Vogtsbauernhof open-air museum in Gutach, the town of Schiltach, and the acclaimed restaurants in Baiersbronn are just some of the places that might interest you close by.

sara, it's often pointed out that getting to Bruges by car involves plenty of unpleasant highway traffic. I don't mean to flog the train, but I think it's easier to enjoy the scenery when you don't have to drive and navigate. I've spent six weeks in Antwerp, and have been the Bruges twice, and the views from Belgian highways are home centers and retail stores, not farms and wooden villages. Do you really want to drive all this way?

I question visiting the BF when there is a walking problem. A compact half-timbered German town is less demanding.

Russ: Thanks so much for the suggestions. I will check out the websites you provided.

Tim: I love train travel but we are getting a car so we have more flexibility and don't have to worry about schlepping suitcases. We will try to stay off the freeway in Belgium. I am interested in seeing this country, even if it is just retail stores and shopping centers! I have heard a lot of nice things about Bruges and want to see it. Thanks for all your advice.

While you are in Bruges/Brugge or on arrival there you might visit Ypres, the scene of much horror in the First World War, the War to End All Wars. Trenches and defences have been preserved, visiting the many many cemeteries is very moving, and there is a ceremony at the Menin Gate every evening at (I think I remember correctly) 8pm.

If you are Canadian, a little further southeast is the Vimy Memorial at Vimy Ridge, the the last spot of life of many Canadians. The mine craters there are most impressive, and the Canadians have done a fabulous job of presenting the events which took place in those horrendous times.

It isn't clear to me when your trip is, but I will chime in about the experiences of driving in Belgium, and particularly the logical stretch northwest of Luxembourg. I drive that route frequently, most recently in June. The road construction around Namur is so bad, and that around Charleroi and most Wallonian cities, and the road condition (huge potholes and other road problems exacerbated by the very hard winter we had recently, and the lack of money to fix them promptly) that when I had to drive it again in the last couple of weeks I decided with my wife that we would rather drive 2 and a half hours longer and pay a lot of money for French tolls and drive around the problems by driving through France between Luxembourg and Lille. I just can't imaging using the roads around Namur again until they are finished with the repairs.

You say you like trains. Do you also like tiny trains? There is a world-class model train layout of the Black Forest railways in the small Black Forest town of Hausach, a few km beyond Gengenbach.

If you stay in most parts of the Black Forest area, but most specifically excluding the vicinity of Freiburg im Breisgau, you will get a free KONUS card which gives free travel on trains and buses in the entire Black Forest area, including all the way down to Basel.

On the Deutsches Weinstrasse we particularly like Deidesheim.

I'm referring you to a recent Trip Report of mine that won't all be relevant,

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/baltic-germany-fachwerke-landesgartenschau

Skip down to the section with the large subheading "Fachwerkestrasse"' and also look at the last 5 or so posts, where others comment. Be sure to read my last (bottom) post in that thread, because it mentions a very scenic area (there are many in Germany) south of Aschaffenberg.

I would mention that there are a lot of attractive small cities in Belgium. They don't all have Bruges' pedigree, but I would hate to drive all the way to Bruges and not spend a full day in Antwerp. I often write here that Turnhout (which has quite a nice Beguinhof) is a beautiful small city where people enjoy contemporary prosperity in mostly modern houses. The old square is magnificient, with a very fine cathedral with nice woodwork inside, and an unlocked (last time I was there) Art Deco town hall. This is NOT a major tourist destination. Although it is a university city, Leuven is a very attractive small city. Driving inside Belgian cities is not pleasant, and parking not cheap.

The village of Staufen would be a good spot for two nights (and many more) at the bottom end of your leg. From here, worth hitting are Freiburg, Endingen, Bad Sackingen and Laufenburg (Swiss side), the latter three off the radar for most.The other side of the main north-south highway are Colmar and the pretty wine villages around it. All within an hour or so.

Northwards, I'd recommend Wissembourg in Alsace for two nights. On the way, Gengenbach is a lovely visit. Also on the way, if you are interested, the convent of Mont Sainte Odile and the fabulous castle visit of Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg. From Wissembourg, many options a short drive away, all relatively easy walking. Baden-Baden (centre and park) and the wine villages just to the north - Bad Bergzabern, Doerrenbach, Saint Martin and Deidesheim. Speyer, if you want to spend the better part of a day in one place.

Try stick to the side roads.