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Black Forest favorite towns

Posted by (WV) on

Just starting to plot a possible summer 2026 trip, either solo or with friends. Thinking about:
Paris - 5 nights (my second visit—I have a list of things to do/see that I missed the first time)
Alsace region - 4 nights. Will likely rent a car.
Black Forest - 4 nights. Possibly base in Gengenbach with day trips accessible by train/bus (making use of Konus card)

I am thinking I/we would train back to CDG for flight home. It looks pretty simple from Gengenbach, and I like the idea of one BF home base. I am open, though, to other ideas.

In BF, I am mainly interested in pursuing cute little towns, local shopping and dining, interesting little museums, possibly attending a Black Forest Music Festival performance (depending on the 2026 programming), possible spa visit, etc.

What are your favorite BF towns? Triberg seems like a possibility, but perhaps too touristy? (Is it good touristy or bad touristy?) I love off-the-beaten-path locations as long as they are interesting.

Thanks for your ideas.

Posted by
4239 posts

Titisee. Touristy. In a bad way. When I was in the Black Forest a few years ago, our B&B owner initially suggested skipping Titisee. Then she said, "No, go to Titisee and see all the foreign tourists. Then go to Schluchsee to see the German tourists."

There is an open air museum at Gutach. https://www.vogtsbauernhof.de/en

Schiltach has a many half-timbered houses.

Gengenbach is a great town for a base -- it is the town a friend and i used for a base several years ago.

Freiburg is a nice college city with a Black Forest twist.

Triberg is touristy but the waterfall is cool. I also enjoyed the Schwarzwaldbahn Erlebnispfad, a hiking trail built around sites related to the Black Forest train line. http://www.schwarzwaldbahn-erlebnispfad.de/de/startseite. (in German)

Posted by
849 posts

I really liked the nice little village of Feldberg. Maybe because we found modern accommodations there - not so easy in the Black Forest Feldberg area, I think. I also liked the 'Ravenna Gorge', the small but beautiful 'Menzenschwander Waterfalls' and the 'Schluchsee'.

Mentioned Freibug is a jam.

Posted by
35236 posts

don't know what you mean by "spa". If you mean a typical German therme, our favourite is in the woods (bus available) just south of Freiburg im Breisgau https://www.keideltherme.de/

A little further south and also in the flatlands is Bad Krozingen with several spas and a therme.

As far as hotels with a spa area for treatments, that's not my style so I have no recommendation.

Using Gengenbach as a base checks the boxes you asked for, "I am mainly interested in pursuing cute little towns, local shopping and dining, interesting little museums" There is a fun museum about how the logs used to be floated down the Kinzig river which is right next to the museum. A nice small town with a bit of wall and beautiful towers and gates.

Posted by
2761 posts

Schiltach and Triberg are my favorite towns after Gengenbach. In Gengenbach be sure to visit the Narren Museum. It has limited open hours. In Schiltach be sure to visit the town museum, perhaps the best designed small museum I have ever visited.

Paris is an easy train trip from Gengenbach via Strasbourg

Posted by
8993 posts

I visited Titisee 35 years ago, and it was great back then, but more tourists are going to Europe now.

Posted by
7762 posts

Some nice suggestions. We enjoyed a couple nights stay in Staufen im Breisgau.

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