Black Forest: which area to stay?

Well, Munich is quite a large city and Freiburg a more medium sized city. I don't know if I'd call them similar. If you are looking for something that feels more German, perhaps Alsace would fit the bill. That area was tossed back and forth between France and Germany a few times. To me, Strasbourg did feel more French, but if you go further south the half timbered small villages around Colmar have a German feel. By train, my recollection is the distance between Paris and Alsace is about 3-4 hours, but its been a while.

Freiburg is a good fit for you if you wish to be near the Black Forest. But you can't compare it to PARIS, for goodness sake! That's night and day different.

The Münsterplatz is terrific.
Biergartens? Yes. Take notes:

https://freiburg.stadtbesten.de/besten-liste/die-besten-freiburger-biergaerten/

Be sure to take a day trip or two into the Black Forest proper.

Black Forest Open-air Museum: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1825958-d190955-Reviews-Black_Forest_Open_Air_Museum_Vogtsbauernhof-Gutach_im_Schwarzwald_Baden_Wurttembe.html

Schiltach: https://www.orte-bw.de/grafik/uploads/12503_2010_1040.JPG

Black Forest Railway: https://www.black-forest-travel.com/places-of-interest/black-forest-railway.html

Jules M: We were originally planning to go to Alsace/Colmar from Paris, but as cute as it looks, I think it might be a bit too sedate for what we are seeking. Munich has such a cool, youthful energy, and that's what I am hoping to find somewhere in the Black Forest region.

Russ: thanks for the awesome link about the beer gardens! I couldn't seem to find anything similar when I searched.

To clarify, I am not looking for any thing like Paris in Germany. I realise that would be nuts!

Heidelberg has a wonderful castle and beautiful old town situated on a river. It is a university town. Perhaps you want to look at that with Freiburg or instead of Freiburg.

Freiburg is a university town so it does have that youthful feeling, but it's a lot smaller than Munich, although a bit less sedate than Colmar.

However, flying from Paris to Munich really isn't that far. If the feel of Munich is what you want, I'd just fly to Munich.

The nearest big city to the Black Forest is Stuttgart, and 3 hours 10 minutes by train from Paris. There's a lot to recommend, but it's not nearly as beautiful as Munich, nor are the biergartens up to the same standard. My rec for you would be to just go to Munich, or do Freiburg as a 2nd option.

Thanks, Sarah. That’s exactly what we’ve decided to do :)