Freiburg vs. Gengenbach

IMO Gengenbach is valuable - and gets the attention it deserves on this forum - as a base town for visiting the area across a few days or longer. Day trips from there to the Vogtsbauernhof in Gutach, to Wolfach/Schiltach, to Triberg, to Freiburg, and to Strasbourg are quite doable from there by rail - it's a very nice town, but its LOCATION is what makes it a no-brainer for train travelers, especially since it is a participating KONUS town (which means free rail and bus trips from there throughout the BF.)

But since most of your chosen destinations (Stuttgart, Tübingen and Hohenzollern/Lichtehnstein, the Ravenna Gorge) would not be great day trips from Gengenbach, and since your travel pace is swift, I don't think you need to feel any FOMO by excluding Gengenbach from your list of destinations. G'bach's actual in-town sightseeing options are not that numerous, and Freiburg will likely offer more of those.

It does occur to me that with 2 nights in Wolfach or Schiltach, or if you are visiting the Vogtsbauernhof (which is just 18 miles from Gengenbach or Wolfach,) the short driving detour into Gengenbach for a look-around and perhaps a meal might be worth your time at that point in your trip, even if you have already visited some nice old-world towns. There aren't many towns in this part of Germany with old town walls and towers. But this is by no means obligatory, and adding a trip to Gengenbach from Freiburg wouldn't be either.

I haven't been to Gengenbach, but I have been to other small towns in the BF, and I can tell you there would be a BIG difference between Freiburg and Gengenbach. Freiburg is a major city with over 200,000 inhabitants. Gengenbach is a small town, with only 11,000 inhabitants. Big city vs small town.

Basically, I love small towns in Germany. In over 160 nights in Germany, I've spent 80% of them in towns with under 20,000 population. To me, small towns are the essence of Germany.

Although I've spent a lot of time (21 nights; Bad Herrenalb, Bad Wildbad, Freudenstadt, Alpirsbach) in the Northern Black Forest, I've only traveled through the Southern BF three times, once from Donaueschingen to Freiburg i.B. with a stop in Titisee, and twice from Offenburg to Donaueschingen via the Schwarzwaldbahn, but no overnight stays.

I agree with Lee—I think the big difference is the size. I loved Gengenbach but I love small towns. I do love cities as well, but I have not been to Freiburg so I can't compare. I can tell you that I enjoyed Gengenbach much more than Boppard (although I liked Boppard).

But really, it boils down to whether you want to stay in a city or in a town. I really loved Gengenbach, which is why I'm one who extols its virtues here. And I don't do that for every place I've been to. There were pockets in the town that were just really appealing to me, and I loved walking around and exploring. But that's me, and you're you.

I would suggest maybe checking out some videos of both places on YouTube or travel sites. That's what I do when I am torn between two places.

Thanks, Lee. We will have nights in Trittenheim, Zeltingen, Zell and Treis Karden along the Mosel, plus two nights in Geislingen, each of which have populations under 5,000 - plus one or two nights in the Triberg area. That, plus other towns along the Mosel should give us a variety of small towns to enjoy, I suspect.

Russ, we have lots to take in around Triberg with the falls, the Open Air Museum and Triberg itself, plus Schiltach and Wolfach over the course of 24 to 36 hours. But with the drive from Wolfach to Gengenbach being just 25 or 30 minutes, this is something to bear in mind. Still, my gut feeling is that we have plenty to see and visit already without adding another 50 to 60 minutes RT on the road.

Mardee, Schiltach is looking pretty sweet to me at the moment. Have you been there?

Mardee, Schiltach is looking pretty sweet to me at the moment. Have you been there?

fred, unfortunately, no, although I had planned to go there because it is supposed to be very charming and visually stunning. But I had two train delays that day, one significant, and I never managed to get there. I hope to get back to the Black Forest at some point and head there then. But from everyone I heard ahd saw, Schiltach is a lovely destination!

Only drove through Freiburg en route to Gengenbach and wasn’t impressed, but there’s more to it than I saw. We spent two nights in Gengenbach and that was enough. It is pretty small, has some interesting buildings, and was nice to wander around.

Schiltach was also nice to walk around. The old town is small and doesn’t take long to see. There are some interesting old buildings that have constructed dates above the doorways. The main square is not level and on a hill. We spent more time visiting the free to enter Schüttesägemuseum. We parked in a free lot by Bahnpunkt Schiltach - Roter Brummer.

We’ve been to Triberg twice. Other than the one main street lined with shops there’s little else to it. The main attraction is the waterfall that one needs to pay to see. If you wanted to buy a cuckoo clock, there are a couple shops that will customize one for you and ship it to the states.