Hello,
Our family of four is interested in finding a lovely, small/medium sized historical town south of Stuttgart to use as a base of operations for a 7 day stay. Ideally near a river of lake but not necessary.
We have received some good recommendations in another thread without a title as specific as this one, but wanted to create a more specific title.
Thank you!
Sigmaringen has a decent old core, as well as its famous castle, and is on the Danube. Lichtenstein and Hohenzollern Castles can be reached from here within an hour. A bit further south is Bodensee, with castles in Salem and Meersburg. Lots to do around Bodensee, and Sigmaringen is also close to the Swabian baroque Route:
https://www.oberschwaben-tourismus.de/en/world-of-travel/culture-baroque/upper-swabian-baroque-route
Tübingen is an attractive university town, but may be too large? Esslingen is also mentioned on here quite frequently, though I've never visited.
Freiburg am Breisgau is charming. My son and I spent three days there and used it as a base for day trips, one of which was to Tubingen. Tubingen was also charming. We would have like to have spent more time there.
2 days back when you were asking about "castles" and "Bavaria," and mardee surprisingly suggested Gengenbach, you responded with genuine interest in Gengenbach, partly because it would position you well for your journey to Paris later. I encouraged you to look elsewhere for better castle options.
This thread makes no mention of castles or your trip to Paris. Assuming that castles aren't critical at this point, I'll just remind you that you were onto something with Gengenbach, a great small, historic town - south of Stuttgart, and on the Kinzig River, btw - with rail connections to other nearby historic towns (Gutach and the Vogtsbuauernhof, Schiltach, Villingen for example) in the Black Forest as well as to Strasbourg FR and to Paris (Offenburg, just minutes from Gengenbach, is the transfer station.)
Get to Baden-Baden, Donaueschingen (source of the Danube River) and Lake Constance on the Black Forest Railway, one of Germany's most scenic train routes.
Day-trip to Freiburg (1 hr.) for a visit there, or to Heidelberg (2 hrs.) on the Rhine Valley Railway.
Yes, Gengenbach is also a great little spot. Tübingen and Freiburg are fine, though I wouldn't class those two as small towns.
Synapse, I checked your original intinerary. It makes no mention of Paris and your departure point is Munich. If you are indeed departing from Munich then staying closer to Munich would make more sense. Dozens of bases can be suggested but you can't see or have it all.
@ Gundersen: I'm thinking the next destination is Paris, mentioned in synapse's "Good base..." thread, where Gengenbach is being considered. Not sure though, seems the OP's plans are actively evolving...
"..we plan to go from the Swiss alps to Southern Germany, to Paris and Gengenbach is closer than Bavaria."
Gunderson, Russ, et al
Thank you for the replies. I will be updating the original itinerary (I wasn't sure if it should be updated or a new thread made and that one deleted).
Because of the addition of Paris, we are now considering staying in south-western Germany. We realize this means giving up Castle (palace) Neuschwanstein and some of the other attractions closer to Munich, but as you said "we can't have it all"!
Because of the addition of Paris, we are now considering staying in south-western Germany. We realize this means giving up Castle (palace) Neuschwanstein and some of the other attractions closer to Munich, but as you said "we can't have it all"!
Well, if many people's opinions here matter, you won't miss much by not getting to Neuschwanstein. I saw it from a distance and that was enough for me. :)
BUT I would like again to push Gengenbach as a destination, especially if you are using train travel (but even without). It's very charming and yet not so small that there is nothing to do. I really enjoyed my stay there and hope to go back someday.
Plus once you're ready to leave for Paris, it's a quick hop over the border to Strasbourg, France and on up to Paris. :)
Pertaining to what you're asking specifically "south of Stuttgart" are two important historical towns connected with Prussian history...Sigmaringen an der Donau , the Catholic branch of dynastic family, and Hechingen , the Protestant side. Both places well worth your time in seeing by way of a guided tour, the only permitted way, Schloß Sigmaringen and Burg Hechingen.
I first saw Sigmaringen in Aug. 1971, went on the tour, given then only in German. Not until July 2009 did I get back to Sigmaringen to see the Schloss and town again, obviously in those 38 years the town and expanded, street contours, checked out the guided tour, also given in German as that choice was given to the participants, English or German. The tour guide saw the vote was unanimous for German. Hechingen was less of a thorough visit, only once in 1977.
These recommendations all appear to be excellent options. We will research further. Thank you!
A question regarding travel time from Lauterbrunnen, SW to Gengenbach:
I did some preliminary searching for estimated travel time and the estimated drive time w/car is 3.25 hours (per google drive time estimate), and the train time is 9.25 hours (per Bahn.com). Are there train routes that are faster than this? Perhaps I am using the Bahn.com website incorrectly...
Thank you!
Lauterbrunnen > Gengenbach by train should take 4.25 hrs (8:32 > 12:48, for example.)
But if you choose to leaveat 21:30 pm and travel in the dark of night when there are no good connections, you'll find it takes longer ;)
You closely at the rail itinerary and you will notice that it has you sitting around a railway station for 3 to 4 hours in the middle of the night waiting for the next train. That happens when you choose to depart at 10 or 11 at night like your itinerary shows.
Thank you Russ and Sam, I am learning...
Is there a site with map of the trains in south-west Germany so that we can determine what day trips we can take?
https://bw.tourismusnetzwerk.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/KONUS-Flyer-PDF-Download_GB.pdf
If you stay in Gengenbach, your hotel should give you a Konus Card which allows you to travel all the regional trains in the Black Forest area for free during your stay. See the map in the brochure above.
This railway map covers the entire state of Baden-Württemberg (southwest Germany) including the Black Forest route map you will see on the KONUS flyer Sam provided. The KONUS map does not include a fair number of places (Tübingen and Esslingen, for example) which you've been considering, but you can see how to get to those places with the B-W map.
Sam and Russ, Thank you for the maps.
We are also wondering if we should expect shops and eateries to be closed for holiday in August similar to the way Italy does?
In Triberg, they'll be selling cuckoo clocks from sun up to sun down.
Sam, and that is all that matters! Very Funny!
We have refined our geographic range to a town that is close to the Rhine and will allow a day trip to the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg (we may forego this if we can find a similar structure in the German region) and possibly Strasbourg. Picturesque with historical architecture are still important to us, and if at all possible near a lake or river for swimming! Any town suggestions for these parameters would be appreciated.
Thank you!
I'm kind of curious, as you have posted several dozen questions and received an incredible amount of detailed, insightful info. Have you actually booked any lodging? With the COVID pent -up demand for European travel this summer, are you finding available lodging for this multi- week trip, as you seem to be continually modifying the itinerary? Good luck and safe travels!
I have reserved at 3 of the 6 locations where I anticipated accommodations being in higher demand. There still seems to be a selection of rental apartments, but I know we need to finalize accommodations soon (hopefully this week)
I take it that Gengenbach is no longer an option for you. Are you still looking at south of Stuttgart yet close to the Rhine?
Nigel,
Yes south of Stuttgart and close to the Rhine. Although it is not not directly on the Rhine, Gengenbach is still an option!
I'm planning to spend a few days in the Kaisstuhl region this year - between Freiburg and Breisach am Rhein.
Is Breisach am Rhein too south for you?
https://www.tourism-bw.com/city/breisach-am-rhein-variety-without-borders-1ce4004132
https://www.naturgarten-kaiserstuhl.de/en
