Strasbourg-Comlar-Basel / Baden-Baden-Freiburg-Munich HELP

Hi, Doug,

First of all, I'm not sure why someone would say, "Don't spend more than a day in Strasbourg," because there is a lot worth seeing. That said, it also depends on what you're planning on doing while you are there. Strasbourg is a beautiful city, and there's a lot to see and do there. I went there on a day trip when I was staying in Gengenbach in Germany and I loved it. I could easily have found more to see if I had stayed there.

Were you planning on doing day trips from there? Colmar, of course, is nearby, and you could easily spend a day there visiting that charming town. Then another day you could take a day trip to Gengenbach, which is one of the most charming towns in Germany, in my opinion, and only 45+ minutes from Strasbourg by train.

Back in 2022, I spent 4 nights in Gengenbach and then took a day trip to Strasbourg, like I said, but you could easily do the reverse. That would give you 2 day trips—one to Colmar and one to Gengenbach, plus 2 days in Strasbourg, which I think would be a good amount of time. And of course, you could go elsewhere. These are just a couple of suggestions from me.

Edit: Another possibility for a day trip is Eguisheim, which is a medieval village in France’s Alsace wine region. Here's a blurb about it:

The narrow, concentric streets of its old town are lined with many preserved half-timbered houses. The central Château Saint-Léon is a centuries-old castle. Southwest at Husseren-les-Châteaux are the ruins of the Three Castles of Eguisheim, which date from the Middle Ages. Northwest is Hohlandsbourg Castle, with formidable ramparts.

You have mentioned 6 all day/half day trips, and changing location twice in 10 days. For me this would be too much. And some of your day trips would be over an hour each way. When are you planning to take the warm sunny day you will be given and sit in a lovely square and just have a relaxed coffee? I would drop Freiburg as an anchor even if it means another slightly longer day trip once or twice. Visiting Dachau also required me to take a quiet afternoon walk in the English Garden in Munich to settle my stomach/feelings. If you can't find enough to do within, or within an hour of Strasbourg and Munich you are not trying hard enough. Have fun.

thank you very much for the replies, so far. To clarify a few things which I may not have been clear enough on:

We aren't committed to 6 day trips, we are exploring possible day trips, waiting to hear from folks here as part of the information gathering. I think part of what I'm asking is - what day-trip destinations are similar enough to other places so that one or the other would work?

Some of the comments speak to how we each travel differently, so I'll restate that I have been to Munich before and loved it, and that trip included Dachau. I'm looking forward to sharing this experience with my wife on this trip. This region is compact enough for us that we do not mind moving among 3 cities, but of course we are open to others experiences.

Thanks again! we appreciate the help.

Your interests should be your guide.

• Big city vs. small city vs. countryside.
• Wine
• History
• Churches
• Museums
• The EU?

We covered some of your itinerary a year ago, Sept 2026. Six nights in Alsace, two nights in Freiburg and one night in the central Black Forest. We traveled by car (Tubingen to BF to Freiburg), by train (Freiburg to Strasbourg) and by e-bike (Strasbourg to Colmar).

Re BF, others will tell you of the value of the Konus Pass and the town of Gengenbach, which we missed. One can never do it all

Our two relevant TRs may offer you some ideas. They are at

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sw-germany-e-france-alsace-burgundy-pt-3-of-4

And

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sw-germany-and-e-france-swabia-bf-part-2-of-4 (skip the original post; see first and second reples, only)

You don't say whether you are renting a car. Note that hotels in Freiburg don't issue free KONUS transport cards, but may offer a less powerful local card.

I personally consider Munich too far from the BF for this trip, and it's not among my favorite places in Germany. Zurich might work better.

Thank you for the great replies!

We are not renting a car, we are taking trains everywhere we go. Part of the fun for us.

Thank you!

So, with your original or tentative plan of 4 nights Strasbourg, 2 nights Freiburg and 4 nights in Munich, you have 2 transportation days: Strasbourg to Freiburg and Freiburg to Munich. (Plus of course there is the arrival in Strasbourg … are you flying in or taking the train from Paris or Frankfurt or somewhere else?)

The short train from Strasbourg to Kiel to Freiburg will take close to two hours and then you have the check out, check in and trips between hotel and train station, so that’s a three to four hour bite out of your day. Breakfast in Strasbourg and mid afternoon in Freiburg to explore the town, plus the next, full day in Freiburg. No time for a day trip elsewhere, realistically.

You have 3 full days in Strasbourg, so you can spend one full day there. One day for the trip to Colmar and one day for a guided tour nearby. Alsace Route du Vin? or Gengenbach?

The Freiburg to Munich trip will be a longer one. Google maps suggests about 3-1/2 to 6-1/2 hours by train; you will want to go to the DeutscheBahn website - https://int.bahn.de/en — and do real research, not my down and dirty check on Google Maps. That blows a good part of that day to transport when you factor in getting from and to hotels and checking out/in. 4 nights in Munich is just 3 full days. 1/2 day for Dachau leaves 2-1/2 days and you’d like to take a day trip elsewhere, Salzburg, perhaps. Only 1-1/2 days for Munich.

How are you and your wife with this pace? Would you rather slow it down. Just have two bases? Less can be more.