We are an active couple in our 70s travelling by train, we will be coming off of a 9 day bike and barge on the Mosel our itinerary so far is starting Sept 9th staying 2 nights in Cochem (Hotel La Baia) , 3 nights in Baden Baden (Huber's Hotel}, 4 nights in Mainz (Mercure city centre) 3 nights in Amsterdam (Avenue Hotel), then fly home to Vancouver Sept 20th
We enjoy history, architecture and local foods, walking tours (prefer small group or private)maybe a boat trip. We prefer smaller clean 3 star hotels with breakfast that are close to attractions and restaurants also easy access to trains. We would maybe do easy day trips from Baden Baden as well as Mainz, (we have booked a Greeter for one day in Mainz) any help or tips for trains ( easiest connections and routes to take, tickets etc.) comments would be appreciated.
Posted by
Paradise
7484 posts
We would maybe do easy day trips from Baden Baden.
Probably not so easy. I would book in a different town or location. From that spot you must catch a city bus for a 20-min. ride to the station just to reach the station whenever you want to do a day trip by train. That's 40 minutes round trip out of your day. Baden Baden is a poor location for train travelers.
Posted by
NW England
667 posts
As well as the problematic station location, Baden Baden also is less useful because it's only around 2 hours from Mainz, meaning overlap in potential day trip areas. It would be more interesting to continue further south to Freiburg in Breisgau. The city itself is very nice, and the station is at the edge of the centre. It's got many very easy day trips out. However, if you were to stay in many of the nearby towns and villages (all with public transport links) it gets even better because you would get a Konus Card at hotel checkin which gives FREE travel on buses, regional trains across a wide area and the trams in Freiburg. You can actually get to the centre of Basel on it (only by regional train) . Hotels within Freiburg city do not give the card even thought he cards are valid in the city.
https://www.schwarzwald-tourismus.info/planen-buchen/konus-gaestekarte
Sadly the english language information page has been replaced by a not quite accurate Google translation of the german page but you can fill in the gaps. Scroll down to the map, zoom in until Freiburg appears (left side, just below half way down) - the red pins are the towns and villages that do give the card,if you click on one it gives a link. A great tour on a nice day is train Freiburg-Titisee, 7300 bus Titisee-Todtnau, 7215 bus Todtnau-Kirchzarten and then train back to Freiburg. But if you stay in a Konus town/village adjust the starting point and all this is free! If it's wet, head to Basel on a regional train, Switzerland is expensive but the streets and sights are free.
Posted by
280 posts
Agree about Freiburg. One excellent hike in the area was from Hintzergarten. But there was a wealth of other possibilities.
Posted by
Duluth🌲
9682 posts
My vote would be for basing yourself in Gengenbach in the Black Forest. I stayed there in the Black Forest for 4 nights in 2022 and absolutely loved it. The town is very charming with beautiful half-timbered houses (it's frequently called a "chocolate box" village) and has a beautiful Altstadt, with quite a few restaurants and cafes to choose from. Gengenbach makes a good base as it is right on the main train line, and gives you the options of some interesting day trips, including taking a day trip to Strasbourg, France, which is a quick 40 minute train ride away.
One nice benefit if you stay there is that you receive a KONUS card, which entitles you to free public transport throughout the Black Forest region. There are many charming villages in the region that you can visit along the Black Forest Railway, and there is also the Vogtsbauernhof (open-air museum) that is a joy to visit and easily accessible by train. You can travel to the lovely towns of Schiltach and Halsach by rail, and see incredible scenery on your journey.
The town church (Saint Marion) is quite beautiful, and the medieval gates to the city are really interesting. The Benedictine Abbey is also worth a visit, and behind it are some cloistered gardens that were a joy to wander through. This was one of my favorite places. It was peaceful and inviting and I could have stayed for hours. There were little signs of inspiration scattered around, and some children from a nearby kindergarten playing on one side.
Also don't miss a walk through Engelgasse and Höllengasse streets (near the TIC). Here you will find cobblestones and half-timbered houses, flower pots and cats resting on doormats and quaint dolls in the window. I felt like I had walked back in time when I strolled through these quaint and narrow streets. There is also a nice hike you can take that will get you above the town with some absolutely beautiful views of below. The hike ends up at a church called St. Jakob auf dem Bergle that sits above town. The TIC in town will have maps showing you how to get there. it was a really nice hike and as I said, the views are just lovely!
Posted by
Paradise
7484 posts
Gengenbach is right on the scenic Black Forest Railway which mardee mentions, just a few minutes away from the main north/south railway which connects towns to the north like Mainz with Freiburg and Basel in the south. So getting to Gengenbach is easy. You can see on the map below some of the BF Railway stops and the town of Offenburg, where the two railways meet:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Verlaufskarte_Schwarzwaldbahn_%28Baden%29.png
If you stay in the town of Gengenbach as suggested, you will be only a few steps from the railway station for your outings - just as the town map demonstrates:
https://pg.world/upl/ckeditor4_files/1d033e8dc47cc3aca8f58903fa2e5d29.jpg
The terrific Vogtsbauernhof Museum, also mentioned by mardee, has its own railway station on the BF railway as well. (It's very close to the Hausach station shown on the map.) "Gutach Freilichtmuseum" is the stop's name, and it's right in front of the facility, as you see in this photo.
The KONUS card will get you from Gengenbach to Donaueschingen and the other BF Railway towns in between. Villingen is an especially nice old walled town worth visiting:
Schiltach was also mentioned. Very nice place, just off the Black Forest Railway. Trains from Gengenbach to Schiltach don't take long. The train leaves the BF Railway in Hausach and ventures up the Kinzig River Valley to Schiltach on its way to Freudenstadt. It's not on the BF map above - so here's a rail map showing that route:
https://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/86/Verlaufskarte_Kinzigtalbahn.png
Were you intereste in visiting Freiburg? It's a pleasant city. Not especially "Black Foresty" but worthwhile. You can take a day trip there from a Gengenbach base quite easily. And of course the trip is free of charge since Gengenbach offers the KONUS CARD.
KONUS Card info:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkgzMXQ7blQ
So you can count me among the cheerleaders for Gengenbach as both a lovely town and a good travel base.