I'll be traveling with my husband to Tübingen in March. He is attending a meeting there. After that I know I want to go to Strasbourg, Colmar, and leave from Basel.
We'd rather use public transportation or a private driver rather than rent a car. Trains from Tubingen to the towns I'm considering (Gengenbach or Freiburg) are pretty inconvenient in terms of time and transfers. Getting to Strasbourg, though, is easy from those towns.
If we were to hire a driver to go between Tubingen and Gengenbach, are there any recommended stops? Or, can anyone suggest any places to go from Tubingen that are easier to get to and have an authentic smaller town German vibe? Preferably getting us closer to Strasbourg.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Of course I spelled the name in the topic of my question wrong! Tübingen is what I meant (I edited the post).
Posted by
Paradise
7892 posts
Pretty sure you mean Tübingen.
Herrenberg, a town on the German Half-timbered route, is just 30 minutes by DIRECT train from Tübingen.
https://angiestravelroutes.com/en/herrenberg-city-walk/
Horb is 35 minutes away by direct train:
https://schwarzwald-aktuell.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/AdobeStock_398359311-1024x683.jpeg
Esslingen is about 50 minutes on the way to Stuttgart, also by direct train.
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Esslingen
Rick Steves offers little advice for this area. You can check these places out on Tripadvisor.
Posted by
Minnesota🌲
10969 posts
cawprice, I agree that Gengenbach is not that easy to get to from Tübingen but it is very easy to get from Gengenbach to Strasbourg once you're there. It's only a 35-40 minute train ride with one easy transfer in Offenburg.
Another option would be to head to Freiburg from Tübingen, which is a much easier route; albeit still longer. Visit Freiburg and then head to Gengenbach which is about 50 minutes away by train. When you're ready to leave Gengenbach, just hop on the train and it's a quick train ride to Strasbourg.
ETA: Well I just realized you know all of this and if I would have taken the time to thoroughly read your first post, I would have known that. Sorry, I've been rushing around and my brain is a little mushy now.
At any rate, it looks like Russ has given you a few stops that you could do on your way from Tübingen to either Gengenbach or Freiburg. My vote is for Gengenbach because I really love it, but that's me. You do you. 😊
Posted by
Seattle, WA
695 posts
Why not rent a car for the stretch from Tubingen to Freiburg or Gengenbach? That would give you flexibility to see what you want in the Black Forest or elsewhere in Baden-Wurttemburg such as Lake Constance. At your own pace and on your own schedule. Take 2 or 3 days to get from Tubingen to Freiburg or Gengenbach.
We rented a car for 5 of our 30 days in September for that region. Picked up a car in Mainz and drove to Geislingen (east of Stuttgart), then west to Tubingen via the Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart, then to the Black Forest near Schiltach via Burg Hohenzollern, and finally to Freiburg via the Black Forest Open Air Museum, Triberg and Ravenna Gorge. (TR is here. Loved Freiburg and thought the Munstermarket was perhaps my favorite market of any I’ve been to in France, England, Italy, Austria, Germany, Spain or Croatia)
Tubingen was a nice place to spend the night. Enjoy the university’s anthropology museum, there, as well as the Old Town.
Train from Freiburg to Strasbourg was easy.
Posted by
12 posts
I think it's better to focus on places like Baden-Baden and Offenburg. It's easier to reach and right on the way toward Strasbourg. If you drive yourself or with a hired driver, you can always stop at vineyards or a village along the Rhine.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you, Russ! This is very helpful. I think Esslingen might be perfect. Any specific recommendations there?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks, Mardee. I think I agree that I'd prefer Gengenbach to Freiburg.
Fred, I will consider the car rental option. I'm not sure how easy it would be to pick up and drop off in relatively small towns. Driving where I can't read the road signs is not something I'm excited about, though. I guess GPS would in English...
Sharon, if we decide to rent a car of hire a driver, I will consider Offenburg. It wasn't on my radar before!