I am planning a 3 week trip to Germany. After the Moselle and Rhine river section of the trip. I Planning on 3 to 4 days in the Black Forest area of Germany. Looking for a home base in the Black Forest. I may be renting a car or using trains here.
Will be going to Switzerland after the Black Forest area. Joe E
Posted by
Paradise
7064 posts
The BF is large. There's not one base that is ideal for the whole area. But Gengenbach comes pretty close. It's a beautiful old-world town on the scenic Black Forest Railway, about 1 hour by train to Freiburg (western access to the Hells Valley railway across the southern Black Forest) and about 1 hour from Donaueschingen (eastern access to the HV line.) Many destinations are closer. Villages Schiltach, Wolfach, Triberg and Haslach are all around 30-35 minutes away or less. Hausach (about 15 minutes away) is where you get off for a walk to the Vogtsbauernhof open air museum. G'bach makes an outing to Strasbourg possible as well. Gengenbach Black Forest Railway Scroll about 2/3 down on THIS TRIP REPORT for comments and photos on G'bach and the area. All train (and bus) travel in the Black Forest is FREE for guests who stay in Gengenbach (and other participating villages) with the... KONUS Card.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
As Russ noted, the Black Forest is huge. It runs north-south roughly from Karlsruhe to just north of the Swiss border. The northern 2/3 isn't any more impressive than all the other mountain ranges that cover southern and central Germany, but the southern area contains the highest peaks in Germany outside of the Alps. So if you're looking for a city based near the most impressive region, Freiburg is probably the obvious choice.
Posted by
Stafford, Virginia, USA
143 posts
Another vote for Gengenbach. If you stay in a hotel there (or in any SMALL city in the Black Forest), you can get a free KONUS card from the hotel, which gives you free public transportation anywhere in the Black Forest during your stay. A good deal if you want to train around the area. We stayed at the Pfeffer und Salz hotel/restaurant, and would recommend it, but there are other good natives as well. Do a search on this site or check reviews on sites such as Tripadvisor or Booking.com.
Posted by
Ojai, CA
591 posts
Another vote for Freiburg. Take a look at www.freiburg.de for hotel and restaurant info. It's a good base if going by train; it's also a fun town with a large student population. If you travel by car and prefer a smaller town, then I'd recommend Oberkirch. Not in the Black Forest but a great town to visit on the French side of the Rhine is Colmar.
Posted by
OP
Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, USA
15 posts
Thank You for all the good ideas!