Dosar

I have booked a hotel in Strasbourg for several days in March and now planning a one day trip to Germany by train. Like to see small German cities with historic sites. I think about visiting Freiburg or Baden Baden. Any your ideas/suggestions would be appreciated.

Michael

Freiburg is a nice town with a fairly compact historical center.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623103979081/

FoFoBT

Freiburg and Baden-Baden are both fine choices, but they have different vibes.

I like Freiburg for strolling around and for tasting the local wines, visiting the cathedral.

Baden-Baden we love as a place to relax, take in the lovely walks along the canal, chatting over coffee and rich pastries at the Cafe Beeg, enjoying the spa, shopping (even if it's just window shopping), attending a performance at the world class Festspielhaus concert hall, etc

If I could pick only one, I'd pick Baden-Baden. No, it's not a "typical" German town, but that doesn't make it any less appealing (to us). FYI, the train station stops at Baden Oos, not Baden-Baden. You can take either a taxi or a bus (about 10 minutes, they run very frequently and if you get back to the train station with time to spare, there's a nice cafe, better than what we've normally found at German train stations). As far as historical sites go, there are remains of the Roman baths/town, the old castle ruins, some plaques noting where Dostoevsky frequented, but BB is a purpose-built resort town (of the nicest kind, IMO), not a city of major historical significance.

Freiburg does have quite a history, but it also was bombed heavily during WWII, so much of its city center was rebuilt along to the medieval street plans (done well, I might add).

If you decide to go a little farther south (by direct TGV), you could also enjoy a day trip to Basel, which has a thriving old town (and being Swiss, it wasn't bombed, although it did have a major earthquake in the 14th century).

iris1745

You could also consider Heideiberg, perhaps a bit further than Freiburg.

Dosar

Thank all, with your help I am inclined to take Freiburg and Baden Baden. Heidelberg is attractive, but I am afraid I can't make Freiburg and Heidelberg in one day. Leave Heidelberg for the next time. There is another interesting city in that area - Tubingen. Is it worth visiting?

iris1745

Tubingen is very interesting. Lovely old section. This city had very little damage in WW2 and so retains much of its old character. Stayed there five nights visiting our granddaughter. Richard

quokka

Tübingen is a gem but much further from Strasbourg than even Heidelberg. I think this is too much travel time for a day trip.

When exactly in March, btw? If you hit the carnival week, recommendations might be different.

iris1745

True, I think Tubingen is perhaps just under two hours each way, while Heidelberg might be just ubder 1 1/2 hours. For us, we do long days, 12 -14 hours. It's a matter of personal preference.

klondiketoo

I'm a small town person over a large city a lot of the time.

I really enjoyed visiting Gengenbach, which still has its town walls and gates, several little museums, excellent German restaurants and a beautiful church/abbey with lovely herb garden. The interior of the church is one of the most striking I have seen. The nice thing is, it's just a 30 minute train ride to Offenbug with ter departures between every 30-60 minutes from Strasbourg. It is just a short commuter train ride to Gengenbach, so you would have as much time as you needed to visit the town and get back to Strasbourg at a decent time and not be tired out from the traveling; but you'd still get a feel for the German way of doing things.

norrisken

About 1 hour from Strasbourg is the Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof, an open air museum.
http://en.vogtsbauernhof.org/
So maybe Vogtsbauernhof-Titisee-Freiburg-Strasbourg? Round trip about 250 Km. Or skip Titisee and save time

DougP

There is a german WW2 concentration camp within 50 km of Strasbourg. It's in France, not Gremany. It's a heartwrenching tour, but well worth it. Probably have to rent a car.

Dosar

Thank you klondiketoo for your recommendation. I visited a gengenbach site and immediately fell in love with this city. It's like a fairy tale. Definitely wish to visit this city which I have never heard about in the past.

mokka4

Dosar:
I did your proposed trip in reverse September 2004, staying in Gengenbach and travelling to Stassbourg one day, and Colmar another day.
If you are so inclined, you can read my trip report by using the left-sided search function.
I posted then under the name "rach" 11/17/2004.
I hope it contains some useful info!
What nice memories!

mokka4

OOps! Title was "Black Forest/Alsace September!"
(Use the advanced search function to find the word Gengenbach).