Places to Explore

• Alpirsbach

  The 900-year-old Kloster Alpirsbach, a former monastery, is now the scene of cabarets, concerts, and movies.... (more)

• Baden-Baden

  Baden-Baden, the famous and fashionable spa, is downhill all the way north on B-500 from the Mummelsee. The town rests in a wooded valley and is atop the extensive underground hot springs that gave the... (more)

• Baiersbronn

  The mountain resort of Baiersbronn has an incredible collection of hotels and bed-and-breakfasts providing rest and relaxation in beautiful surroundings. Most people come here to walk, ski, golf, and ride... (more)

• Calw

  Calw, one of the Black Forest's prettiest towns, was the birthplace of Nobel Prize-winning novelist Hermann Hesse (1877-1962). He was born at Marktplatz 6, now a private home. The town's market square... (more)

• Ettlingen

  Ettlingen is a 1,200-year-old town that is now practically a suburb of its newer and much larger neighbor Karlsruhe, just a streetcar ride away. Bordered by the Alb River, Ettlingen's ancient center is... (more)

• Freiburg

  Freiburg im Breisgau was founded in the 12th century. World War II left extensive damage, but skillful restoration helped re-create the original and compelling medieval atmosphere of one of the loveliest... (more)

• Freudenstadt

  At an altitude of 2,415 feet, Freudenstadt claims to be the sunniest German resort. The town was flattened by the French in April 1945, and it has since been painstakingly rebuilt. It was founded in 1599... (more)

• Gutach

  Gutach lies in Gutachtal, a valley famous for the traditional costume, complete with pom-pom hats, worn by women on feast days and holidays. Married women wear black pom-poms, unmarried women red ones... (more)

• Hinterzarten

  The lovely 800-year-old town of Hinterzarten is the most important resort in the southern Black Forest. Some buildings date from the 12th century, among them St. Oswaldskirche, a church built in 1146... (more)

• Kaiserstuhl

• Karlsruhe

  Karlsruhe, founded at the beginning of the 18th century, is a young upstart, but what it lacks in years it makes up for in industrial and administrative importance, sitting as it does astride a vital autobahn... (more)

• Pforzheim

  The Romans founded Pforzheim at the meeting place of three rivers, the Nagold, the Enz, and the Würm, and it's known today as the "gateway to the Black Forest." The city was almost totally destroyed... (more)

• Rust

  The town of Rust, on the Rhine almost halfway from Freiburg to Strasbourg, boasts a castle dating from 1577 and painstakingly restored half-timber houses. But its big claim to fame is Germany's biggest... (more)

• Staufen

  Once you've braved Hell Valley to get to Freiburg, visit the nearby town of Staufen, where Dr. Faustus is reputed to have made his pact with the devil. The Faustus legend is remembered today chiefly because... (more)

• Titisee

• Triberg

  The cuckoo clock, that symbol of the Black Forest, is at home in the Triberg area. It was invented here, it's made and sold here, it's featured in two museums, and there are two house-sized cuckoo clocks... (more)