Hi all, my wife and and I (both 76 years young) want to go to the Black Forest in late June 2014. We like scenery, museums and art galleries, lakes and leisure. I love cooking. We would like to stay somewhere centrally in the area for about 7/9 days and take day trips by car when we feel like it and to rest locally when we don't feel like driving too much. Any help and suggestions of where to stay and interesting day trips will be very very welcome. Edward and Tammy.

I think you might like basing yourselves in
the half-timbered town of Gengenbach. It is
a mid-sized town with a few nice hotels, several
nice cafe-restaurants for evening meals, vineyards,
a museum of Lenten Carneval costumes and decent access
to several nice daytrips. Freiburg Im Breisgau is the
larger city in the area with more art, museum and architectural choices. Titisee is a popular lake in the area with short roundtrip cruises. I love Staufen
with its castle ruins above town, boutique shops, wineries and famous Schnapps outlet.
Finally, I highly recommend a daytrip to Gutach for a visit of Vogtsbauernhof-an open-air museum of typical
Black Forest dwellings over the centuries.
Have great fun!

Check out these two websites:
www.stadt-gengenbach.de/en and
www.black-forest-travel.com

hi mokka4 many thanks for this information

If you want to forget about a car, you get free bus/train transportation with the KONUS card when you stay in most BF towns. Gengenbach is great.

thanks for that, but i really want the convenience of a car,

Gengenbach TI has a link if you cannot read German and
need help with accommodations. I stayed in a vacation apt (there are many) a good # of years ago. Really enjoyed my 8 days there. Used train for daytripping. Wolfach has a glass blowing op and Alpirsbach a brewery. Do post if you decide to stay in Gengenbach and like it!

I know Gengenbach well. It's a good choice--a pretty town, centrally located for day trips, and with some decent hotels and restaurants. It's also convenient to the Badische Weinstrasse which runs through the foothills of the Black Forest in the Rhine Valley. Strasbourg, my favourite French city is very close and a must, if you have not visited before. In fact you could also easily do a day trip to the Route du Vin in Alsace from Gengenbach.

If you want a larger town in which to stay, Baden-Baden at the northern end of the Schwarzwald and Freiburg in the south are interesting and pleasant locales.

There are quite a few resort towns and villages (kurorts) in the higher altitudes of the Black Forest--good for a quiet stay, but perhaps too much off the beaten path from which to do daytrips.

thanks for all your replies. i am trying hard to make decisions and am still open to more ideas.