GERMANY

PART 1

Black Forest

The Black Forest gets its name from the oppressive canopy of evergreens looming above the forest floor. Home to elaborate cuckoo clocks, striking half-timbered houses, ruined castles and quaint towns, the Black Forest is a magical land full of cultural traditions

Baden-Baden

Baden-Baden, one of Europe’s most fashionable spa towns, is an ideal base for exploring the Black Forest and the perfect place to stay for maximum pampering.

Bad Wildbad

Not quite as well known as Baden-Baden, Bad Wildabad is another popular spa town and a cheaper option for a home-base in the north of the forest. A tunnel cleverly diverts through traffic so that the area feels as isolated from the world as possible.

Calw

Calw sits in the north of the Black Forest with a reputation as being one of the forest’s prettiest towns. Nobel Prize-winning novelist Hermann Hesse (1877-1962), who wrote Siddhartha among many other books, was born in Calw. The town features a museum and a statue dedicated the famous author. The picturesque market square is a great place to start your tour of the city.

Baiersbronn

This idyllic mountain resort is made up of nine separate villages, and the recent addition of high-end hotels and bed and breakfasts serving incredible cuisine have put Baiersbronn on the map. The area boasts an incredible eight Michelin stars in total, being home to two restaurants with three stars, and one with two stars. 

Freiburg

Freiburg is a university town and an excellent base from which to explore the southern side of the Black Forest. The cheerful town sits at the bottom of the Black Forest’s wooded slopes and vineyards, and it is chock-full of gabled, half-timbered houses and twisting cobblestone streets. The local student population has given the town a lively nightlife scene, but anyone can enjoy the lovely beer gardens along the canal. Freiburg has been named Germany’s warmest city, with unusually high levels of sunshine. As a result, it is a center for solar energy.