Baden-Württemberg, south-west Germany
The Black Forest
A first Black Forest touring trip for UK travellers: the spa towns, the cuckoo-clock road and the high scenic drives — where to base yourself, real drive times, and whether you actually need a hire car.
In short
The Black Forest at a glance
The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is a forested upland filling the south-west corner of Germany, from Baden-Baden's grand spa in the north to Freiburg's sunny old town in the south — about 160km top to bottom. The classic first trip is a loop off the scenic B500 'Schwarzwaldhochstrasse', taking in the cuckoo-clock workshops at Triberg, lake Titisee and a vineyard town or two. You can do it by train — the Schwarzwaldbahn from Offenburg to Konstanz is a sight in itself — but a hire car is what unlocks the back roads, the gorges and the gateaux-and-spa villages. Allow 3–4 days for the highlights, a week to slow down.
The Black Forest is the Germany of the storybooks — dark wooded ridges, cuckoo clocks, gateau and steaming spa towns — but it’s also bigger and slower than people expect, a 160km band of upland that you tour rather than tick off in a day. The first-timer’s mistake is treating it as a single place and trying to see it from one hotel. It isn’t: the grand spa town of Baden-Baden at the north end and the sunny student city of Freiburg at the south are an hour and a half apart, with the high forest, the lakes and the famous waterfall strung out in between. Base in two halves and the region opens up; pick one base and you’ll spend the trip in the car.
The other thing visitors get wrong is the pace. The B500 ‘high road’ and the back lanes are gorgeous, but they’re winding, and a route that looks like 40 minutes on a map can swallow an hour with the viewpoints and the tractors. Triberg and Titisee, the two postcard stops, also fill with day-coaches by late morning — so the trick is to stay a night up in the forest and have them in the early evening once the buses have gone. You don’t actually need a car for all of it, though: the Schwarzwaldbahn railway is a scenic ride in its own right and the free KONUS guest card covers the regional buses, so a car-free base in Freiburg is a real option if driving on the right puts you off.
The route
A relaxed 4-day loop that pairs the two spa-and-old-town anchors with the high-forest scenery in between, with no long backtracking. Drive times are estimates on the winding B-roads — they're slower than the kilometres suggest, so don't over-plan the days. The Schwarzwaldbahn and KONUS guest card mean you can do much of this car-free if you base on the rail line.
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Day 1
Baden-Baden
Start in the grand 19th-century spa town: the Friedrichsbad and Caracalla thermal baths, the casino in the Kurhaus, and the Lichtentaler Allee park walk. A genteel, expensive base — one night is plenty before you head south. Pick the hire car up here as you leave rather than parking it in town.
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Day 2
The Schwarzwaldhochstrasse to Triberg
Drive the B500 'high road' south through the forest — about 60km of viewpoints and the Mummelsee lake — then cut across to Triberg (roughly 2h30 all in with stops). See the waterfall and the cuckoo-clock workshops, and stay the night so you have it to yourself after the day-coaches leave.
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Day 3
Titisee & the southern lakes
About 50 minutes on from Triberg, lake Titisee is the postcard stop — touristy and busy, but good for a boat trip or a swim at the Strandbad. Push on to the Schluchsee, the bigger and quieter neighbour, for the afternoon. Try a proper Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte where the cherries and Kirsch are local.
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Day 4
Freiburg
Drop down to Freiburg im Breisgau (about 45 minutes) for a sunny, student old town: the red-sandstone Münster, the cobbled Bächle water channels, and a cable car or tram up the Schauinsland for a last view over the forest and the Rhine plain. Fly home from Basel, 50 minutes south.
Where to base yourself
Pick one or two bases rather than moving every night.
Baden-Baden
£££ premiumThe northern anchor: a belle-époque spa town of thermal baths, a casino and manicured park walks, an easy base for the start of the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse. It is the most expensive base in the Black Forest, so it suits a night or two rather than the whole trip.
Best for: Spa days, the scenic high road, a grown-up first night
Freiburg im Breisgau
££ mid-rangeThe southern anchor and the best all-round base: a lively, sunny university city with the most direct access to Basel airport, the southern lakes and the wine villages. Better value and more atmosphere than the resort villages, with proper restaurants and trams.
Best for: First-timers, car-free trips, the southern half
Triberg or Titisee (forest villages)
££ mid-rangeStay a night up in the high forest itself for the cuckoo-clock-and-lake scenery without the day-tripper crush. Triberg sits on the Schwarzwaldbahn for car-free arrivals; Titisee is the prettier setting but books out and turns quiet once the coaches leave.
Best for: Forest scenery, lakes, gateau and walking
Getting around The Black Forest
A hire car is the natural way to tour the Black Forest — the B500 high road, the gorges and the back-lane villages are the whole point, and parking outside the towns is easy and cheap. Remember to drive on the right, and that German low-emission Umweltzone rules require a windscreen sticker in some town centres. That said, you can do a surprising amount car-free: the Schwarzwaldbahn railway from Offenburg through Triberg to Konstanz is one of Germany's great scenic lines, Freiburg and Baden-Baden are both on the fast network, and the free KONUS guest card that comes with most overnight stays gives unlimited local and regional buses and trains across the region. Pick the car up as you leave a town rather than paying for centre parking, and book it from Basel or Stuttgart airport for the best rates.
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