Black Forest

The Black Forest is a large forested mountain range in southwest Germany. Its name is derived from the darkly covered evergreen hills. It is 160 kilometres/100 miles long from north to south and 50 kilometres/30 miles wide from west to east. As well as the beauty a visit here can bring to German vacations, it also offers active travel opportunities for hikers and bikers. 

The pace is slow and the atmosphere genteel when one visits Baden-Baden, the spa town made famous over time, reaching its most prevalent era in the 19th Century. It is blessed with a mild climate and numerous hot springs, some of which are harnessed in a number of luxury spas. An example of this is Friedrichsbad in its 170-year-old Roman-style setting. There are also more affordable spas offering therapeutic treatments. Baden-Baden is a good place to use as a centre for exploring the Black Forest on travel to Germany.

Another attractive city, on travel to Germany, is Freiburg, considered to be the gateway to the Black Forest. It has a backdrop of rolling hills and a mountain which lies within city limits. The Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse divides the old town into an eastern half, with the Minster, and a western half with the Town Hall and University. There are numerous small streams which flow through the streets of the old town. Some of the highlights include the 13th-century Swabian Gate with its wall paintings and dioramas, and the Rathausplatz with its statue of a Franciscan friar said to have invented gunpowder in 1359. Also, the Gothic St. Martin's Church, with a beautifully restored interior and cloister and the lovely House of the Whale were built-in 1516 as a residence for Emperor Maximilian.

Not far from Freiburg is the attractive Lake Titisee formed 10,000 years ago and perfect for swimming, sailing, windsurfing or just strolling along the waterfront. Another picturesque lake is Schluchsee, the largest lake in the Black Forest. Again, water sports of all types and sailing are popular here on German vacations.