Black Forest area - would you recommend?

[maudmadrigal]

Hi,
Considering around a week's holiday in the Black Forest/Bodensee region of Germany. Anyone been? What did you do? Would you recommend?

Fairly active family of 5 (2 adults, 3 late teens) - we like walking, swimming, eating and drinking and small doses of sightseeing/history. Fans of Germany generally and I speak decent German.

Or, if you've got this far and you wouldn't recommended, where would you go in an area loosely boundaried by the Black Forest, Lake Maggiore, Avignon and Dijon (other circumstances dictate that our holiday takes place in that region this year).

Oh yes! I went on an exchange when I was 15 and absolutely loved it. I'd be thrilled to go back. We went in summer and it was beautiful weather, lots of hiking to be had, we went out on boats on the lakes, etc. We were near Freiberg.

I personally would go to the Bodensee area, I found it more interesting than the Black Forest.

You could visit arguably the best theme park in Europe - Europa Park.

Thank you for responding. Lots of hiking and kayaking is the kind of thing I'm imagining, along with a bit of sitting around drinking beer in pretty German squares!
Europa Park looks crazy - hard to know where to start with it!!

Stayed in Titisee which was lovely. You mentioned Avignon which I also recommend, the luberon hills are a favourite of mine

Lots of good walking in the Black Forest - true German style, very good tracks and signposts at the junctions and a pub at the top. Usually with chargers for e-bikes

we did hire something on Bodensee - rowing or canoe or…. It was just so hot though be careful in August. And things were limited as water levels were really low

Blau Bauren ( ?) was the unexpected find. We had a few days is slightly cooler wetter weather ( mostly we baked)

it is possible to climb there , and there are walks and a small museum with some of the finds from local caves which was mind blowing.

bamberg and heidelburg are class towns

You could also check out Frankonia, the area north of Nürnberg.
Hiking, water sport, cycling, good food and a brewery pub in every village.

I love the Blackforest! Freiburg is beautiful, worth it just to see the little drains!

We are doing a drive to Italy this year and got two nights on Bodensee, near Meersburg with the plan to visit Mainau and there is a tractor and car museum just north of Meersburg. We are also going to stop at the open air building museum near Gutach (1.5hrs from Meersburg) on our way there, which is meant to be a great insight into the region. We are museum people
though! Friedrichschafen has loads of stuff about the Zeppelin. We’ve got a toddler so no water sports for us but hoping to take the ferry on the lake a few times.

The Bodensee is fabulous - and brilliant for families. Lots of sports, especially cycling, sailing and swimming. The lake itself is very safe, but there are also beautiful thermal baths ("therme") dotted around. Base yourself in or near Konstanz, which has great public transport. Visit Meersburg, Mainau and Friedrichshafen (for the Zeppelin museum).

Ooh, thank you all very much. Lots of good tips to look into here.
I hadn't registered that Bamberg was so near - went there fleetingly 30 years ago and it was definitely a highlight of a really good roadtrip!

Well, Bamberg is Frankonia, that's a whole 4 hour drive from Freiburg for example.

It's a beautiful area but definitely not a daytrip.

Don’t know how near - think we were heading home at that point

Yes, might be a bit far. But on the plus side, I have never been to the Freiburg/Black Forest area, so lots of new things to discover! Thank you for all the tips x

Freiburg, been a few times and love it

We've been to the black forest several times as a family and really enjoyed it. Last year we stayed in Oberstaufen in the allgau region which isn't far from the black forest. We really enjoyed it. Lots of lovely lakes, mountain walks, cable cars etc. if you stay in the area you can upgrade the tourist card to one which lets you into numerous attractions for free. It's an especially good deal if you have children because I think you only have to pay around €10 for the second (and any subsequent children) We used it to go on numerous cable cars, an inflatable aqua park thing, an outdoor swimming pool, some massive indoor swimming pool complex and some little national park type things. Was definitely worth it!