Baden-Baden & Black Forest

In Southern Germany, Schwarzwald or the Black Forest is inappropriately named as it is no darker or blacker than any other forests in Germany. In fact, it could be called the Green Forest, as it's a place of bright, tree-covered mountains getting more sunshine than any other part of Germany. The forest region contains some of the most scenic routes in Germany, especially if you travel over the 4,898-foot Feldberg Mountain peak and drive along the renowned Schwärzwalder Tälerstrasse (Route 294). The Black Forest is studded with little resorts such as Hinterzarten, which becomes one of Germany's leading cross-country ski centers in ...

In Southern Germany, Schwarzwald or the Black Forest is inappropriately named as it is no darker or blacker than any other forests in Germany. In fact, it could be called the Green Forest, as it's a place of bright, tree-covered mountains getting more sunshine than any other part of Germany. The forest region contains some of the most scenic routes in Germany, especially if you travel over the 4,898-foot Feldberg Mountain peak and drive along the renowned Schwärzwalder Tälerstrasse (Route 294). The Black Forest is studded with little resorts such as Hinterzarten, which becomes one of Germany's leading cross-country ski centers in winter, with some 60 miles (97 km) of marked trails fanning out over the hills. But the queen of the Black Forest is the world renowned spa at Baden-Baden, which since the 19th century has attracted some of the most famous figures in the world, everybody from Victor Hugo to Elizabeth Taylor, from Nietzsche to Dostoyevski, from Disraeli to Mark Twain. Celebrated for its gambling palaces and thermal waters, Baden-Baden remains southern Germany's pocket of posh.

About the Expert

Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince have written many guidebooks for Frommer's, including Frommer's France and Frommer's Germany.