Black forest got its name due to having evergreen large canopy trees. It is a wonderful destination for nature lovers and inspires a lot of kid's bedtime stories. If living in Germany, paying a visit to the black forest is a must.

Where Exactly is the Black Forest?

Black forest is the large forested area in southwest Germany bounded by the Rhine River on the west side. Roughly, it starts after the Karlsruhe and ends at the Germany-Switzerland border with a length of about 160km and a width of 50km. There are numerous points and cities/towns to stop by when visiting the black forest depending on interest. Here I am going to talk about the most highlighted ones as the trip was for the weekend.

Things to Do in the Black Forest

Black forest is the quick gateway to nature for weekend trips, especially when you don't have time for long trips and long travel time. Here is the list of things you can do while visiting the Black forest.

1. Triberg Waterfall

Triberg waterfall is considered a landmark of the Black Forest region and it is one of the highest waterfalls in Germany with a height of 163m. Though it is not something you see once in a lifetime but paying a visit will be refreshing.

Ticket price for adults: 7Euros

2. Visiting the Cuckoo Clock Shops

Cuckoo clocks are the icon of Black Forest as they were originated first in the black forest somewhere in the 18th century.

3. Visiting World's Largest and Smallest Cuckoo Clock

If you are in Germany then these two clocks you should not miss. After all, it holds the Guinness world record for the largest and smallest cuckoo clock in the world and it is still functioning. World's largest clock is so big that you can walk around/inside it, while the world's smallest cuckoo clock can fit in your palm.

Largest Cuckoo Clock:

Address: Schonachbach 27, 78098 Triberg, Germany

Entry fee: 2 euro

video courtesy: DW

Smallest Cuckoo Clock

The smallest cuckoo clock can be seen at Hubert Herr's shop. The smallest Cuckoo clock is just 13cm and weighs 3 kg. OMG!

Address: Hauptstraße 8, Triberg, Germany

4. Hiking or Driving Through the Black Forest

The black Forest offers many hiking trails that too almost everywhere with the beauty of small hills and timber houses. You can start your hiking trail anywhere you like and explore the region. If too tired to hike, just drive around and take as many stops as you want, explore the area and you won't be disappointed.

4. Titisee Lake

Titisee is the second most famous place to visit when it comes to Black forest. Not much far from Triberg, this lake definitely deserves your attention and a quick roaming around the town. If you have kids/children it's a fun place for them while for adults it offers relaxing holidays, make sure you spend at least half a day here. Apart from natural beauty, it offers water activities; boating, swimming, climbing, waterslides, etc.

6. Lake Constanz

If you have extra time, take a quick tour of lake Constanz though it is a bit far from the Black Forest, and spend an afternoon or evening just beside the water. You can also find boat tours around if interested. But if you are visiting lake Titisee already, one can skip this.

7. Visit Prehistoric Pile Dwellings Museum

I am not a great fan of museums but this one, this one stole my heart truly. The reason is that it is situated in an open space, in nature, unlike the normal-mundane museums. During my childhood, every time I read about prehistoric times in my history subject, I always wondered how humans actually lived in those times and this museum will take you to pre-historic times, how they lived, how they cooked, what kind of houses they made, what kind of equipment they used. This one is truly a gem, the best thing is that it is excellently standing on water. highly recommended!

8. Try Black Forest Deserts

The mouth-watering Black Forest cake doesn't need an introduction and as the name suggests, yes the cake was originated in the Black forest of Southwestern Germany due to containing the special liquor from this region known as Schwarzwälder Kirsch. But apart from this cake, this region provides plenty of black-forest specialty desserts and you must try them.

9. Few Hours in the Beautiful City of Freiburg

While returning back, spend some hours in the iconic medieval city of Freiburg which is just adjacent to the Black Forest, and enjoy the combination of city and nature.

10. Enjoy a Nice Stay in Nature at a Cheaper Rate

Who doesn't want a fancy stay with a nice mountain/forest view but not with the heavy tag? Here, in the Black Forest, you can get a beautiful Airbnb or hotels at a notably genuine price with a nice view and I must say you deserve to spend some time in your new stay, sipping coffee with your partner and enjoying the view from the balcony.

Where to Stay in the Black Forest?

As the Black Forest is so huge, it offers plenty of options to stay ranging from Baden-Baden (famous as spa town) to Freiburg, a lovely city. But if you want to stay IN the Black forest, there are some beautiful villages which make you closer to the Black forest and provides stay within nature.

Lauterbach: 20km to Triberg, inexpensive stay with beautiful view, a peaceful village in nature

Triberg: Triberg waterfall, plenty of Cuckoo clock shops, Touristic place, a bit expensive

Villingen-Schwenningen: A bit far from Triberg and Titisee, city feeling, away from nature, inexpensive

Titisee-Neustadt: close to the lake/nature, green surroundings, expensive

*we stayed in Lauterbach.

Our itinerary

Friday evening: exploring the town (Lauterbach) and hiking on a small trail, watching the sunset from the top of a hill

Saturday: Triberg waterfall, hike to the top of the waterfall, visiting Cuckoo clocks shops, Lunch at Black forest cafe, spending the evening at Titisee Lake

Sunday: Lake Konstanz and Pile dwelling Museum, return to our home

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Enjoy!