Discover Baden-Württemberg

Forest landscapes and natural areas

The Black Forest is one of the state’s great forest landscapes. It is also home to the Feldberg: at 1,493 metres, it is the highest peak in Baden-Württemberg. Other natural attractions include the Black Forest National Park, two biosphere reserves and seven nature parks. Together, the nature parks cover around a third of the state. These figures show how strongly nature can shape travel plans in the region, without making every holiday here the same.

Hiking and cycling are options for active travellers. You can take these interests into account when choosing a region and a suitable holiday rental. Alternatively, you might prefer to include cultural attractions, cities or museums in your trip. Baden-Württemberg has around 1,300 museums, about 660 of them in rural areas. The range therefore extends well beyond the major cities.

Rivers and different travel interests

The rivers can also help you find your bearings: the Rhine is 1,233 kilometres long and flows through Baden-Württemberg for 437 kilometres. The 367-kilometre-long Neckar runs almost entirely through the state. The Danube rises near Donaueschingen, where the Brigach and Breg meet.

Health and relaxation are another regional focus. Baden-Württemberg has 56 spa towns and health resorts; spa tourism is particularly well established in the Black Forest. Alongside nature, culture and culinary experiences, this can be a reason in its own right to explore different regions when choosing accommodation. The official tourism concept groups the visitor offer into precisely these four themes: nature, culture, culinary experiences and health.

Cultural history from the Ice Age to the Renaissance

The UNESCO World Heritage Site “Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura” was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017. Finds from the caves include the Venus of Hohle Fels, the Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel and the oldest flutes known to date anywhere in the world. Artefacts from the caves and Ice Age art are on display at the Landesmuseum Württemberg in Stuttgart, the Museum of Prehistory in Blaubeuren, the Ulm Museum and the Museum of the University of Tübingen. For anyone interested in culture, this subject brings exceptional early art together with several distinct museum locations.

Maulbronn Monastery and Reichenau Island Monastery offer further reasons to take a trip focused on cultural history. Maulbronn was founded in 1147 and is considered the most complete and best-preserved medieval monastic complex north of the Alps. On Reichenau, a group of three medieval churches preserves elements of Carolingian, Ottonian and Salian architecture. Several areas of the island—around 230 hectares of its total area of 460 hectares—are designated nature reserves under Baden-Württemberg nature conservation law.

Lichtenstein Castle and Weikersheim Palace and Gardens also offer different historical impressions. Lichtenstein Castle is a romantic historic castle known as the “fairytale castle of Württemberg”. Weikersheim is a Renaissance palace complex with an impressive knights’ hall and a nearly completely preserved interior. Specific interests like these can help you narrow down the focus of your trip and your search for a holiday rental.

Regions in Baden-Württemberg

For more information about each region, visit the individual pages here: Ludwigsburg, Lörrach, Heidenheim, Heilbronn, Schwäbisch Hall, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Calw, Hohenlohe, Lake Constance, Neckar-Odenwald District, Alb-Donau District, Biberach, Böblingen, Freudenstadt, Göppingen, Schwarzwald-Baar District, Sigmaringen, Tübingen, Tuttlingen, Waldshut, Zollernalb District, Stuttgart, Baden-Baden, Mannheim, Ulm, Constance, Main-Tauber District, Enzkreis, Ortenau District, Ostalb District, Rastatt, Ravensburg, Rems-Murr District, Reutlingen, Rhine-Neckar District, Rottweil, Esslingen, Karlsruhe and Emmendingen.

For the broader travel guide: Germany.