Freiburg | Black Forest Travel Tips

What to Eat in Freiburg

Spätzle – ever heard of this dish? If you haven’t yet, then it’s probably good that you’re reading this. Spätzle or Knöpfle (as they like to say in Freiburg) is the most famous meal from Freiburg and the Black Forest. You want to know what it is? Well, it is made from flour, eggs and water. Sounds pretty simple but the trick is to know how to actually make them after the dough is ready. Let that be a secret and just enjoy your meal while you’re there. 😉

Spätzle

Almost every restaurant in Freiburg offers Spätzle. However, we most liked the Spätzle from the Spätzlekiosk (around €6) in the Markthalle. The Markthalle is a small indoor food market. We really liked this place, as you can try many different foods from the area as well as from different countries.

Apart from the local food, we also tried some other great places, which we highly recommend. If you have been following our stories on Instagram, you probably know how much we love Mexican food. Therefore, we’re always super excited to find authentic Mexican restaurants wherever we go.

In Freiburg, we found Yepa Yepa. This is an absolutely authentic Mexican restaurant with great options and delicious food. If you like Mexican as much as we do, we highly recommend going there. It is a little expensive (€3/taco) for the amount you get, but here, you pay for the amazing quality that you can definitely taste.

Moreover, we have become big fans of the Middle Eastern cuisine which unfortunately, is not yet established in many German cities. However, in Freiburg, we found a place called Euphrat which has super tasty Middle Eastern food. There are many vegan and vegetarian options and all meals are very cheap (around €5 for great quality and quantity). We would have probably gone there more times if we would have stayed longer.

Our beer recommendation is: Rothaus Tannenzäpfle. It is brewed in the Black Forest and is quite delicious. You will be able to buy it at any restaurant or supermarket.

Accommodation – Where to Stay in Freiburg

We have looked for accommodation in Freiburg many times and it is hard to find anything cheap. If you have a car, we highly recommend staying outside of town, as you can find pretty cheap Airbnbs or even hotels in the surrounding area. Having a car will also make it easier for you to access starting points for hiking trails, as they are mostly located on the edge of Freiburg.

However, if you are like us and don’t have a car, you will have to find a place to stay in the city. You should definitely look for a place outside of the city center as Freiburg is very small and the walking distance to the city center should not be too far. Unfortunately, neither hotels nor Airbnbs are particularly cheap in Freiburg. Therefore, we decided to stay in the Holiday Inn Express outside of the city center as it included breakfast while most of the other places did not. We paid €90/night which is pretty expensive for our budget but we are afraid to say that it doesn’t get much cheaper than this if you want to stay in Freiburg.

Nevertheless, this way, we saved on transportation costs, as we neither needed a car nor a bus/train to get anywhere. Staying in the south side of Freiburg was also advantageous as we were closer to the hiking trails than if we would have stayed in the center or in the north.

Things to Do in Freiburg and the Black Forest

For the city of Freiburg, you really only need a few hours in order to see all sights, unless you want to visit some museums. However, you can spend an entire afternoon or even day exploring the Schlossberg and its many trails for pretty views of Freiburg. Other days should be spent in the surrounding areas. If you really want to go deeper into the woods, then you should look into booking accommodation in the Black Forest.

Transportation to and in Freiburg

You can get to Freiburg either by car, bus or train. We picked Flixbus as this was the cheapest option for us (from Koblenz and back to Trier: around €60). Moreover, the bus was just as fast as the train, but the train would have cost us almost double. Flixbus and other buses are a great alternative for traveling on a budget in Europe. They will take you to all cities for a cheap price.

In Freiburg, we didn’t need take a car or a bus, as everything was within walking distance even though our hotel was located outside of the city center. It took us about 10 minutes to get to the city center and 30 minutes to get to the starting points of the hiking trails that led into the Black Forest. We didn’t mind walking these 3 km to the starting points as we were going to hike anyway.

Generally, you don’t need a car if you stay in or near the city center of Freiburg. However, if you stay outside of the city center, we recommend staying in the south side, as you will be much closer to the hiking trails meaning that you won’t need as much time getting to each starting point.

Moreover, Freiburg is very bike-friendly and you can rent bikes at almost every corner. So if you want to go exploring but don’t feel like walking that much, you should definitely rent a bike for only a few Euros.

General Tips for Freiburg

• Try to book as early as you can for cheap prices. Freiburg is a very popular travel destination.
• If you have a car, stay outside of Freiburg in nature as it’s cheaper and you get to explore the Black Forest more.
• If you don’t have a car, stay in the south side of Freiburg and outside of the city center for cheaper prices and quicker access to hiking trails.
• You only need one afternoon to see the entire city.
• Plan for at least two days of hiking in order to experience the Black Forest from different perspectives.
• Prices are a little higher than in other regions in Germany. Therefore, we recommend eating at fast food restaurants with high-quality yet cheaper food such as Euphrat.
• You do not need a car to get around the city. Freiburg is very small and everything is within walking distance.
• All hiking trails are unmarked which makes it pretty hard for tourists, like us, to stay on the right trail. We got lost many times. Therefore, we highly recommend using GPS to guide you as we would probably still be there without it. 😀 Alternatively, you can use hiking apps such as outdoor active or komoot or you can use a hiking map. However, don’t be scared. The hikes are worth it and there are usually other people hiking from whom you can ask directions if you have to. Here’s a video we took while lost:
  https://www.youtube.com/embed/xroVIsiJSww
• Walk along the river. It’s very relaxing as the Dreisam is pretty wild, eliminating all sounds from cars etc.