Freiburg: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Freiburg was founded in 1120 as a market town, and for more than four centuries, until 1805, it belonged to the Habsburgs of Austria. The old town is crossed by the Bächle, narrow channels of running water in the paving that once supplied the houses and put out fires; legend says that whoever steps into one will marry a local. This walk joins the two surviving town gates through the market square to the hill above. About two and a half hours, mostly flat until the climb at the end.
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A short history of Freiburg
Freiburg was founded in 1120 by the Dukes of Zähringen as a market town on the edge of the Black Forest, and its name means "free town". Work on the minster began around 1200, and its tower, completed in the 14th century, is considered one of the most beautiful in Germany. In 1368 the townspeople bought their freedom from the counts and placed themselves under the protection of the House of Habsburg, and for more than 400 years Freiburg was Austrian, until it passed to Baden in 1805. The university was founded in 1457. The bombing of 27 November 1944 destroyed most of the city centre, but the minster survived. Today the city is known for the small water channels that run along its streets and for the Vauban district, built on the site of a French military camp and regarded as a model green neighbourhood.
The ten best sights in Freiburg
1Freiburg MinsterClimb the tower in the morning, before the market crowds fill the square below
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2Historic Merchants' Hall
The red facade on the Münsterplatz; best photographed from the minster steps
3MartinstorThe tram runs right through the old gate — watch your step on Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse
4SchwabentorThe way up to the Schlossberg starts behind the gate
5AugustinermuseumSee the minster's original statues here before or after climbing the tower
6ColombischlössleA small archaeology museum in a park by the station; an hour is enough
7Platz der Alten SynagogeThe shallow pool is a memorial, drawn in the outline of the synagogue burned in 1938
8University of FreiburgThe old lecture halls face the synagogue square; the students set the town's pace
9SchlossbergTake the little cable railway up and walk down for sunset over the roofs
10Schauinsland Cable CarTwenty minutes from town by tram and bus; on a clear day you see the Alps from the top
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Freiburg →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Freiburg:
Free walking tours in Freiburg
A town of gutters and gates
Freiburg was founded in 1120 as a market town, and for more than four centuries, until 1805, it belonged to the Habsburgs of Austria. The old town is crossed by the Bächle, narrow channels of running water in the paving that once supplied the houses and put out fires; legend says that whoever steps into one will marry a local. This walk joins the two surviving town gates through the market square to the hill above. About two and a half hours, mostly flat until the climb at the end.
- Martinstor · One of the two medieval gates left of the town walls. In 1901 it was raised to more than twice its old height, which is why the top looks so different from the bottom.
- Freiburg Minster · Its 116-metre tower, finished around 1330, is one of the few Gothic church towers completed in the Middle Ages; the historian Jacob Burckhardt called it the most beautiful tower on earth. It came through the bombing of November 1944 that destroyed most of the old town around it.
- Historic Merchants' Hall · Built in the 1520s as the customs and trading house of the town. The four statues on the facade are Habsburg rulers, a reminder that Freiburg was an Austrian town until 1805.
- Augustinermuseum · Set in a former Augustinian friary, it keeps many of the minster's original sculptures and stained-glass windows; the ones on the church today are often copies, brought down to protect the originals from the weather.
- Schwabentor · The painting on the town side shows a Swabian with a barrel: according to the legend he came to buy Freiburg with it, and the barrel turned out to be full of sand and stones.
- Schlossberg · The hill carried a large fortress built by the French engineer Vauban in the late 17th century. When the French withdrew in 1745 they blew it up, and only scattered walls remain among the trees.
West to the Rhine
Between Freiburg and the Rhine lies the Kaiserstuhl, the remains of an old volcano covered in vine terraces, and beyond it the river that is the border with France. Jews lived in the towns of this region for centuries, until they were deported to the camp of Gurs in October 1940. This is a half-day loop by car, about 100 km, through wine villages, a frontier cathedral town and the place where Faust is said to have died. Some of the stops close on Mondays, so a weekday from Tuesday works best.
- Kaiserstuhl · A small range of volcanic hills rising out of the Rhine plain, and one of the warmest corners of Germany. Its loess terraces grow Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, and shelter southern species such as the bee-eater and the praying mantis.
- Burkheim · A walled wine village on the edge of the Kaiserstuhl, overlooked by the ruined castle of Lazarus von Schwendi, a 16th-century imperial general who is said to have brought the Tokaj grape home from Hungary.
- Breisach Minster · The minster stands on a rock above the Rhine. Inside are Martin Schongauer's Last Judgement frescoes of the late 1480s and a high altar carved in the 1520s by a sculptor known only by his initials, Master HL.
- Blue House, Breisach · The house of the old Jewish community of Breisach, which existed for some six hundred years until the deportation of 1940. Today a local association runs it as a centre for the history of the Jews of the Upper Rhine.
- Staufen · Legend says the magician Doctor Faustus died here around 1540 at the inn Zum Löwen. In 2007 a geothermal drilling under the town let water into a layer of anhydrite, the ground began to swell, and cracks spread through the old houses.
- Sulzburg Synagogue · Built in 1822 for a Jewish community that made up a large part of this small town. It was wrecked inside in November 1938 but not burned, because of the houses around it, and it has been restored as a memorial.
Over the hills toward the lake
The road from Freiburg to Lake Constance climbs straight into the high Black Forest, through the Höllental, the Valley of Hell, and past the highest summit and lakes of the range. So this is the morning of the next leg rather than a separate day. Triberg is a detour north, worth it for the falls and the Black Forest cake; the rest lies on or near the road. Up top it is several degrees cooler than in town, and there can be snow into April.
- Schauinsland Cable Car · Opened in 1930, it was built as the first cable car in the world with a continuous circulating rope for passengers. The mountain itself was mined for silver from the Middle Ages, and that silver paid for much of medieval Freiburg.
- Ravenna Gorge · The stone viaduct above the gorge carries the Höllental railway, opened in 1887 and for decades one of the steepest main lines in Germany. Every December a Christmas market is held under its arches.
- Feldberg · At 1,493 metres it is the highest mountain in Germany outside the Alps. Below its summit lies the Feldsee, a round lake left in a hollow carved by an Ice Age glacier.
- Titisee · A glacial lake about two kilometres long. A popular story links its name to the Roman emperor Titus, though no one has found any evidence that he came anywhere near it.
- Triberg Waterfalls · The Gutach river falls 163 metres in seven main steps, among the highest waterfalls in Germany. In town, Café Schäfer bakes Black Forest cake from the recipe of Josef Keller, the confectioner usually credited with inventing it in 1915.
- German Clock Museum · Furtwangen was a centre of Black Forest clockmaking, where farm families carved wooden clocks through the winter. The museum, linked to the local clockmaking school founded in 1850, holds thousands of pieces, from cuckoo clocks to astronomical clocks.
Getting to Freiburg and getting around
- Freiburg Hauptbahnhof · Ten minutes' walk from the old town; the Höllental line to Titisee leaves from here
- Central Bus Station · Right beside the main station; long-distance coaches and the airport bus stop here
- EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg · About an hour south, on French soil; low-cost flights from around Europe
Cheap eats in Freiburg
Freiburg's street food is a sausage: the Lange Rote, a thin red bratwurst about 35 cm long, grilled at stands on the minster market and folded into a roll far too short for it. The town is warm, sunny and surrounded by vineyards, so a glass of Baden wine at lunch is normal, and Alsace is close enough that Flammkuchen is on every menu. With tens of thousands of students in town, a cheap lunch is easy to find.
- Lange Rote at the Münstermarkt · The long red sausage in a roll, with onions, about €4-5
- Markthalle · Small stalls from curry to crêpes, a plate about €8-12
- Feierling Biergarten · House beer under chestnut trees, a half-litre about €4-5, snacks €6-12
- Kolben Kaffee · Standing-room coffee bar on the main street, an espresso about €2-3
- Martin's Bräu · Brewpub by the Martinstor; a lunch plate about €10-15
- Schlappen · Old student pub; a beer and a Flammkuchen about €12-16
Museums in Freiburg
- Augustinermuseum · Medieval art and the minster's original statues; give it two hours
- Archaeological Museum Colombischlössle · Celts, Romans and Alemanni in a neo-Gothic villa
- Museum Natur und Mensch · Minerals of the Black Forest and natural history; good on a rainy day
- German Clock Museum, Furtwangen · Cuckoo clocks and more, about 45 minutes into the hills
- Vogtsbauernhof open-air museum · Old Black Forest farmhouses moved and rebuilt; half a day
Nature and day trips near Freiburg
- Schlossberg · Forest paths and views right above the old town
- Schauinsland summit · Open meadows at 1,284 metres; walk the ridge, ride down
- Feldberg and the Feldsee · Walk down from the summit to the round glacial lake
- Ravenna Gorge · Waterfalls and wooden bridges; about an hour's loop
- Kaiserstuhl vineyards · Walking paths through deep loess lanes between the vines
Things to do in Freiburg with kids
- Europa-Park · Germany's biggest theme park, 35 minutes north; a full day
- Mundenhof · The city's farm and animal park; free entry
- Schlossbergbahn · A short, steep cable railway up from the town park
- Steinwasen Park · Animals, a summer toboggan and a long suspension bridge, near Schauinsland
- Schauinsland Mine Museum · Hard hats on, down into a medieval silver mine
Where to eat in Freiburg
- Zum Roten Bären · Claims to be the oldest inn in Germany, by the Schwabentor
- Oberkirchs Weinstuben · Baden cooking and wine on the Münsterplatz
- Englers Weinkrügle · A small wine tavern with hearty local dishes; book ahead
- Dattler · Dinner on the Schlossberg with the town lit up below
- Martin's Bräu · Brewpub with sausages, schnitzel and their own beer
- Feierling · Brewery restaurant; the beer garden in summer
Frequently asked questions about Freiburg
What is there to see in Freiburg?
The top sights in Freiburg are Freiburg Minster, Historic Merchants' Hall and Martinstor. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Freiburg?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Freiburg without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Freiburg?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Freiburg, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: A town of gutters and gates.
How do you get to Freiburg and get around?
The main ways are Freiburg Hauptbahnhof, Central Bus Station and EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Freiburg, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Freiburg that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Freiburg for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.