A day trip to Triberg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Triberg in Baden-Württemberg is a lovely town in the black forest area of Germany. It is known for its cuckoo clocks and Germany’s highest waterfalls. The charm of this small, quaint, and lovely town attracts many tourists all year round.
We live in Darmstadt, and Triberg is about 235 km to its south. We visited Triberg as a part of our 5-day road trip exploring the black forest and driving all the way to Lake Constance in the southern part of Germany.
Our road trip plan looked like this:
I have written about the other parts of our journey in separate articles.
You can read about our second leg of the journey in Freiburg here: A day Trip To Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and the third leg of the journey in Lake Constance here: Holiday in Lake Constance (Bodensee), Germany.
In this article, I have written about the first leg of our holiday in Triberg. I have covered the best experiences in Triberg, along with tips based on my experience.
So, let’s start:
Triberg Location & How to Reach:
Triberg is located close to many important cities like Stuttgart ( 125km), Saarbrücken (200km), Wiesbaden & Mainz (275km), and Frankfurt (265km). It can be visited as a day trip, or you can spend a night here and make it a part of your holiday in the black forest area of Germany. Since we did our holiday in autumn, when the days were not so long, and daylight hours were limited, we did the latter. This allowed us to see a few places on one day and a few the other day.
We reached Triberg by car. It’s a lovely drive with many picturesque landscapes along the way; hence, I would recommend reaching there by car.
Do read my articles about 10 reasons to drive a car in Germany and step by step procedure for getting a driving licence in Germany.
I have also written an article about my experience with car rentals in Germany. You could check that out too.
However, you can even reach Triberg by Deutsche Bahn ( Germany’s Rail Network service). You can use their official website to make a booking.
Car Parking in Triberg:
Triberg is a very small town, and most of the places can be visited on foot. So, it’s best to park your car in the city centre and explore the town on foot. The most convenient place to park is the Edeka Parking. You can find its location here. Right next to Edeka Parking is Männerparkplatz. You can park at either of these places. The first hour is free, after which it is charged.
At the Edeka Parking, buy a ticket at the machine and keep the slip on your dashboard such that it is visible from the outside. At Männerparkplatz, there is a boom barrier. When you enter, press the button on the ticketing machine. It will give you a card. Keep the card safe. Before taking out the car, insert the card in the payment machine, pay and take your card. While exiting, insert the card, and the boom barrier will open, allowing you to exit.
The above-mentioned parking places are best for sightseeing in the town centre of Triberg, where most of the attractions are ( except the World’s Biggest Cuckoo Clock, which is about 2 km away).
To understand how close all these places are, check out this map below:
Accommodation:
It is best to stay somewhere close to the city centre because that’s where all the activity happens and it’s closest to most of the attractions.
To book your accommodation, check out their town website, or book through booking.com.
5 Best Experiences in Triberg
Here are some of the not-to-miss experiences in Triberg:
- Triberg Waterfall, combined with a Hike
Triberg waterfalls, Germany’s highest waterfalls, are located a few meters from the centre of the town. These falls have a descent of 163 meters, and they plunge over seven major steps before flowing into the valley. You need to buy a ticket to visit the waterfalls and hike in the area. Tickets are available at the entrance. After entering the area, you can choose a hiking path based on your preference. The three trails are the Nature Trail (Naturweg)-which takes 90 minutes; the Culture Trail (Kulturweg)-which takes 60 minutes; and the Cascades Trail (Kaskadenweg)- which takes 45 minutes. You can pick up a brochure at the ticketing office and follow the signs along the hiking path to follow the trail that you have chosen. The waterfalls are lovely and a must-visit when you are in Triberg. Take pictures, hike, and explore the landmarks along the way. You can find more information about Triberg Waterfalls here. - A visit to Greifvogel- und Eulenpark
This is a park for birds of prey, such as eagles, vultures, falcons and owls. Most of the birds are in cages. From the ticketing office for access to the waterfalls, when you take a right, the path leads to Greifvogel- und Eulenpark. It is a big brown building. You can either buy tickets at the machine on the ground floor or at the cafe on the 3rd floor. From there, you get access to the park. The park is not very big, and all the birds are in cages. But the highlight is the three shows that they do every day, in which the birds are brought out, and a subject matter expert explains more about them- their food habits, their habitat, etc. These shows happen at different times, and since the park is small and you cannot spend a day there, the park authorities allow you multiple entries and exits with your ticket. For example, you can watch a show, exit, explore the town, have lunch,, etc., and come back for the next show. If you request, they may agree to extend your ticket till the next day. You can find all the information about this park on their official website. - Explore the town and savour the local delicacies.
The town is small and lovely. As you take a walk along the main road you will come across many cafes, restaurants, cuckoo clock shops and shops for speciality goods. If you move out from the main road, you will find half-timbered houses, gurgling water streams and churches. Spend time exploring the town, trying out local delicacies, including the famous Black Forest Cake ( called Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte in German). - Visit Schwarzwald Museum, Triberg Fantasy, Triberg Land
In the Schwarzwald Museum, through various exhibits, one can understand more about life in the black forest in the past, their culture, and their mode of income, which included clockmaking, mining, etc.
Triberg Fantasy is a place for all those who love taking pictures. Triberg’s Instagram destination, Triberg Fantasy, has themed photo boxes offering numerous photo opportunities.
Triberg Land is a closed exhibition space displaying model trains, cable cars, etc. It’s a place where the entire family can have a good time.
All the above-mentioned three places are located a few meters away from each other. - Visit the World’s Biggest Cuckoo Clock
Located in Eble Uhren Park, about 2 km from the town centre is the world’s biggest cuckoo clock. You can either admire it from the outside or pay 2 euros per person to ‘enter the clock’ ( which is basically a museum that has exhibits and also shows the workings of the clock). There is a big cuckoo clock shop right next to it, which has a massive collection of cuckoo clocks. The products are much more reasonably priced than those in the town centre. So, if you plan to buy clocks or small souvenirs, do check it out. Check out this website for more information.
About Tickets to visit all the above-mentioned places:
Triberg Waterfalls: https://www.triberg.de/english/sights/germanys-highest-waterfalls-1 (note that with a Triberg Inklusiv Karte ( All-inclusive ticket), you get a free entry to Schwarzwald Museum, Triberg Land and Triberg Fantasy when you buy the ticket for the waterfalls.) For Example, if you look at the summer prices (1st column), a family ticket costs 20 Euros, which includes entry to the waterfalls, Schwarzwald Museum, Triberg Land and Triberg Fantasy.
Greifvogel- und Eulenpark: https://www.greifvogelpark-triberg.de/deutsch/eintrittspreise/
( Note that you can buy a combi ticket for the waterfalls and Greifvogel- and Eulenpark if you wish to see both. Check out the link given for Triberg Waterfalls for more info. E.g., as a family, if you buy separate tickets for waterfalls and Greifvogel- und Eulenpark, it would cost you 20+30=50 Euros, but if you buy a combi ticket, it costs you 45 Euros ). Also note that when you buy a combi ticket, it is usually valid for that day. So, if you wish to visit the waterfalls on one day and the birds park on the other, a combi ticket may not work.
Schwarzwald Museum: As mentioned above, the entry to this museum is included in the all-inclusive ticket. However, if, for any reason, you just want to visit the museum and skip the other places, you can buy a ticket just for the museum as well. Check out the link for the prices: https://www.triberg.de/tourismus-freizeit/tourismus-freizeit/sehens-und-erlebenswertes/schwarzwaldmuseum-sehen-hoeren-staunen. Click on the section- Einzeltritt
Triberg Fantasy: The entry to Triberg Fantasy is also included in the all-inclusive card. But if you wish to buy a ticket only for Triberg Fantasy, check out this link for the prices: https://www.triberg.de/tourismus-freizeit/tourismus-freizeit/sehens-und-erlebenswertes/instagram-museum-triberg-fantasy. Click on the section- Einzeltritt.
Triberg Land: The entry to Triberg Land is also included in the all-inclusive card. But if you wish to buy a ticket only for Triberg Land, check out this link for the prices: https://www.triberg.de/tourismus-freizeit/tourismus-freizeit/sehens-und-erlebenswertes/triberg-land-interaktive-modellbauanlagen. Click on the section- Einzeltritt
World’s largest Cuckoo Clock: You can pay by inserting 2 Euros in the machine at the entrance. You can see the working of the clock. If you don’t have change, you can take it from the shop next to it.
How to plan visiting places in Triberg:
If you are in Triberg for a day trip and have only a few hours in the town, I would suggest seeing the waterfalls, the bird park, and the World’s biggest Cuckoo clock. You can buy a combi ticket for the waterfalls and bird park. Come in and out of the bird park so that you can see at least two of the three shows. You can spend about 1-1 1/2 hours at Waterfalls. A visit to the world’s biggest clock wouldn’t need anything more than 30 minutes. You can spend another half hour shopping at the shop next to the world’s biggest clock for souvenirs etc. Combine these visits with lunch at any of the restaurants on the main street of Triberg.
If you plan to stay for a night at Triberg, then you can visit all the places mentioned above. On the first day, you can visit the Schwarzwald Museum, Triberg Land and Triberg Fantasy and the Waterfalls.
The next day, you can visit the bird park and the world’s biggest clock and do some shopping too.
If you wish to see a few shows in the bird park on the 1st day and a few shows on the 2nd, please visit the bird park on the first day and ask them if they would be able to extend your ticket to the next day. If they agree, come back to the ticketing office at the Waterfalls and buy a Combi ticket for the waterfalls and the bird park. Then, see an evening show at the bird park on the first day and a morning show at the bird park on the second day.
Check out my photo gallery of Triberg for many more clicks.
We stayed in Triberg for a night and then headed to our next destination, Freiburg. Read about our day in Freiburg here.
To read about other day trips from Darmstadt, click here.
To read about holidays in other destinations in Europe, click here.
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