A day Trip To Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Recently, during the autumn break of 2023, we, as a family, did a small road trip in the southern parts of Germany. The first destination in our short road trip was the lovely town of Triberg, which lies in the black forest area of Germany in Baden-Württemberg. We spent a night at Triberg and headed for our next destination, Freiburg. Read about our first leg of the journey in Triberg in my article: A day trip to Triberg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in which I have shared detailed information about reaching Triberg, accommodation, places to visit, etc, with tips based on my experience. After seeing Freiburg, we headed further south and visited Lake Constance (called Bodensee in German). You can read about the third leg of our holiday in my article: Holiday in Lake Constance (Bodensee), Germany. After spending two days in different cities and towns on Lake Constance, we returned to Darmstadt via Ulm.
Our road trip looked like this:
In this article, I have written about the second leg of our holiday in Freiburg.
About Freiburg
Freiburg is a vibrant city in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is well known for its university and has a huge student population. Its location, in the black forest area of Germany, makes it a popular tourist destination. Its proximity to big cities like Stuttgart ( 200 km), Heidelberg (186km), Saarbrücken (208km), Konstanz (125km), Basel, Switzerland(70km), Strasbourg, France(86km), makes it a great destination for a day trip.
We live in Darmstadt, which is about 240 km from Freiburg. As mentioned before, Freiburg was the second destination on our road trip after Triberg. After travelling about 240 km, we reached Triberg. We stayed in Triberg for a night and then headed to Freiburg, which is just 56 km southwest of Triberg. It took us about an hour to reach Freiburg from Triberg.
Reaching Freiburg
The fastest and the most convenient way to reach Freiburg is by car.
If you have a car, you can consider driving, which is much faster and gives you complete flexibility. If you don’t own a car, you can rent one. We have rented vehicles from SIXT multiple times and found their cars of top-notch quality.
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 Freiburg
Parking in the city centre is expensive. It can cost you close to 3.5 Euros per hour, whether you park along the road or in a covered parking area (called Parkhaus).
Check out this link, which gives information about parking fees according to your location: https://www.freiburg.de/pb/1268180.html
Therefore, I would suggest that when you book accommodation in Freiburg, preferably look for accommodation in the city centre ( so that you are close to the places to visit), that includes car parking ( so that you can save money on parking and visit all the places on foot). I shall talk more about accommodation in the next section.
Parking Options in Freiburg
Parking is possible along the road or in designated open parking areas ( where you see the parking sign and a ticketing machine). You can buy the ticket for the desired duration, take a ticket and place it on the dashboard of your car. You must have coins and small cash ready for this. Note that many of these parking spaces are free between 11 pm -7 am ( this time can vary from location to location), so read the information on the ticketing machine carefully before making the payment.
You can park in a Parkhaus (closed parking area), in which case 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 third option is to park in a nearby residential area where parking is free. But this is very hard to get in Freiburg. Most of the places are reserved for people who live there ( the sign along the road says Bewohner mit Parkausweis Nr. frei, which means that anyone other than the resident of that area with a parking ID can’t park there). Some places allow you to park during the day but leave it free for the residents after a certain time in the evening.
Also, different companies manage different parking areas in Freiburg. You can download the app and pay online, too. Information about the app is available on the ticketing machine.
After exploring all the options, we felt it best to park our car in a Parkhaus. Parkhauses usually have CCTV cameras (hence more safety for your car than on the road), and they are covered. Although they cost a bit, you can park as long as you want to. We parked in Tiefgarage Universität Kollegiengebäude. This was very close to the university and the city centre. After parking our car here, we explored the city on foot. I would recommend parking here because of its location and suitability for bigger cars. You can see its location here.
Public Transport in Freiburg
RVF manages all public transport in Freiburg. You can check their website for information about tickets.
Accommodation in Freiburg
Choosing an accommodation would depend on what you wish to do in Freiburg and the places you wish to visit. It would also depend on whether you have a car or will use public transport.
You can even consider staying a bit far from the city centre and taking public transport to visit the city centre (to avoid parking issues).
Since we mainly planned to visit the city centre, we stayed at the city centre.
You can book your accommodation at Booking.com or on the city website.
3 Best Things to do in Freiburg in a day
- Enjoy local food at a restaurant with lovely views of the city:
The city has plenty of restaurants and cafes, and the marketplace is full of shops and cafes. Either go to the city centre, where all the crowds are or choose a restaurant in a calmer place that offers lovely views and great food. Freiburg is famous for bacon ( called Schwarzwälder Schinkenspeck) and Black Forest Cake ( Called Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte). So, try them out when you are there. We visited this restaurant and enjoyed our food, which had a lovely view of the gently flowing stream. - Take a walk in the old city and see important landmarks:
As you walk around the old city, you will see historical city gates such as Martins Gate and Schwabentor. Walk through them and stop by to read about their construction and purpose. You will also find many narrow streets and streams of water called Bächle. The locals usually decorate them in innovative ways, adding a lovely charm to the old city. The university buildings are also worth a look. If you wish, you can take a Guided Walking Tour to learn more about the city from a local.
- Visit Freiburg Cathedral
This 13th-century Cathedral is one of the most famous places in Freiburg. The cathedral is lovely both inside and out. The open area around the cathedral is an active place with food stalls, street musicians, and tourists. The lovely architecture with gargoyles on the outer facade is worth checking out. On the inside, too, it looks lovely with beautiful sculptures, glasswork, etc.
If you are on a day trip to Freiburg, you can start your day by visiting the centre, walking and exploring the various landmarks. Then, stop by for a casual lunch, followed by a visit to the cathedral.
If you have more time in Freiburg, you can add the following to your itinerary:
- Seepark Freiburg: A large park with a lake, about 5 km from Freiburg Old City.
- Schlossberg: A hill from where you get lovely city views, about 2 km from Freiburg Old City.
If you have a day more, you can add Europa Park to your itinerary. Freiburg is a preferred destination to stay when visiting this amusement park. Located about 40 km north of Freiburg, Europa Park is a great place to visit with your family.
After Freiburg, we headed to our next destination: Lake Constance. There, we visited three places: Konstanz, Meersburg, and Lindau. You can read my article about the holiday in Bodensee (Lake Constance) here.
Check out some more pictures of Freiburg in my photo Gallery.
Read about other holiday destinations here.
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