Freiburg im Breisgau is the best city in Germany. I promise I’m not just saying that because I’ve lived, studied, and worked here for 5 years; it’s just a city that draws people in. Freiburg is a small city at the threshold of the Black Forest, but don’t let the name scare you, because it’s known as the sunniest place in Germany (a relative term!). Vineyards and fruit trees grow in the neighboring hills, and the Black Forest itself rambles pretty much all the way to Bavaria. As a tourist destination, it’s mostly popular with other Europeans, drawing in a lot of German, French, Swiss, and Spanish visitors in particular. After five years here, I like to think I’m close to being a local, and I’ve certainly tried my fair share of coffee and wine and restaurants and activities around the city. So here it is: my in-progress insider’s guide to Freiburg. As always, note that I’m the outdoorsy and somewhat unrefined type, so you might sense a theme here.
Eat
The Munstermarkt, or the main square around the cathedral, is stuffed with food stalls every morning to early afternoon (except Sundays). The majority sell raw produce, but you can also find cheeses, cooked snacks like sausages, and local coffee. Stefan’s Cheesecake is another popular stand. (As a side note, I’ve tried a few of the permanent restaurants around the cathedral and haven’t found any recommendable ones). Martinsbräu is Freiburg’s version of a Bavarian beer hall. It’s got your long wooden tables, simple (but tasty!) hearty German fare, and of course their home-brewed beer. This is the only place in Freiburg I visit when I want traditional German food.
For some quick ethnic food suggesetions: Bowl Maker Society is a new and really popular build-your-own-ramen shop, also with rice noodles. Euphrat is my favorite doner-kebap/middle eastern option downtown. They’ve been in business for something like 20 years, and now they have a lot of options for vegans, vegetarians, and people with grain sensitivities. Markthalle is a casual indoor food hall with all kinds of international offerings, from Brazilian to Thai. YepaYepa is a nice little taco joint, and they have corn tacos available for gluten sensitivities and vegetarian options.
Some specific regional foods you can try (note: usually not gluten-free and/or vegan): Flammkuchen is Alsacian flatbread pizza that has a mild white cream sauce, and there’s a whole restaurant revolving around it at Breisgauer Flammkuchen. Spätzle are small wheat dumplings, usually fried and served with cheese or sauerkraut. The traditional regional sausage is called Lange Rote (“long red”) and you’ll find it at virtually every sausage stand.
Drink: Coffee
Cafe Marcel is a local favorite that brews Specialty Coffee roasted by Gunters Coffee Roasters. Seating is limited, so most people just get theirs to go for a stroll around the cute Stadtgarten. A tiny funicular also leaves from the same building, but it’s literally faster to just walk up the hill. Origin Coffee Stories is another newer Specialty Coffee cafe nearby.
Kolben Kaffee is a traditional-style cafe inside the Martinstor. Their coffee is pretty good, but mostly I visit for the atmosphere.
Drink: beer, wine, & co.
My favorite beer garden is the Kastaniengarten (chestnut garden), which sits just above old town and gives you a fantastic view over the city, sunsets, Black Forest, and even the French Vosges mountains on clear days. There’s nearly always space free at a table, and they sell some basic food including fries and pizzas. Another good beer garden is Feierling, where they also brew their own suds. By quitting time on warm evenings, Feierling will definitely already be full, so arrive early. The adjacent Feierling restaurant takes online reservations if you’re also looking for food. If you’re looking for a calmer place with a beer garden vibe, Cafe POW is like a garden mixed with a living room bar. Think trees bedecked with fairy lights, sofas made from old bathtubs, and both an indoor and outdoor bar. In December they also have glühwein nights.
The Kastaniengarten biergarten and its view into the Black Forest
For the more traditional bars: Schlappen is a favorite with old and young locals alike. Eimer (“Bucket”) is an almost-dive-bar where Monday nights are reserved for Metal Karaoke. Alter Simon is a classic traditional bar, but note that smoking is allowed indoors. O’Kelly’s is the city’s OG Irish pub, with weekly pub quizzes and Bingo nights.
Some local brand recommendations: Riegeler Landbier and Rothaus (especially Tannenzapfle) are two popular local beers you can find easily. You could also try Ganter, which has a huge brewery just outside town, at your own risk.1 For gluten-freebies, you can find a nice beer in most grocery stores made by Lammsbräu (there’s also an alcohol-free version). My favorite local white grape varieties are Müller-Thurgau and Grauburgrunder (both fairly dry). Any wine that comes from nearby Kaiserstuhl is usually a good bet.
Schlappen / One of the Bächle, or tiny canals
Gifts
My favorite souvenir shop is schwarzundwald. They have unique and high-quality gifts that are often made in the area. Confiserie Rafael Mutter is my pick for local truffles and chocolates. I find them much tastier to me than the shops near Bertoldsbrunnen, and you can get cute little Freiburg-themed gift boxes.
Do
Stroll along the northern shore of the Dreisam River (the south shore is a bike highway). The “Wasserterrassen” are artificial pools that were originally built to slow the river and create fish habitat, but on warm afternoons they get co-opted by locals who hang out at the pools to chat, drink, and swim. You can also visit Cafe Extrablatt, which is the only restaurant/bar on the river. The food and drinks are okayish and expensive – it’s a place visited for the atmosphere.
Another popular local activity is to sit for awhile with your feet (and maybe some grocery store wine) in one of the city’s tiny streetside canals, called Bächle. Popular places for a cheeky picnic are along Herrenstraße and Schusterstraße, both near the cathedral. If you prefer paid service, Rädle Feine Kost has put some tiny tables over the canals and will bring you all the spritzes and tiny bar snacks you desire.
Seepark is the city’s biggest park and one of the most popular picnic locations. There’s a Japanese garden, huge restaurant, and a decent freshwater lake if you fancy a swim. It’s an easy 10-minute tram ride west of downtown (line 1 towards Landwasser).
For the spa crowd, Keidel is a thermal bath on the outskirts of Freiburg. The water is geothermally-heated mineral water (chlorinated, but there’s also a spigot where you can try drinking the pure water if you want). They have about 20 indoor and outdoor pools at different temperatures.
A few small museums are also scattered around the city. Uniseum (free entrance), in the first floor of the old university building, contains the history of the university. Arguably the highlight is the underground portion, which is original to the 1400s. The Archaeology Museum in Colombi Park (5 Euro entrance) gets my parents’ vote.
Hike
The hiking options here are…endless. I’ll list a few of my favorite paths, but honestly you can’t go wrong if you just pick a direction and start walking. The easiest option is to just walk up to Schlossberg from the old town. Meaning “castle mountain,” Schlossberg has a few foundation ruins from the old castle, but no walls remain. The modern steel tower (Schlossbergturm) is maybe a more exciting destination, since it’s the highest local point and gives you a good 360-degree view. For a longer hike, you can continue to the cute little forest restaurant Waldrestaurant St. Ottilien, which is a full-service restaurant except in the dead of winter.
Another option a little further from the city center is Kybfelsen, on the south side of the city. This is a quieter hike through wilder forests, although it’s also longer and steeper. There’s also a forest restaurant nearby the summit (Waldrestaurant St. Valentin). The easiest way to reach it is to take an urban train (S-bahn) to the Freiburg-Wiehre station. The Schauinslandbahn cable car is also reachable by public transport from the city center. (Tram 2 towards Gunterstal all the way to the end, bus 21 to the cable car, and finally the cable car to the summit). The walk back down only takes a couple of hours depending on your route, or of course you can just reverse the journey up.
If you’re willing to go a bit further afield, Panoramaweg, between the towns of Sankt Märgen and Sankt Peter, is the quintissential High Black Forest hike. You’ll hike through a mix of pastoral and forested rolling hills with traditional Black Forest farmhouses. Tiny historic farm chapels line the way. There are also spur trails to lakes and waterfalls if you want to make the hike a bit longer. Both towns are easily accessible by urban trains + an hourly bus (1 hour journey total, one-way), so most people take the bus to one town, walk to the other, and then take the bus back to Freiburg.
Fall and summer hiking in the high Black Forest
Leave for the day (aka side trips)
Kaiserstuhl is an old dead volcano with fertile vineyards and medieval hamlets to the Northwest of Freiburg. Liliental is a good place for spotting some of Germany’s native orchid species (blooming between May and October), and if you’re lucky you might even see European bee-eaters.
The Alsacian villages, including Colmar, are beautiful well-preserved medieval villages in the French Vosges mountains. By car it’s only 45 minutes to Colmar, although public transport will take you a few hours.
Europa-Park is a large theme park near the town of Rust, about a 25-minute drive or 1.5-hour public transport journey away. Each European country has its own “land” within the park, something like EPCOT if you’re familiar with Walt Disney World. It has rides for all ages (I’ve been twice!) and a separate waterpark.
Orchids in Liliental / Riquewihr in French Alsace
Miscellaneous
Bonus tip: There is another “Freiburg” (also spelled Fribourg) in Switzerland. If you’re taking a train to the German one, make sure it says “Freiburg (Breisgau)” and/or specifies Germany/Deutschland/Allemania in the name!
- Google the Ganter logo quick. Now you’ll understand my favorite joke about Ganter: the Eagle’s expression is exactly what your face will look like after you taste Ganter. ↩︎
Window Seat Odyssey 
Thank you for the Insider’s Guide to Frieburg Jill. I love reading all of your travel posts. Indoor believe I will be eating male goose anytime soon!
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