Hallo! I am a foreigner staying in Kaiserslautern, and I am planning a 4-day trip south to the see the mountains, before the weather gets too cold. It is my first time traveling south of Stuttgart, and I'm having trouble narrowing my itinerary, because there is so much to see! I'd like to see Burg Hohenzollern, Ulm, spend a day in nature in the vicinity of Oberstdorf, and then head west along the Bodensee (Lindau, Friedrichshafen, or maybe going south via St. Gallen in Switzerland?) and stopping by Freiburg before returning. The picture roughly shows the loop I'm talking about.

I'm afraid of planning too many things to see, and not having enough time to see them all. Therefore, I'm seeking recommendations and advice on the best stops to take along this route. I love history and old places, so I'd like to hear about significant historical sites to see, and I prefer medium-sized or smaller cities and towns. Also, is it worth it to drive a little further to Garmisch, rather than Oberstdorf? Is the scenery there better?

Vielen dank!

by throwaway_17328

8 comments

  1. Oberstdorf will get you the beginning of the Alps whilst also getting to enjoy the Alps experience. There’s lovely walks through the valleys there (Spielmannsau, Eindödsbach or the Oytal as an example). You can also drive deeper into the valley to Kleinwalsertal (a landlocked part of Austria). I can thoroughly recommend Oberstdorf and personally don’t see the added benefit of driving to Garmisch. Send me a DM if you want some more tips of that area.

  2. As far as cities go, Freiburg is a nice one. You may want to consider Konstanz, way smaller than Freiburg but a nice center and located at the Bodensee.

    As a joker, Colmar or Strasbourg in France are just a small detour away and are worth a visit in my opinion.

    Just a FYI, along your route everything from Konstanz up to Karlsruhe is considered Baden and not Swabia.

  3. For the route along Bodensee, I would recommend stopping in Meersburg and Konstanz. In Meersburg, you can visit an old castle with a beautiful view of Bodensee. Konstanz has a beautiful old town with many small alleys and a very long promenade, perfect for a stroll.
    I would definitely skip Friedrichshafen and possibly Lindau as well.

  4. Yeah, thats a lot for only four days. I suppose you actually want to see stuff and spend time in those places? If the Alps are your main goal, rather plan mainly for a stay in Oberstdorf/ Garmisch and do some hiking. You will need half a day to get there, half a day to get home again and have two full days to really enjoy the area. For the travel days, you could pick a stop each, like Ulm and Freiburg for example, to take a lunch and stroll through the cities before moving on. If you live in Kaiserslautern, I assume you will have more opportunities to visit the other places on your bucket list another time.

    Edit: By the way, the Palatinate is lovely right now in autumn. Maybe consider some trip along the Weinstraße instead of rushing all of South Germany in one go. There are so many hidden gems in Germany if you dare to leave the extremely touristy paths.

  5. Don’t underestimate the driving. As soon as you are off the Autobahn you will spend lots of time in the car.

    Burg Hohenzollern is not on the route you drawn. Add a 3 hours of driving if you go there.

    Skip St. Gallen. Skip Friedrichshafen.
    Think about stopping in Meersburg (visit the Castle take the tour) and Konstanz (take the ferry to Konstanz from Merseburg that is fun by itself). Lindau is also great, park at the parking lot at the entrance of the island and visit the island.
    Freiburg is great. This alone is two days. Ulm is also worth a visit. Until recently, before the Sagrada Família was finished, it had the largest church tower in the world, but even if it is not the highest one now, one can still go up the tower, and that is great.

    Memmingen is maybe a little bit unusual tip. Its inner city is somewhat nice.
    But what makes it currently special. It currently has an exhibition that shows one of the historical source of the thinking about human rights in Europe, the peasant rebellions that shaped the 16th century peasant rebellions in southern Germany.

    I would recommend to take 2 overnights in the Allgaeu (region around Oberstdorf) so that you can spend a full day there.

    Fun things to do is take one of the Cable Cars (a little bit expensive) up one of the mountains.

    If you want to combine that with a nice hike is to take the Ifen bahn Cable Car and explore the “Gottesacker” as a day hike.

  6. Konstanz is super interesting, nice people, best food… you can cross the border to Switzerland. Freiburg is also worth to stay longer. Maybe take a rest in Friedrichshafen, before you travel to Konstanz. The city has some kind of 80ies style but also a nice beach promenade. Have fun

  7. I would recommend leaving the Autobahn at Pforzheim towards the Nagold valley. Some recommended stops on the way to Ulm (all except the first two are historic towns):

    * Monbachtal (beautiful nature, narrow valley with a torrent)
    * Hirsau monastery ruins
    * Calw
    * Tübingen
    * Herrenberg
    * Bad Urach (don’t miss the waterfall)
    * Blaubeuren

    Between Oberstdorf and Freiburg:

    * Lindau
    * Meersburg
    * Unteruhldingen (Pfahlbauten open-air museum)
    * Schaffhausen (old town and Rhine falls in the neighboring town of Neuhausen)
    * Schluchsee (larger, more beautiful and less touristy lake than the famous Titisee)
    * Schauinsland lookout tower (one of the best views in the Black Forest)

    After Freiburg, the Kaiserstuhl is worth a visit with its unique vineyard landscapes.

  8. Last Sunday went to Oberstdorf. It was decent, but cloudy. However, Breitachklamm was perfect to walk around a couple of hours. General advice for your route – avoid A7 at weekend at any cost. Starting Friday’s evening, Saturday from 9am till 5pm everything from Ulm till Füssen is permanent Stau. There is always a few kilometers Baustelle between Ausfahrt Illertissen and Ausfahrt Dettingen (Iller) so, everything can be even worse. A8 near Pforzheim is a nightmare at everytime. Going through Switzerland is also an option, but in this case avoid autobahns (or pay 40,-CHF for vignette). If you are to discover something about history – avoid A8 between Stuttgart and Ulm and go on… for example, B28 through Reutlingen, Tübingen and Schwäbische Alb. There are some castles like Schloss Liechtenstein, ruines of Hohenurach in Bad-Urach. In Blaubeuren you can find Blautopf Quelle. Ulm is definitely worth to see. Also there are some roman ruines in Kempten (Allgäu). That’s for a quick look… I’m living in Neu-Ulm, so kinda familiar with those places.

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