The Black Forest
If giant cuckoo clocks and Black Forest gateau no longer thrill, how about a trip to the world’s largest loo? Drive on the B33 to Hornberg and there, in all its lavatorial glory, stands the titanic toilet dreamed up by designer Philippe Starck. Even if you have no interest in designer urinals or home jacuzzis, the centre's worth visiting for the tremendous view across the Black Forest from the 12m-high ceramic loo.
The design centre is 3.5km south of Gutach.
22.83 MILES
With its lacy spires, cheeky gargoyles and intricate entrance portal, Freiburg’s 11th-century minster cuts an impressive figure above the central market…
4.71 MILES
The Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum spirals around the Vogtsbauernhof, a self-contained early-17th-century farmstead. Farmhouses shifted from their original…
16.12 MILES
Embracing the global craft gin craze, Monkey 47 has scooped awards for its batch-distilled, handcrafted dry gin, with piney, peppery notes. Distillery…
18.26 MILES
Sticking out above Rottweil like a sore thumb, the futuristic, environmentally progressive Testturm is the brainchild of steel-engineering giant…
5.56 MILES
Niagara they ain’t but Germany’s highest waterfalls do exude their own wild romanticism. The Gutach River feeds the seven-tiered falls, which drop a total…
25.55 MILES
Looming above Freiburg, the Schauinsland peak (1284m) is topped by a lookout tower commanding fabulous views to the Rhine Valley and Alps, plus walking,…
22.9 MILES
Dip into the past as represented by artists working from the Middle Ages to the 19th century at this superb museum in a sensitively modernised monastery…
22.52 MILES
The forested Schlossberg dominates Freiburg. Take the footpath opposite the Schwabentor, leading up through sun-dappled woods, or hitch a ride on the…
4.12 MILES
The Guinness World Records–listed world's largest cuckoo clock occupies an entire house, but is mostly a gimmick to lure shoppers inside a large clock…
4.71 MILES
The Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum spirals around the Vogtsbauernhof, a self-contained early-17th-century farmstead. Farmhouses shifted from their original…
4.94 MILES
A rival to the hotly contested giant-cuckoo-clock crown, the so-called 'world's oldest-largest cuckoo clock' kicked into gear in 1980 and took local…
5.38 MILES
A glockenspiel bashes out melodies and a cuckoo greets his fans with a hopelessly croaky squawk on the hour at the kitschy House of 1000 Clocks, a…
5.56 MILES
Niagara they ain’t but Germany’s highest waterfalls do exude their own wild romanticism. The Gutach River feeds the seven-tiered falls, which drop a total…
7.66 MILES
The riverfront Schüttesäge Museum focuses on Schiltach’s rafting tradition with reconstructed workshops, a watermill generating hydroelectric power for…
7.72 MILES
Clamber south up Schlossbergstrasse, pausing to notice the plaques that denote the trades of one-time residents, such as the Strumpfstricker (stocking…
7.73 MILES
Centred on a trickling fountain, the sloping, triangular Marktplatz is Schiltach at its picture-book best. The frescoes of its step-gabled 16th-century…