Freiburg walking tour & city guide

The Minster and the market

Freiburg Minster, a red sandstone Gothic cathedral, has a spire that the historian Jacob Burckhardt called the most beautiful tower on Earth. Every morning except Sunday, a colorful farmers' market fills the square around it, with stalls selling produce, flowers and the famous long red sausages.

The Bächle and the old town

The Bächle are small water channels that run along the streets of the old town, originally used to supply water and fight fires. Legend says that if you step in one by accident, you will marry someone from Freiburg. The old city gates, the Martinstor and Schwabentor, still stand, and the Augustinian Museum holds medieval art.

A classic walk through Freiburg

Start at the Martinstor gate and walk along Kaiser-Joseph-Straße to the Minster and its market. Continue through the old town to the Schwabentor, then wander along the Fischerau and Gerberau, lanes lined with the Bächle and the canal.

From the Schwabentor, climb the paths up the Schlossberg for a view over the rooftops and the minster, or ride the Schlossbergbahn funicular. The walk is about 3 kilometers.

Visiting tips

Freiburg has a mild climate and is lovely from spring to autumn. The Black Forest begins right outside the city, with Titisee lake and the Schauinsland mountain cable car nearby. Basel in Switzerland and Colmar in France are each less than an hour away.