Schloss Ortenberg near Offenburg

Offenburg is a city in the Black Forest in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

Understand

Offenburg is best known for being the capital of the wine region Ortenau. It sides west to the Black Forest at the Upper Rhine, lying at the entrance of the Kinzigtal and the Renchtal.

• Tourist information, Fischmarkt 2, ☏ +49 781 82 2000. 

Climate

Winters are moderate but usually with frequent frosts. Offenburg is one of the warmest places in Germany and therefore considered as a viticultural area like neighbour villages such as Durbach, Oberkirch or Gengenbach.

Get in

By plane

The nearest airports are as follows:

• Baden Airpark Karlsruhe / Baden Baden (FKB ^IATA)
• Strasbourg Airport (SXB ^IATA)
• Euroairport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg (BSL ^IATA, MLH or EAP)

Frankfurt Airport (FRA ^IATA) is a bit farther away but offers much more connections.

By train

• 1 Offenburg Hauptbahnhof. close to the inner city. Frequent connections run to the north towards Frankfurt and south to Basel, with fast ICE trains leaving in each direction each hour. Again, planning ahead can get cheap fares of €29 each way. From the Hauptbahnhof, you have direct access to the Busbahnhof which runs directly overhead the main station. The Hauptbahnhof is also within easy walking distance of the inner city. Main direct destinations include:
  *Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof and Airport (Flughafen),
  *Zurich, (Switzerland)
  *Basel, (Switzerland)
  *Heidelberg,
  *Mannheim,
  *Berlin,
  *Cologne,
  *Hamburg,
  *Strasbourg, (France),
  *Amsterdam, (The Netherlands),
  *Milan, (Italy),
  
  Local and regional trains can be good for day trips or for traveling to nearby cities, for example Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Baden Baden, Freudenstadt or Konstanz. In the main station ask for the Länder-tickets. Such tickets can be used by a group of up to 5 persons in the RB and RE trains as well as for local transport. They are a much cheaper alternative for a group of travelers going to cities nearby or going for a day trip. (updated Jul 2021)

By car

Offenburg is connected to the German highway system via the A5, running along the Valley of the Upper Rhine from south to north, starting at the Swiss border. It also is accessible through the Kinzigtal Black Forest via the B33. From Strassbourg/France it takes about 30 minutes by car. From Freiburg it is about 50 minutes. Baden Baden is a 30-minute car ride to the north, using the A5. The town can be reached from Freuenstadt in one hour through the Renchtal via the B28.

See

Castles

Burg Ortenberg

• 1 Schloss Staufenberg, Durbach, ☏ +49 7553 81284. Winery 
• 2 Schloss Ortenberg. This castle towers over Ortenberg from atop a hill. Ortenberg is a community of 3000 people about 5 km away from Offenburg. The original castle from the 12th century was totally destroyed in the course of the Franco-Dutch war in the late 17th century. Reconstruction began in 1838 and was completed in 1843. It has been a youth hostel since 1950. Visitors are allowed from April to October between 09:00 and 19:00.  
• Ruine Schauenburg. The Schauenburg is located above Oberkirch a bit north-east of Offenburg. It provides a restaurant and an event location with great views. 

Museums

• 3 Museum im Ritterhaus, Ritterstraße 10. displays culutre, history, art and nature. 
• 4 Schulmuseum Zell-Weierbach (Museum für ehemals Großherzoglich Badische Schulen), Schulstraße 3, Zell-Weierbach. 

Buy

The intersection of Fischmarkt and Steinstraße. Steinstraße is behind and to the left of the camera's point of view

A reasonable sized town with about 450 stores. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, there is a farmers market held along the Steinstraße and Fischmarkt streets.

Eat

• 1 Schöllmanns, Hauptstraße 88, ☏ +49 781 9194999. Restaurant, cafe and club. 
• 2 Confiserie Kaffeehaus Gmeiner, Steinstraße 2, ☏ +49 781 70302. Chocolate cakes and coffee. 
• 3 Gasthof Blume, Weinstraße 160, Rammersweier, ☏ +49 781 33666. Michelin recommended regional dishes. 

Sleep

• 1 Schloss Ortenberg Youth hostel, Burgweg 21, Ortenberg. The fairytale castle is also the Ortenaus landmark. 
• 2 Mercure Hotel Offenburg am Messeplatz, Schutterwälder Straße 1a, ☏ +49 781 5050. 
• 3 Hotel Sonne, Hauptstraße 94, ☏ +49 781 932160. 

Go next

• Baden-Baden
• Kehl
• Strasbourg, (France)