Black Forest · With kids

Germany's largest theme park, out on the Rhine plain at Rust. The resort runs year-round and closes only on 24 and 25 December; the 2026 summer season ran 28 March to 25 September. Park tickets start at €56.50, with child and senior rates, and the Rulantica indoor water world next door is a separate ticket from €28.

Germany's highest falls: the Gutach drops 163 m over seven main steps, on graded paths from the entrance at Hauptstraße 85. Open daily all year. Summer is €9 for adults and €8.50 for 6- to 17-year-olds, family card €20; from November it drops to €7 and €6.50, family card €16, with only the lower section open. Under-6s free.

An animal park and ride park stacked up a steep valley south-east of Freiburg, with a long suspension bridge. One admission covers the animal park, the bridge and every attraction. Daily 10:00 to 18:00 until 13 September, then 10:00 to 17:00 until 1 November. Free with the Hochschwarzwald Card; dogs on leads welcome.

Real Black Forest farmhouses dismantled and rebuilt in one valley, showing how people here lived and worked up to 600 years ago, with craft demonstrations and family programmes through the day. The 2026 season runs 22 March to 1 November, daily 09:00 to 18:00 with last entry at 17:00. Gutach is a stop on the Schwarzwaldbahn.

Three separate worlds on one 60,000 m² site. Galaxy is the family one: 23 slides, a wave pool and a diving tower. Palmenoase, with its mineral pools and 300-odd real palms, and the textile-free Palais Vital sauna world are both 16-plus — except on Saturdays and Sundays, when Palmenoase runs family days with no age limit. Under-3s free.