Offenburg combines cultural attractions that are easy to reach with opportunities to enjoy the water and countryside. When choosing where to stay, two questions can help: Would you like to focus on museums and the city’s history, or spend time by the lake and on trails? You can also factor in how you’ll get here: Offenburg is on the Hamburg–Basel ICE route and the Offenburg–Paris TGV route.
Getting Here and Finding Your Way Around
From the centrally located railway station, you can easily reach the city centre on foot. The Central Bus Station is directly opposite, with connections to the city bus and regional networks. This makes it easy to plan your day around your arrival by train, the city centre and bus connections. If you’re considering Offenburg as a base for different activities, you can plan your cultural outings and trips into the countryside separately rather than trying to fit both into one day.
Museums and Democratic History
The Museum im Ritterhaus offers a broad introduction spanning different periods and subjects: its more than 10,000 objects include archaeological finds and artefacts illustrating the city’s history from the Middle Ages to the present day. The “Wald-Land-Fluss” (Forest, Land, River) section adds regional natural history and geological exhibits from the Ortenau; it is designed as a family museum. Temporary exhibitions and an events programme broaden the offer, while more than 60 museum education courses and the option to celebrate a children’s birthday there provide additional activities for children. Check availability for these offers in advance.
The Salmen focuses on democratic history and Jewish life in Offenburg. Its permanent exhibition explains the context behind the proclamation of the “13 Demands of the People” on 12 September 1847. A second exhibition room in the front building traces the history of the Jewish community, from the pre-war period through persecution and extermination during the Second World War to Jewish life in Offenburg today. The restored Salmen is regarded as one of the cradles of German democracy. A two-hour tour of underground Offenburg offers a different perspective: the city’s history is explained through four typical vaulted cellars, whose origins date back to the Middle Ages.
The Kulturforum also brings together several cultural institutions in one place. The former parade ground is home to the city library, music school, art school, adult education centre and riding hall. On Platz der Verfassungsfreunde stands Jonathan Borofsky’s 20-metre-high aluminium sculpture “Freiheit - Männlich/Weiblich” (“Freedom – Male/Female”). It commemorates Offenburg’s important role in the German democracy movement.
Lake, City Forest and Longer Trails
The 19-hectare Lake Gifiz includes the designated Gifiz lido. Visitors can hire boats, row, swim, sail and surf there. This offers a different way to spend time during your visit than a day in the museums. Swimming may be restricted seasonally or temporarily; check conditions before your visit.
For outdoor routes, the city forest offers hiking and cycling trails, as well as fitness and nature trails. The city’s forest areas also differ in size and location: the floodplain forest lies west and northwest of Offenburg and covers 1,569.6 hectares. The mountain forest covers 625.7 hectares and lies in the Schwarzwald foothills, at elevations between 170 and 680 metres.
For a longer circular route, the Gustav Trail is a nearly 48-kilometre loop connecting Offenburg’s central town with its eleven districts. Its scenery changes from the fertile Ried to the foothills, with their many viewpoints, and the Schwarzwald, with its quiet paths. The Lake–Meadows–Ried Tour is another option: it is easy to cycle, mostly flat and family-friendly. These details can help you choose between a longer loop and an easier ride, without treating the two routes as equivalent.
Offenburg in the Wider Ortenaukreis Travel Region
For regional context: the Ortenaukreis lies between the Rhine and the Schwarzwald. It has 23 nature reserves covering a total area of around 3,110 hectares, stretching from the Rhine plain to the higher elevations of the Schwarzwald. These figures describe the Ortenaukreis, not the city of Offenburg itself.
Discover more destinations: Haslach Im Kinzigtal, Zell Am Harmersbach, Ettenheim, Ortenberg, Gutach, Hofstetten, Oberharmersbach, Schuttertal.
Go to the wider travel overview: Ortenaukreis.
