Plums provide a clear thread running through Bühl: they shape its orchards, trading history, and official designation as the “Plum Town.” The town also offers places to eat around Johannesplatz, as well as nature and wine activities in the Bühl–Bühlertal–Ottersweier holiday region. Choosing a destination based on your interests lets you weigh local history, food and drink, and activities across the wider region.
Orchards and trails in the holiday region
Plum trees feature in many orchards and traditional meadow orchards around Bühl. Bühl is part of the Black Forest Central/North Nature Park. The Bühl–Bühlertal–Ottersweier holiday region spans around 800 metres in elevation from valley to summit, and its hiking trails are signposted.
Plum Town with a trading history
Since January 1, 2023, Bühl has officially carried the designation “Plum Town.” Bühler Frühzwetschgen plums are sold through regional markets, direct marketers, and farm shops. The Bühler Frühzwetschge is said to have been discovered in Kappelwindeck in 1840. In the 1920s and 1930s, historic “plum trains” made Bühl a European centre of the plum trade. At the height of the season, as many as 100 railway wagons carrying Bühler Frühzwetschgen plums historically left Bühl each day for destinations in Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. The story thus stretches from a discovery attributed to 1840 to the plum trains of the 1920s and 1930s.
Food and drink around Johannesplatz and in the region
Cafés and restaurants cluster around a small stream in the centre of Johannesplatz. They offer cappuccino, homemade Italian ice cream, and Asian specialties. A cycle ride through the vineyards is another activity in Bühl. The Bühl–Bühlertal–Ottersweier holiday region also offers wine tastings at family-run wineries and regional dishes in traditional inns.
Choose activities to suit the region and your interests
The Bühl–Bühlertal–Ottersweier holiday region spans around 800 metres in elevation from valley to summit, and the signposted hiking trails are also in this region. A cycle ride through the vineyards, by contrast, is an activity in Bühl. When planning your trip, you can distinguish between hiking across the wider region and cycling through the vineyards. Regional food and drink options range from wine tastings to dishes served in traditional inns.
Church in Kappelwindeck and culture in the wider destination of Rastatt
In Kappelwindeck, you can visit the Baroque church. In the wider destination of Rastatt, the town museum is housed in a Baroque town palace opposite the Residenzschloss. Its permanent exhibitions cover Rastatt’s history over the past 300 years, as well as prehistory and early history. Schloss Rastatt was the first Baroque residence built on German soil and was modelled on Versailles. Schloss Favorite is the oldest and only German porcelain palace preserved in its original form.
Another historical focus in the wider destination of Rastatt is the Memorial Site for the Freedom Movements in German History. It presents milestones in the development of liberty and democratic traditions from the early modern period to the present day. Exhibits, models, pictures, caricatures, and contemporary texts illustrate the revolutionary struggle of men and women across Germany in 1848/49, which ended with the fall of Rastatt Fortress.
Discover more destinations: Kuppenheim, Iffezheim, Hügelsheim, Rastatt, Durmersheim, Ottersweier, Lichtenau, Gaggenau.
Go to the overview of the wider destination: Rastatt.
