Excursions for May Day: The 10 most beautiful gardens in the Black Forest

Do you love flowers, trees, and connecting with nature? Then these beautiful gardens in the Black Forest are ideal destinations. Gardens with lush roses, gardens you can touch, parks dotted with art, or beds full of medicinal plants – each location offers something truly special.

Those who just can't get enough of the idyllic plant world can even spend the night or have a picnic in some places in the middle of this garden paradise. The travel reporter presents his ten botanical favorites in the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg .

Not just one garden, but an entire village in the Southern Black Forest presents itself as a rose paradise. In Nöggenschwiel, more than 20,000 rose bushes of 440 different varieties bloom in the summer. Nestled in the Southern Black Forest Nature Park, Nöggenschwiel, at 720 meters above sea level, is the highest rose village in Germany .

In Nöggenschwiel there are flowers and scents on every corner.

Source: Klaus Hansen/Black Forest Tourism

Rose lovers will find their fill while strolling through the village streets and in the Black Forest Rose Garden next to the rectory. There alone, 2,000 rose plants from 190 varieties bloom, including hybrid tea roses, floribunda roses, climbing roses, and shrub roses.

Those who want even more can hike the 33-kilometer-long "Rose Trail." In summer, the "Nöggenschwiel Rose Days" attract visitors with a rose market, a parade, and the coronation of the Rose Queen.

Located between Freiburg and Basel, just a few kilometers from Bad Bellingen, lies Landhaus Ettenbühl. Here, garden enthusiasts can experience their dream park with all their senses. Over 20 themed gardens are combined in the park landscape, featuring more than 1,000 varieties of roses, trees, and shrubs from all over the world. Southern Germany's largest hornbeam labyrinth also awaits visitors, and those who enjoy gardening can stock up on supplies at the rose and perennial nursery.

Over 20 themed gardens welcome garden enthusiasts at Landhaus Ettenbühl.

Source: Landhaus Ettenbühl

But the gardens at Landhaus Ettenbühl are far from everything. The country house also offers a restaurant with a garden terrace, lectures on the art of English gardening, and picnic opportunities in the garden upon reservation. An English-style bed and breakfast welcomes visitors who won't want to leave.

Garden opening hours: March 15 to October 31, 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; November 1 to March 14, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Family-friendly and freely accessible, the "Garden of the Senses" in Schramberg stretches between the monastery wall and the pilgrimage church of St. Gallus. The park was created in 1997 to provide a special nature experience for people with and without disabilities.

Visitors to Schramberg experience a garden for all the senses.

Source: City of Schramberg

The elements in the Garden of the Senses include various flooring options, scented benches and islands in the raised bed, a sound island, a recycled wall, a wooden wall, a hedge maze, fruit trees, a berry garden, a sandbox, a fountain, and a play and relaxation area. A real, hands-on garden!

In the heart of Ettenheim's old town in the central Black Forest, the small Prinzengarten (Prince's Garden) flourishes. The baroque garden, first mentioned in the 17th century, is surrounded by historic walls, and was almost converted into a downtown parking lot in the 1990s. Thanks to the "Freundeskreis Prinzengarten" (Friends of the Prince's Garden), things turned out differently, and the then-neglected grounds were restored to their historic appearance.

Should become a parking lot: The Ettenheimer Prinzengarten.

Source: City of Ettenheim

Today, the flowerbeds of the small French-style park are in bloom, and there's even a grotto and the Baroque garden house, which transforms into a gingerbread house during Advent, to visit. This special atmosphere is used year-round for events such as concerts and theater performances.

Whenever new rose varieties are introduced, you'll find them in Baden-Baden's Rose Garden. The park specializes in new rose varieties and skillfully showcases these varieties. A sky of roses on arches spans the paths, romantic rose-covered arbors invite you to linger, and the benches offer a view of a colorful sea of ​​roses.

A couple walks through the rose novelty garden in Baden-Baden.

Source: Christoph Düpper/TMBW

Every year, the park also hosts the renowned New Rose Competition, in which rose enthusiasts, breeders, and an international jury award the "Golden Rose of Baden-Baden." Visitors to the garden can also participate and cast their votes for the Audience Award from the start of the season on May 22, 2025, until the end of September.

Please note: The park will not open until May 22nd for the start of the season.

Baroque meets sculpture—that's roughly how the Katz Garden in Gernsbach can be described. The Katz family, Murg boatmen, had the attractive historic park laid out on the banks of the Murg River in the 19th century, directly opposite their villa, and commissioned an Italian landscape architect to do the work.

The Katz Garden in Gernsbach has a southern atmosphere.

Source: City of Gernsbach

Passion flowers, banana trees, yuccas, pomegranate and fig trees, bitter oranges, and a Chilean honey palm are among the Mediterranean plantings in the small park. Two magnolia trees, among the oldest of their kind in Germany , and a bald cypress from Florida are part of the valuable old tree population. The garden also contains a variety of different sculptures and art objects from past centuries.

A giant A made of wooden logs marks the entrance to the Apothecary Garden in the expansive spa park in Bad Liebenzell. Behind it, a total of 160 different plants thrive, from A to Z—from Adonis adonis to bryony. In the indication beds, the plants sprout neatly arranged according to their uses. Here, something for the heart and circulation, there, a herb for bronchitis.

The entrance to the Apothekergarten in Bad Liebenzell is marked by a large red A.

Source: Locher Fotodesign

There are also beds of aromatic herbs used in homeopathy, for example, and a scent and touch garden for visually impaired visitors. Guided tours with pharmacist Friedrich Böckle are offered in the freely accessible park from May to September.

The palace gardens surrounding Favorite Palace in Rastatt offer a unique ambiance. Numerous paths, water features, and exotic trees combine to create a romantic landscaped garden around the palace.

Aerial view of the Favorite pleasure palace in Rastatt.

Source: Günther Bayerl/State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg

After a stroll, we head to the palace, also known as the "Porcelain Palace." The dowager Margrave Sibylla Augusta of Baden-Baden (1675–1733) had the palace built to house, among other things, her porcelain collection. There are also colorful scagliola floors, stucco and fresco ceilings, and exquisite furniture to admire.

The palace gardens are freely accessible during the day. The palace can only be visited as part of a guided tour. Palace opening hours: April 1 to September 30, Tuesday to Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday to Sunday and public holidays 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; October 1 to 31, Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

From May 23 to October 12, 2025, the Forbach Valley between Freudenstadt and Baiersbronn will be showcased as Valley X for the garden show. The idyllic Black Forest valley will then be in full bloom for approximately eight kilometers.

The fairytale park at the garden show in Tal X.

Source: Ulrike Klumpp

When designing the site, emphasis was placed on preserving its original character and integrating the garden show's elements naturally. In addition to the natural beauty, visitors can expect more than 1,000 art, concert, and cultural events. The newly created recreational area will remain open to the public.

Please note: The garden show starts on May 23, 2025.

The Badenweiler Spa and Palace Park covers 22 hectares in the Markgräflerland region at the foot of the Black Forest. Oaks and linden trees tower into the sky in this freely accessible park, and exotic plants such as impressive sequoias rise from the ground in one of Germany's most diverse gardens. The concept of this over 250-year-old green space was inspired by English parks, and in addition to botany, there is also history to discover.

The Badenweiler spa and castle park combines botanical diversity and history.

Source: Michael Spiegelhalter/Badenweiler Tourism GmbH

These include the well-preserved Roman bath ruins, one of the oldest buildings in Baden-Württemberg , and the Badenweiler Castle ruins, which tower above the park and offer views of the Rhine plain, the Römerberg hill, and the Black Forest. Buildings such as the Grand Ducal Palace and the Belvedere pleasure palace also exude a romantic flair in the park.

Want more inspiration? You can find all the Black Forest highlights on our theme page, and the best travel deals on our deals page .