Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [383]
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STREETS WORTH SHOPPING
Shoppers find a lot to like about Freiburg’s meandering streets, packed with boutiques and big-name stores. Trams rattle along Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse and Bertoldstrasse, where high-street and department stores gather. Explore Schusterstrasse and Rathausgasse for art, jewellery and classic fashion, or amble east to Oberlinden and Konviktstrasse for crafts, delis and antique shops. Edging south, the quaint lanes of Gerberau, Fischerau and Marienstrasse are great for a lazy mooch, sprinkled with cute boutiques and speciality stores selling everything from hand-crafted ceramics and toys to chocolate, honey and footwear.
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WESTERN ALTSTADT
The chestnut-shaded Rathausplatz is a popular hang-out. On its western side, the Neues Rathaus (New City Hall) comprises two Renaissance town houses with arcades that lead through to a cobblestone courtyard. The tower’s tinkling carillon plays at noon daily.
Linked to the Neues Rathaus by an over-the-street bridge is the step-gabled, oxblood-red Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall; 1559), which shelters the tourist office. Freiburg’s oldest edifice, the early 14th-century Gerichtslaube, is a short hop west along Turmstrasse.
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COLD FEET OR WEDDED BLISS?
Freiburg is made for serendipitous strolls. Streets that will have you grappling for the digital camera include the wisteria-draped Konviktstrasse, punctuated by 15th-century town houses harbouring antique shops and wine bars. Nowhere is Freiburg’s medieval past more tangible than in the canalside Fischerau and Gerberau, the former fishing and tanning quarters, where the cobbled lanes are lined with one-of-a-kind galleries, alfresco cafes and beer gardens. On balmy days, the banks of the Dreisam River attract inline skaters, cyclists and picnickers.
As you wander the mostly pedestrianised Altstadt, watch out for the gurgling Bächle, streamlets once used to water livestock and extinguish fires. Today they provide welcome relief for hot feet on sweltering summer days. Just be aware that you could get more than you bargained for: legend has it that if you accidentally step into the Bächle, you’ll marry a Freiburger or a Freiburgerin. Keep an eye out, too, for the cheerful pavement mosaics in front of many shops – a cow is for a butcher, a pretzel for a baker, a diamond marks a jewellery shop, and so on.
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The medieval Martinskirche, once part of a Franciscan monastery, demands attention on the northern side of Rathausplatz. Across the street on Franziskanergasse is its architectural antithesis, the extravagant Haus zum Walfisch (House of the Whale), whose late-Gothic oriel is garnished with two impish gargoyles.
In a sculpture-dotted park further west sits the neo-Gothic Colombischlössle villa, housing the Archäologisches Museum (Archaeology Museum; 201 2571; www.museen.freiburg.de, in German; Rotteckring 5; adult/concession €2/1; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun). A cast-iron staircase leads to a stash of archaeological finds from Celtic grave offerings to Roman artefacts.
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Tours
Freiburg Kultour ( 290 7447; www.freiburg-kultour.com; Rathausplatz 2-4), based in the tourist office, where tours start, offers 1½- to two-hour walking tours (adult/12-18yr €7/6; 10.30am Mon-Fri & 10am Sat Apr-Oct, 10am Sat & 10.30am Sun Nov-Mar) of the Altstadt and the Münster in German and English.
Fahrradtaxi ( 0172-768 4370; mid-Apr–Oct) charges €6.50 for a 15-minute, two-person spin of the Altstadt in a pedicab. Call ahead or look for one on Rathausplatz or Münsterplatz.
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Sleeping
Charismatic hotels abound in the Altstadt, but it’s wise to book ahead in summer. The tourist office offers a booking service (€3) and has a list of good-value private guesthouses.
Hirzberg Camping