The beautiful surroundings offer a wealth of options for all activities from stunning hiking along the clifftops through to caving and extreme shopping. There is no doubt that you will discover some of your own treats. A small selection of some of our favourite activities are listed below:
Excursions
- Lautertal – hiking, romantic river valley, Jewish cementary at Buttenhausen, hilltop castle as well as ruins
- Tübingen – a vibrant city with a beautiful old town centre and unique shops
- State stud farm at Marbach – a must for horse lovers!
- Euthanasia Memorial at Grafeneck – for some sobering WWII history
- “Blautopf” in Blaubeuren – The Pearl of the Swabian Alb in one of the best preserved, medieval old towns in the country
- The Achalm – climb this ancient volcano and tower for some great views
- Mädlesfels – short walk for some nice views
- Holzmaden Urwelt Steinbruch – where you can dig for fossils
- Swabian Alb Biosphere Centre in Münsingen – shows how people and nature can live together in harmony
- Churches & Monastries:
- Zwiefalten Abbey
- Ulmer Minster – the highest church spire in Germany!
- Bebenhausen Monastery
- Castles:
- Hohenzollern – part of the Prussian Royal House
- Lichtenstein – sdmall but beautiful clifftop castle
- Hohen Neuffen – has a birds of prey show on Sundays
- Caves:
- Wimsener Höhle – combined with a walk down the River Ach to Gossenzugen where you can try Kneipp hydrotherapy
- Tiefenhöhle – a vertical labyrinth of deep shafts
- Bärenhöhle – with fossilized ice-age animal skeletons
- Nebelhöhle – with dramatic stalagmites & stalactites
Hiking, Biking, Climbing and Caving
The Schwäbische Alb features some of Germany’s best hiking and biking.
- Kunstmühlefels – a 25min walk up to cliffs with great views, just above KiwiRetreat!
- Urach Waterfall – beautiful in all seasons!
- Gütersteiner Waterfall – combine together with Urach Waterfall hike
- Hohen Wittlingen & Wolfschlucht – beautful hike up to a ruined castle
- Eppenzilfelsen, Rutschenfelsen & Rorauer Hütte – nice extension to Urach Waterfall hike
- “Höllenlöcher” – fairy-like landscapes found above both Bad Urach and Dettingen a.d. Erms
- Jusi – a great place for sunset and a bonfire!
- Schönberg Tower in Pflullingen – affectionately known as the “Unterhose” (underpants)
- Lakes in Gönningen – another fairly like landscape
- Anhausen – gentle walk in the Lautertal
- Hikes to castles – combined with a sausage and beer 🙂
- Burg Teck
- Hohen Neuffen
- Roßberg – not a castle but a tower with a great view
- Erms Valley – great to explore by bike!
- Lautertal by bike – start from the source of the river and go as far as you like!
- Geschlitzer Fels (“The Split Rock”) – a great climbing site just 2km up the valley
- Falkensteiner Höhle – join a tour (with wetsuit) to explore this cave! (May to Sep)
Other Outdoor Activities
- Kletterwald Laichingen – Germany’s best treetop adventure park
- Höhenfreibad Bad Urach – stunning hill-top outdoor pool with great views!
- Waldfreibad Eningen – another beautiful outdoot pool (this one in a valley)
- AlbThermen Bad Urach – hot pools and a sauna – a favourite in winter!
- PanoramaTherme Beuren – another thermal bath
- Punting in Tübingen – on the River Neckar
- Gliding – possible at various local airfields (ask re: joining as a guest passenger)
- Hot air balloon flights – at 6 starting locations nearby
- Canoeing on the River Danube – a great family day out in summer
Shopping
Whether outlet fashion or traditional food from the Swabian Alb – you’ll find it here!
- OutletCity Metzingen – what started as the home of Hugo Boss is the biggest outlet city in Europe with over 130 stores!
- Regular farmers markets in Bad Urach (Wed & Sat mornings), as well as Metzingen, Reutlingen and Tübingen
- Albgut – a cultural and tourism site in the Swabian Alb Biosphere Reserve
- Albgold – the home of the special Swabian “Spätzle”
- Biohof Bleiche (Tue and Fri only) – organic veges (most grown locally)
- Ziegenhof Loretto – a a 300-year-old organic goat farm and dairy near Zwiefalten
Culinary
- BeckaBeck – combine with a trip to the town square in Bad Urach
- Lagerhaus Dapfen – a great place for coffee, cake & chocolates in the Lautertal (with also culinary events – must book early!)
- Landgasthof Hirsch (Gächingen) – tradition of eating Maultschen on Thursdays!
- Kesselhaus – food for the soul in Bad Urach
- Rostica – classic Italian restaurant in Bad Urach (open a bit later than most)
- Achalm Restaurant – more upmarket hotel restaurant located on the Achalm
- Hofgut Übersberg – near Mädlesfels – try the Schnitzel specials on Wednesdays
- Altes Forsthaus Lichtenstein – beer garden outside, old royal hunting lodge inside!
- Lautertal Eis – a compulsory stop in Indelhausen for the region’s best icecream!
Events & Culture
- Schäferlauf – THE event in Bad Urach – held in late July every second year (2027)
- Garden Show – a one-off event to Bad Urach in 2027 (30 Apr – 3 Oct)
- Beuren Open Air Museum – an insight into life on the Swabian Alb 100 years ago
- Hengstparade Gestüt Marbach – a famous horse parade in late Sep/early Oct
- Marbacher Kripenfestspiel – and a nativity play with horses!
- Theater Reutlingen: Die Tonne – live theatre
- Theater Lindenhof – live theatre
- Naturtheater Hayingen – live theatre outdoors in the forest (often in local dialect)
- Naturtheater Reutlingen – live theatre outdoors in the forest (often in local dialect)
- Württembergische Philarmonie Reutlingen – classical music at its best
- Sudhaus Tübingen – cultural hub with a outdoor theatre behind it as well