Accommodation in Schmalkalden

Schmalkalden: Fachwerk, Schloss Wilhelmsburg und der Rennsteig vor der Tür

Schmalkalden sounds like a history book – the Schmalkaldic League was forged here – and looks the part: half-timbered Thuringian houses crowd the Altmarkt in picture-book density, watched over by Wilhelmsburg Castle, one of central Germany's best-preserved Renaissance palaces. A few kilometres on, the ridge trails of the Thuringian Forest begin.

Lodgings spread between town and hillside: holiday houses like the Sonnenscheune, Vier Jahreszeiten or Vesserblick bank on timber, quiet and forest-edge settings, the Bibelheim am Rennsteig sits right on Germany's most famous ridgeway, and travellers with tent or caravan find well-kept lakeside pitches at Bergsee Ratscher and the Waldbad.

Days fill with the Viba nougat world, the Finstertal show mine and trips to the Großer Inselsberg. Booked directly with the host, the holiday stays commission-free – and the tip on where the Rennsteig is quietest comes with breakfast.