Villas in Thuringian Forest

Oberhof and Suhl suit walkers on the Rennsteig and winter sports fans, Friedrichroda suits families, and Weimar suits a culture-heavy week. The Thuringian Forest is a long wooded ridge in the middle of Germany, with Erfurt and Weimar just to the north. Homes are mostly holiday flats and wooden houses, prices are low, and snow is never guaranteed.

Where

Villas: 111
From, per week: £189
Cheapest month: November
Nearest airports: Leipzig/Halle and Frankfurt are the most practical, around two and two and a half hours from Oberhof by car. Nuremberg is about the same distance to Suhl. Erfurt-Weimar airport is close but has very few scheduled flights. Flights from London to Frankfurt take around an hour and a half.

Where to stay in Thuringian Forest

Oberhof, Suhl and the high ridge (Oberhof, Suhl, Gehlberg, Crawinkel)

This is where most of our Thuringian homes are. Oberhof has a biathlon stadium, a bobsleigh and luge track, an indoor ski hall for cross-country skiing and an indoor water park, and the Rennsteig ridge path passes through town. Suhl, below, has a museum of its long gunmaking history. Gehlberg and Crawinkel are quieter villages nearby. Erfurt is around 45 minutes away, and Leipzig/Halle airport around two hours.

Best for: Rennsteig walks in summer, biathlon and luge in winter

Not for you if: You want an old town: Oberhof is a modern sports resort and Suhl a working town.

Friedrichroda, Tabarz and the Inselsberg (Friedrichroda, Tabarz, Brotterode-Trusetal)

The Grosser Inselsberg, at 916 metres one of the highest points on the ridge, has a road almost to the top and wide views. Friedrichroda has the Marienglashöhle, a show cave lined with selenite crystals, and a tram line runs from Tabarz through the woods to Gotha. Brotterode-Trusetal, on the south side, has a stepped waterfall. The Wartburg castle at Eisenach is around 40 minutes away.

Best for: Families who want a cave, a tram ride and an easy summit

Not for you if: You want empty trails at weekends: the Inselsberg draws plenty of day trippers.

Schmalkalden and the southern slopes (Steinbach-Hallenberg, Schmalkalden/Wernshausen, Meiningen, Roßdorf)

Schmalkalden has a half-timbered old town and the Wilhelmsburg, a Renaissance palace on the hill above. Steinbach-Hallenberg lies in a narrow valley under the ruined Hallenburg, with paths up to the Rennsteig. Meiningen, on the Werra, is known for its theatre, and Roßdorf faces west towards the Rhön hills. Erfurt is around an hour away; Frankfurt airport around two and a half hours.

Best for: Half-timbered towns with forest walks behind

Not for you if: You want to be up on the ridge: these towns sit lower on the southern side.

Ilmenau, Masserberg and Lauscha (Ilmenau, Altenfeld, Geschwenda, Masserberg, Lauscha)

Ilmenau is a small university town, and the Goethe trail climbs from it to the Kickelhahn, where the poet wrote one of his best-known short poems in a wooden hut. Geschwenda is just to the north. Masserberg and Altenfeld sit high on the plateau, with cross-country trails when there is snow. Lauscha is a glassblowing town where Christmas tree baubles have been made since the 19th century. Erfurt is around 45 minutes to an hour away.

Best for: Goethe's walking trail, glassmaking and the higher, eastern ridge

Not for you if: You want lively evenings: the villages up here are very quiet after dark.

The Schwarza and Saale valleys (Meura, Lichtenhain, Königsee, Uhlstädt-Kirchhasel, Camburg)

The Schwarza river cuts a deep valley out of the eastern forest, with Schwarzburg castle above it. At Lichtenhain the Oberweissbach mountain railway, a steep funicular, lifts passengers and goods wagons up to the plateau. Meura and Königsee are nearby. Further east, Uhlstädt-Kirchhasel is on the Saale near Rudolstadt and its Heidecksburg palace, and Camburg is north of Jena, below the Dornburg castles.

Best for: Castles, river valleys and an unusual mountain railway

Not for you if: You need a supermarket close by: villages here are small and spread out.

Weimar and Erfurt

Weimar is small but packed with history: the houses of Goethe and Schiller, the Bauhaus museum and a UNESCO-listed collection of classical buildings and parks. Erfurt, a quarter of an hour away by train, has a large cathedral and the Krämerbrücke, a medieval bridge lined with lived-in houses. Erfurt is on the high-speed ICE network, with fast trains from Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich. The forest ridge is around 45 minutes south.

Best for: Museums, Bauhaus and Goethe, with the forest a day trip away

Not for you if: You want to walk into woods from the door: these are city flats.

The Hainich and the Werra (Behringen, Frankenroda, Dachrieden, Moorgrund)

The Hainich national park protects a large ancient beech forest, part of a UNESCO listing, and its treetop walkway is a short drive from Behringen. Frankenroda sits in a loop of the Werra, popular with canoeists, and Dachrieden is near the walled town of Mühlhausen. Moorgrund is close to Bad Salzungen's saltwater graduation towers. Eisenach and the Wartburg are around half an hour from most of these villages.

Best for: Beech woods, a treetop walk and quiet river villages

Not for you if: You want mountains: this is low, rolling country north and west of the forest.

When to go to Thuringian Forest

May to October is the walking season on the Rennsteig, and the beech woods turn colour in October. July and August are the busiest months, when Thuringia's school holidays fall, but crowds are light compared with the Alps. Winter brings cross-country skiing and sledging when snow falls, which is not every year, and World Cup biathlon weekends fill Oberhof. Weimar and Erfurt hold large Christmas markets through Advent. November and March are grey, and some cafés and attractions keep short hours.