Baiersbronn

It must be the water. Or the clean forest air. Or maybe the high percentage of sunshine and mild summer weather. Or the high percentage of people named Klumpp. There must be some reason why Baiersbronn, with a total population of 16,351 scattered along the Murg River valley in the northern Black Forest, has managed to collect more Michelin stars per capita than any other place in Germany. Even nearby Baden-Baden, with its more fashionable international crowd, manages to offer just two one-star joints. Incredibly, Baiersbronn eclipses much bigger towns with a constellation of six Michelin stars: three for the Schwarzwaldstube in the Hotel Traube Tonbach, two for the Restaurant Bareiss in the Hotel Bareiss, and one for the Schlossberg. People go to Baden-Baden to be beautiful, but they go to Baiersbronn to be happy. —Lydia Itoi