Baden-Baden

One of the Great Spa Towns of Europe, with the Roman-Irish baths, the casino and the Lichtentaler Allee; the Black Forest High Road starts here.

Baden-Baden lies in Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany, in the Oos Valley on the northern edge of the Black Forest, about 40 km east of the Rhine and Strasbourg in France. Famous for its thermal springs since Roman times, it became the "summer capital" of European royalty and aristocracy in the 19th century, and in 2021 was inscribed on the World Heritage list as one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe. The town is small and its center is easily explored on foot: on the hillside of the old town are the Friedrichsbad, Caracalla Spa, the Roman bath ruins and the Collegiate Church; west of the Oos stand the Kurhaus casino, the Trinkhalle (Pump Room) and the Festspielhaus; and heading south along the river, the Lichtentaler Allee links the Museum Frieder Burda, the Staatliche Kunsthalle, the Russian Orthodox Church and Lichtenthal Abbey. North of town are Hohenbaden Castle (Old Castle) and the Battert cliffs; to the east, a funicular climbs Merkur mountain. Classic routes nearby run south along the Black Forest High Road to Mummelsee, the Hornisgrinde and the All Saints' Waterfalls, or north to Rastatt to see its two Baroque palaces, while the Rebland vineyards on the southwestern outskirts are ideal for wine walks. It's a year-round destination: spring blossoms along the Allee, summer music festivals and the horse-racing "Grand Week", autumn grape harvest and foliage, and winter spa days and Christmas markets. From Frankfurt, the ICE takes about 1.5 hours to Baden-Baden station, then about 15 minutes by bus into town; from Strasbourg it's about 1 hour. Plan 2 days: one for the spas and the Allee, one for a Black Forest drive. Note that the thermal baths are mostly nude and mixed-gender, and the casino has a dress code.

Top sights

• Friedrichsbad – A Neo-Renaissance palatial bathhouse completed in 1877, following a 17-step 'Roman-Irish bath' circuit.
• Caracalla Spa – A modern thermal complex with indoor and outdoor pools, grotto pools and sauna areas. Swimwear only, ideal for an easy, relaxing soak.
• Kurhaus & Casino Baden-Baden – The Kurhaus, with its white Corinthian colonnade, houses Germany's oldest casino, which Dietrich hailed as the most beautiful in the world.
• Lichtentaler Allee – A 2.3-kilometre English-style park promenade along the Oos River, and Baden-Baden's classic walking route.
• Mount Merkur & Merkur Funicular – Ride one of Germany's longest and steepest cable cars up 668-metre Mount Merkur for views over Baden-Baden and the Black Forest.
• Mummelsee & Black Forest High Road – A glacial cirque lake at 1,036 metres beside the Black Forest High Road, said to be home to water sprites, and the most popular stop for dr…
• Museum Frieder Burda – A white modern museum designed by Richard Meier, known for its collection of German Expressionism and American Abstract Expressionism.
• Hohenbaden Old Castle – The ruins of a 12th-century castle of the Margraves of Baden on the hillside north of the city, with views over the Rhine Valley and a wind…
• Battert Rocks – A group of porphyry cliffs behind the castle, a climbing hot spot, with several lookout points on the trails overlooking the city and the R…
• Trinkhalle – A 90-meter-long classical colonnade whose wall holds 14 murals depicting Black Forest legends. Visitors once drank the spa waters here.
• Festspielhaus Baden-Baden – One of Germany's largest opera and concert halls by seating, built in a former railway station and hosting top classical concerts year-roun…
• Fabergé Museum – The world's first museum devoted to Fabergé, displaying about 700 Fabergé works, including the imperial Easter eggs.
• Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden – A neoclassical exhibition hall completed in 1909. It has no permanent collection and focuses on contemporary art special exhibitions, and i…
• Collegiate Church of Our Lady – A Gothic church on the Marktplatz with a cluster of tombs of the Margraves of Baden and a 5.6-meter Gothic cross.
• Roman Bath Ruins – Ruins of a Roman soldiers' bath from about the 2nd century, preserved beneath Friedrichsbad, showing the hypocaust heating system and pools.
• Russian Orthodox Church – An Orthodox church with golden onion domes, completed in 1882, reflecting the 19th-century Russian nobility's vacations in Baden-Baden.
• Stourdza Chapel – A neoclassical funerary chapel on Michaelsberg, designed by Klenze, with views over the city.
• Gönneranlage Rose Garden – An Art Nouveau garden at the south end of the Lichtentaler Allee with about 400 rose varieties, fountains, and pergolas, at its best in Jun…
• Lichtenthal Abbey – A Cistercian abbey founded in 1245 that is still home to nuns, marking the southern end of the Lichtentaler Allee.
• Brahms House – A small cottage where composer Brahms lived and worked during summers from 1865 to 1874, preserving his study and copies of his manuscripts.
• Geroldsau Waterfall – A small waterfall in the forest south of Baden-Baden, reached by an easy Black Forest hike along the Geroldsau valley trail.
• Yburg & Rebland Vineyards – The ruins of a medieval castle on a hilltop above the vineyards of the southwest outskirts, with views of the Rebland wine region and the R…
• Hornisgrinde – The highest peak of the northern Black Forest at 1,164 meters, with boardwalks over a high moor, an observation tower, a windmill, and view…
• Allerheiligen Waterfalls & Abbey Ruins – One of the tallest stepped waterfalls in the Black Forest, with seven cascades dropping about 90 meters, and the Gothic ruins of an abbey a…
• Rastatt Palace – The earliest Baroque palace in the Upper Rhine region, built by "Louis the Turk" in imitation of Versailles, about 12 km from the city cent…
• Favorite Palace – The Margravine's Baroque summer palace, with a crushed-stone plaster exterior and a rich collection of Chinese porcelain.
• Iffezheim Racecourse – Germany's most prestigious racecourse, opened in 1858, which draws elegantly dressed crowds for its spring meeting and its "Big Week" in la…
• Gengenbach Old Town – A half-timbered small town in the Kinzig Valley of the Black Forest, with intact city walls and gates; in winter its town hall turns into a…

Where to eat

• Le Jardin de France (Stahlbad) – A Michelin one-star classic French restaurant run by an Alsatian chef and his wife since 1998, located in a 19th-centur…
• Weinstube Baldreit – A wine tavern in the depths of the Old Town, serving flammkuchen with local wine in a vine-covered courtyard and a vaul…
• Café König – A century-old café opened in 1889, famous for its Black Forest cherry cake and handmade chocolates.
• Weinstube Zum Engel – A Michelin Bib Gourmand wine tavern in the wine village of Neuweier, known for Baden pike dumplings and family-hunted v…
• Rizzi – Located in Palais Gagarin on Lichtentaler Allee, this popular social dining spot serves Mediterranean dishes and steaks…
• Löwenbräu Restaurant – A large Bavarian beer hall in the Old Town, with a beer garden under century-old trees, serving roast pork knuckle with…

Itineraries

• Black Forest North-to-South Self-Drive – Drive south from the spa town of Baden-Baden along the High Road, passing waterfalls and lakes to Freiburg.
• Heidelberg, Alsace & Black Forest Railway – A Germany-France border rail loop connecting Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Strasbourg, Colmar, and Freiburg.
• Southern Germany Grand Loop: Frankfurt to Munich – A grand self-drive route connecting Heidelberg, the Black Forest, Lake Constance, Neuschwanstein Castle, and Zugspitze.