Baden-Baden: The good-good life. Or: Belle Epoque meets Instagram! Headlines like these, somewhat cheeky and unusual, mark my arrival in the former summer capital of Europe, Baden-Baden on the north-western foothills of the Black Forest. They make me smile, because just like in our Austrian spa town Baden near Vienna, the message in Baden-Baden is: We don’t just have an impressive past. We also have a lively, colourful, modern present.
During my visit, I had a closer look at what that means.
Out and about in Baden-Baden: Unique sunset moments captured on the top of Merkur hill, the city’s local mountain.
Spa house and casino: Famous all over the world.
Although Baden-Baden (nomen est omen, as “Baden” means bath in English) was already known, even famous in Roman times, it was actually the casino that helped the city to achieve worldwide fame. In the mid-19th century, the then tenant Jacques Bénazet transformed it into a magnificent work of art that seems to have sprung from a fairytale castle in France. I can still feel the magic today, as I walk through the magnificent halls of the historic casino. Wow!
By the way: Regular guided tours of the casino in Baden-Baden are offered in the mornings. During these tours, you can learn more about the glamour and glory of past and modern times.
The spa house in Baden-Baden …
… opens its gates for visitors to the casino in the evening …
… right next to it, you can relax at Hector’s Restaurant for a fancy dinner …
… and enjoy the late summer evenings for a visit of the nearby Drinking Hall.
Guided city tour around Baden-Baden.
I was lucky to discover Baden-Baden with my charming, and very experienced city guide Marion Krieg. Marion takes me through her city like a “temporary local”. I immediately become familiar with her town, and the anecdotes she tells me feel like personal memories. “Lichtentaler Allee, well, you should take your time there. Go for a long walk, feel the history around you. Like our thermal water, it is everywhere, you see.”
When I ask her about what makes the thermal waters of Baden-Baden so special, she says: “You know, even the Romans knew how to use it for their soldiers’ baths; you really have to see what’s left of the Roman Baths. And last year, at the World Heritage Festival, the door to one of our main thermal springs was open! It was a rush, I tell you … EVERYONE wanted to get to the bottom of our water in the truest sense of the word!”
Discovering Lichtentaler Allee with Marion Krieg …
… I love to follow her gaze and anecdotes for the little details around town …
… the “gate to the sanctuary” (one of the main sources of Baden-Baden’s famous thermal water) has been firmly closed again since last year’s rush …
… we enjoy a view of Baden-Baden during summer, right next to its famous Friedrichsbad …
… and next to the city’s modern thermal baths, you may find the Roman bath ruins with their well-preserved hypocaust system of underfloor and wall heating.
Who knows who may have enjoyed a bath here, some 2.000 years ago …?
2000 years of spa history: From the ancient Roman Bath ruins to the modern Caracalla Spa Centre.
With my head full of admiration for the sophisticated construction techniques of the early Roman baths, I take just a few steps – a time travel of two thousand years – to the modern Caracalla Spa in Baden-Baden. So what’s with the special mineral properties of the thermal springs?
“In 10 minutes you’ll forget Baden-Baden, in 20 minutes the whole world!”, Marion Krieg says, waving me off to experience the spa for myself. I can assure you: She’s absolutely right. After two hours in the spa, I feel reborn. The water, yes, there is definitely something to it. You can explore it scientifically, or just enjoy it. Just like everyone around me: Baden-Baden, especially its famous baths, attract people from all over the world. The “smallest world city” (only about 50,000 inhabitants live here) is a real world stage.
Dive in and relax: My visit to the Caracalla Spa Centre in the middle of the old town of Baden-Baden.
Café Lumen meets Cistercian Nuns at Lichtental Abbey.
If Baden-Baden ever becomes too busy for you, just walk down the entire Lichtentaler Allee to the abbey with the same name. The local city bus, by the way, also takes you there.
The abbey, run by a congregation of Cistercian Nuns, regularly offers guided tours for those interested in art and history. Its local café Lumen serves homemade cakes right next to the convent shop. Following my visit, I can also recommend the guided tour, which takes place on Saturdays at 3 pm. A very pleasant place, steeped in history, just outside the famous city centre of Baden-Baden.
Arriving at Lichtental Abbey …
… including a refreshment stop at Café Lumen …
… I make sure to follow the guided tour around the abbey and its church …
… visit the local shop …
… and follow my city guide Marion’s tip to check out the nearby rose garden “Auf dem Beutig” …
… it’s where rose dreams become true …
… just look at this splendour, and imagine the wonderful aroma with it.
My tip: If it’s too hot to walk up to the rose garden from the old town, you can take the city bus to Tiergarten and just walk back down – it’s a lot more comfortable!
Sunset Spot: Waldcafé restaurant and the Merkur mountain cable car.
Last but not least, I can recommend heading to a place called Waldcafé (for dinner) in connection with a trip up the local Merkur hill. The views over Baden-Baden are wonderful, flirting with France across the Rhine river. If only I had a little more time, I would have “just hopped over” and travelled further …!
In any case, the local cable car is a true runner, taking on a 51% gradient shortly before arriving at the top of Baden-Baden’s Merkur hill. After a long day spent exploring, I’m glad for the cable car taking me up and down, enjoying the sight of the slowly setting sun.
What a beautiful moment!
Dinner at the Waldcafé: Schnitzel served with gravy – a bit unusual for me, I must say!
This picture is from the ascent up Merkur Hill …
… making for wonderful views over Baden-Baden …
… and the Rhine river valley at the border with France! Bonsoir, France, bonsoir Baden-Baden!
Watch my travel video about Constance & Baden-Baden.
Fancy some more information about World Heritage tours in Germany? My travel video along the so-called Wellness Route will take you around Lake Constance, as well as into Baden-Baden in the northern Black Forest district.
More travel photos from in and around Constance, as well as the world-famous spa town of Baden-Baden can be found here:
Disclaimer: I have been invited by the German National Tourist Board on my trip to Baden-Baden. All opinions are my own.