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.
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.
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!”
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.
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.
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!
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.
2 comments
Interesting post! Baden Baden looks like an amazing place for a quick holiday. If I get the time, I’ll surely grab a Germany Tourist Visa from UK and visit this beautiful place with my mom and dad. They prefer exploring such places!
Dear Diana,
Enjoy Baden Baden, it is always worth a trip !!