Baden-Baden: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
The Romans bathed here, but the town's great century was the 19th, when kings, Russian nobles and French gamblers made it the summer capital of Europe. Paris had banned gambling, and a casino in a small German spa became the place to be seen. This walk climbs from the old castle of the margraves down through the baths to the Kurhaus. About two hours on foot, with steep lanes at the start; allow longer if you stop to bathe.
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A short history of Baden-Baden
The Romans discovered hot springs here as early as the 1st century AD, called the place "Aquae", and built baths, some of which have been uncovered beneath the modern town. In the Middle Ages the Margraves of Baden lived here, until the French army burned the town in 1689. The great revival came in the 19th century: in 1824 the Kurhaus opened, and with the help of its casino the town became the summer capital of Europe, a place where kings, diplomats and writers met. Dostoevsky lost his money here in 1867. The Friedrichsbad baths opened in 1877. In 2021 Baden-Baden was declared a World Heritage Site, together with ten other great spa towns of Europe.
The ten best sights in Baden-Baden
1Kurhaus and CasinoDaytime guided tours show the gaming rooms without the dress code; at night men need a jacket
2TrinkhalleFree to walk through; read the painted Black Forest legends along the colonnade
3FriedrichsbadBathing is nude and follows a fixed sequence of rooms; set aside about three hours
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4Stiftskirche
The margraves of Baden are buried in the choir; it is a two-minute walk up from the baths
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5Festspielhaus
Look at the programme before you arrive — the big names sell out early
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6Museum Frieder Burda
Exhibitions change through the year, so check what is on before planning around it
7Russian Orthodox ChurchThe golden dome is a five-minute detour from the Lichtentaler Allee; modest dress inside
8Stourdza ChapelA steep walk up the Michaelsberg, paid back by the view over the spa quarter
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9Brahmshaus
Opens only a few hours on certain days — check before walking out to Lichtental
10Lichtenthal AbbeyNuns still live here; the church is open to visitors, the enclosure is not
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Baden-Baden →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Baden-Baden:
Free walking tours in Baden-Baden
The summer capital of Europe
The Romans bathed here, but the town's great century was the 19th, when kings, Russian nobles and French gamblers made it the summer capital of Europe. Paris had banned gambling, and a casino in a small German spa became the place to be seen. This walk climbs from the old castle of the margraves down through the baths to the Kurhaus. About two hours on foot, with steep lanes at the start; allow longer if you stop to bathe.
- Neues Schloss · The margraves of Baden moved down to this palace from the castle on the hill in 1479. After French troops burned the town in 1689, the court left for a new residence in Rastatt and never came back.
- Stiftskirche · The choir holds the tombs of the margraves, among them Ludwig Wilhelm, the 'Türkenlouis', who commanded imperial armies against the Ottomans in the 1680s and 1690s.
- Roman Bath Ruins · The Roman town here was called Aquae Aureliae, and its baths were fed by the same hot springs that run under the square today. The ruins were found during the building works of the 19th century.
- Friedrichsbad · Opened in 1877, it combined Roman thermal baths with Irish hot-air rooms in one fixed circuit. Mark Twain, who bathed here, wrote that after ten minutes you forget time and after twenty you forget the world.
- Trinkhalle · Built by Heinrich Hübsch between 1839 and 1842 so spa guests could drink the waters under cover. Its 90-metre colonnade is lined with fourteen murals of Black Forest legends.
- Kurhaus and Casino · Friedrich Weinbrenner finished the Kurhaus in 1824. When France banned gambling in 1837, the Parisian Jacques Bénazet took over the casino here; Dostoevsky lost heavily at its tables in 1867.
Art and music along the river
The Lichtentaler Allee follows the little river Oos for about two kilometres out of town, and the spa guests of the 19th century walked it every afternoon. Along it the town placed its theatre and art halls, and at its far end lived the musicians and writers who came for the season. This is a flat walk of about two and a half hours with the museums, less without. Buses run back from Lichtental, so there is no need to walk both ways.
- Theater Baden-Baden · Opened in 1862 in a style modelled on the Paris Opéra. Berlioz wrote his last opera, Béatrice et Bénédict, for its opening season and conducted the premiere himself.
- Museum Frieder Burda · Designed by the American architect Richard Meier and opened in 2004 for the collection of the publisher Frieder Burda. A glass bridge links it to the older Kunsthalle next door.
- Staatliche Kunsthalle · Opened in 1909, it has never had a permanent collection: it shows only temporary exhibitions of contemporary art.
- Russian Orthodox Church · Built in 1882 for the large Russian colony of the spa. Ivan Turgenev lived in Baden-Baden in the 1860s and set his novel Smoke among the Russians who gathered here.
- Brahmshaus · Johannes Brahms rented rooms in this house every summer from 1865 to 1874. Clara Schumann had a house a short walk away in Lichtental, and that was much of the reason he came.
- Lichtenthal Abbey · Founded in 1245 by Margravine Irmengard as a house of Cistercian nuns. It survived the secularisation of 1803 that closed most German monasteries, and nuns have lived here ever since.
Up the Black Forest High Road
The B500, the Black Forest High Road, starts at Baden-Baden and runs south along the ridge at around a thousand metres. It is the most beautiful way out of town toward Freiburg, so this is the morning of the next leg, not a separate day. The first two stops are above the town itself; the rest lie on or just off the road. The ridge is often ten degrees cooler than the valley and can be in cloud, so take a layer.
- Merkur · The hill is named after a Roman relief of the god Mercury found on its summit. The funicular to the top opened in 1913 and is one of the steepest in Germany.
- Hohenbaden Castle · Seat of the margraves until they moved down to the town in 1479. In the old knights' hall hangs an Aeolian harp, whose strings are played only by the wind.
- Mummelsee · A glacial lake at about 1,030 metres, named after the water spirits of local legend. Grimmelshausen sent his hero Simplicius down into it in his 1669 novel, and Mörike later wrote a ballad about its ghosts.
- Hornisgrinde · At 1,164 metres it is the highest mountain of the northern Black Forest. For decades the summit was a fenced military area, and walkers have had free access to it only since the late 1990s.
- Black Forest National Park Centre · The Black Forest National Park was created in 2014, the first national park in Baden-Württemberg. Parts of its forest are being left to grow wild with no logging at all.
- Allerheiligen Falls · The ruined abbey above the falls was founded in the 1190s by Uta of Schauenburg. It was dissolved in 1803, and a year later lightning set it on fire; the stream beside it drops about 90 metres over seven steps.
Getting to Baden-Baden and getting around
- Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport · A small airport about 15 km west, mostly low-cost flights — handy if someone joins the trip here
- Baden-Baden Station · The station is out in Oos, about 4 km from the spa quarter; a city bus covers the gap
- Leopoldsplatz · The town buses meet here, between the shopping streets and the baths
Cheap eats in Baden-Baden
Coffee and cake is an institution in Baden-Baden, and the cake is the Black Forest one: chocolate sponge, cherries, cream and a shot of kirsch, the cherry brandy of these hills. Alsace is across the Rhine, so Flammkuchen, a thin tart of cream, onion and bacon, is as local here as in France. This is a spa town for the rich and prices show it; lunch in the pedestrian streets costs more than in Freiburg.
- Café König · Black Forest cake in a classic coffee house, a slice about €6-8
- Löwenbräu · Beer garden under chestnut trees; sausages and a beer about €12-16
- Café Kunsthalle · Lunch beside the art hall on the Allee, mains about €14-20
- Fettquelle · A tap of warm spring water by the Stiftskirche; a taste costs nothing
- Augustaplatz market · Fruit, bread and smoked ham for a picnic, about €5-10
- Rizzi · Terrace on the Augustaplatz; a Flammkuchen or a salad about €14-19
Museums in Baden-Baden
- Museum Frieder Burda · Modern art in a white Richard Meier building on the Allee
- Staatliche Kunsthalle · Temporary exhibitions of contemporary art; check what is showing
- Stadtmuseum · The story of the spa, from Roman baths to the gamblers of the 1800s
- Brahmshaus · Two small rooms where Brahms spent his summers; short opening hours
- Roman Bath Ruins · A short visit under the Römerplatz, with an audio guide
Nature and day trips near Baden-Baden
- Lichtentaler Allee · Two kilometres of old trees and lawns along the river Oos
- Battert rocks · Rock towers above the old castle, with paths along the top
- Geroldsau Waterfall · An easy walk up a wooded valley south of town
- Mummelsee · Glacial lake on the B500, about 40 minutes from town
- Allerheiligen Falls · Seven cascades beside a ruined abbey, just off the High Road
Things to do in Baden-Baden with kids
- Merkur Funicular · The steep little railway is the ride; the summit has a playground and a tower
- Wildlife enclosure · Deer and wild boar in the forest; free
- Mehliskopf · Summer toboggan run and climbing park on the High Road
- Mummelsee pedal boats · Pedal boats on the lake of the water spirits
- Paradies water garden · Terraced cascades and fountains on a hillside, a short climb from the centre
Where to eat in Baden-Baden
- Weinstube im Baldreit · Baden wine and local dishes in a courtyard in the old town
- Rizzi · Fashionable terrace on the Augustaplatz; book in summer
- Le Jardin de France · French fine dining in a courtyard; book ahead
- Brenners Park-Restaurant · Dinner in the grand hotel on the Allee; dress up and book
- Löwenbräu · Hearty Bavarian food in the beer garden; no booking needed
Frequently asked questions about Baden-Baden
What is there to see in Baden-Baden?
The top sights in Baden-Baden are Kurhaus and Casino, Trinkhalle and Friedrichsbad. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Baden-Baden?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Baden-Baden without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Baden-Baden?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Baden-Baden, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The summer capital of Europe.
How do you get to Baden-Baden and get around?
The main ways are Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport, Baden-Baden Station and Leopoldsplatz. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Baden-Baden, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Baden-Baden that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Baden-Baden for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.