Things to do in Baden Baden
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Baden-Baden Casino
Inside the palatial Kurhaus - besides lavish festival halls used for balls, conventions, concerts, dance competitions and weddings - is the opulent Baden-Baden Casino, opened in 1838 and reminiscent of the 19th century or a 1970s James Bond film, depending on your proclivities.
Its décor, which seeks to emulate - indeed, outdo - the splendour of France's famed chateaux, such as Versailles, led Marlene Dietrich to call it 'the most beautiful casino in the world'. After observing the action here, Dostoevsky was inspired to write The Gambler.
You need your passport or European national ID card to enter, and cell phones must be switched off. Games include French and American…
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Caracalla Therme
If you would prefer to keep your bathing togs on, this glass-fronted spa has a cluster of indoor and outdoor pools, grottos and surge channels, making the most of the mineral-rich spring water. For those who dare to bare, saunas range from the rustic ‘forest’ to the roasting 95°C ‘fire’ variety.
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Baden-Baden Theater
The Baden-Baden Theater is a neo-baroque confection of white-and-red sandstone whose frilly interior looks like a miniature version of the Opéra-Garnier in Paris. It forms the gateway to Lichtentaler Allee, an elegant park promenade which follows the flow of the Oosbach from Goetheplatz, adjacent to the Kurhaus, to Kloster Lichtenthal about 3km south.
Even today, it's not hard to imagine the movers and shakers of 19th-century Europe - aristocrats, diplomats, artists and writers - taking leisurely strolls along this fragrant avenue.
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Friedrichsbad
If it’s the body of Venus and the complexion of Cleopatra you desire, abandon modesty (and clothing) to wallow in thermal waters at this sumptuous 19th-century spa. As Mark Twain put it, ‘after 10 minutes you forget time; after 20 minutes, the world’, as you slip into the regime of steaming, scrubbing, hot-cold bathing and dunking in the Roman-Irish bath. With its cupola, mosaics and Carrera marble pool, the bathhouse is the vision of a neo-Renaissance palace.
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Lichtentaler Allee
This 2.3km ribbon of greenery, threading from Goetheplatz to Kloster Lichtenthal, is quite a picture: studded with fountains and sculptures and carpeted with flowers (crocuses and daffodils in spring, magnolias and azaleas in summer). Shadowing the sprightly Oosbach, its promenade and bridges are made for aimless ambling.
The gateway to Lichtentaler Allee is Baden-Baden Theater, a neo-baroque confection whose grandiose interior resembles the Opéra-Garnier in Paris. About 1km south is the Gönneranlage, a rose garden ablaze with more than 400 varieties. Almost Siberian is the Russische Kirche, slightly to the east. Built in the Byzantine style in 1882, it’s topped with a…
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Casino
Marlene Dietrich called it 'the most beautiful casino in the world'. Indeed, inside the palatial Kurhaus (besides lavish festival halls) is the flashy casino, reminiscent of a 1970s Bond film. Built in 1838, its decor sought to outdo France's Versailles palace. The Florentiner Saal with its chandelier fleet is also called the 'Hall of The Thousand Candles'.
You need your passport or European national ID card to enter. Games include French and American roulette, baccarat, blackjack and poker.
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Trinkhalle
Standing proud above a manicured park, this neoclassical pump room was built in 1839 as an attractive addition to the Kurhaus. The 90m-long portico is embellished with 19th-century frescoes of local legends. Baden-Baden’s elixir of youth, some say, is the free curative mineral water that gushes from a faucet linked to the Friedrichsbad spring. A cafe sells cups for €0.20, or bring your own bottle.
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Festspielhaus
Ensconced in an historic train station and fabled for its acoustics, the Festspielhaus is Europe's second biggest concert hall, seating 2500 theatre-goers, and a lavish tribute to Baden-Baden's musical heritage. Under the direction of Andreas Mölich-Zebhauser, the grand venue hosts a world-class program of concerts, opera and ballet.
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Museum Frieder Burda
A Joan Miró sculpture guards the front of this architecturally innovative gallery, designed by Richard Meier. The star-studded collection of modern and contemporary art, featuring works by Picasso, Gerhard Richter and Jackson Pollock, is complemented by temporary exhibitions, such as the recent retrospective of American surrealist William Copley.
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Kurhaus
Corinthian columns and a frieze of mythical griffins grace the belle époque facade of the monumental Kurhaus, which towers above well-groomed gardens. An alley of chestnut trees, flanked by two rows of boutiques, links the Kurhaus with Kaiserallee.
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La Provence
Housed in the Neues Schloss wine cellar, the vaulted ceilings, art nouveau mirrors and sense of humour at La Provence complement the French cuisine. Specialities like garlicky snails, frogs’ legs and chateaubriand are spot-on.
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Neues Schloss
A vine-enveloped staircase twists up from Marktplatz to the Neues Schloss, the former residence of the margraves of Baden-Baden, with a far-reaching vista over the Black Forest.
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Rizzi
A summertime favourite, this pink villa’s tree-shaded patio faces Lichtentaler Allee. Italian-influenced dishes like osso buco (veal shanks braised with vegetables, garlic and wine) and scallops with truffle mash pair well with local wines. The €7.90 lunch is a steal.
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Stadtmuseum
The Stadtmuseum, just south of Museum Frieder Burda, timelines Baden-Baden's past with exhibits from Roman figurines to belle époque paintings and roulette wheels.
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Kloster Lichtenthal
Lichtentaler Allee concludes at the Kloster Lichtenthal, a Cistercian abbey founded in 1245, with an abbey church where generations of the margraves of Baden lie buried.
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Römische Badruinen
The beauty-conscious Romans were the first to discover the healing properties of Baden-Baden’s springs in the city they called Aquae Aureliae. Slip back 2000 years on a tour of the well-preserved ruins of their baths.
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Stiftskirche
The centrepiece of cobbled Marktplatz is this pink church, a hotchpotch of Romanesque, late Gothic and, to a lesser extent, baroque styles. Its foundations incorporate some ruins of the former Roman baths. Come in the early afternoon to see its stained-glass windows cast rainbow patterns across the nave.
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Café Kunsthalle
Next to the Kunsthalle, this avant-garde cafe serves yummy salads, baguettes and antipasti. The little heated terrace overlooks the sculpture-dotted park.
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Kaiser Früchte
Self-caterers can buy fresh fruits and veggies at this place at the northern end of the pedestrianised zone, facing Lange Strasse 44 (the post office).
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Kunsthalle
Voluptuous Joan Miró sculptures guide the eye to the sky-lit Kunsthalle, which hosts rotating exhibitions of contemporary art.
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Leo's
Bill Clinton and a host of other luminaries have dined at this snazzy bistro-cum-wine bar. It rolls out creative salads, pasta and cocktails.
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Russische Kirche
The Byzantine-style 1882 Russische Kirche, slightly east of Gönneranlage, is topped with a brilliantly golden onion dome.
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Jensens
Chilli-red walls, wood floors and jazzy music give this cafe a hip feel. Enjoy a beer or Flammkuchen (around €6) on the patio.
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Rosenneuheitengarten
For a panoramic vista of Baden-Baden, head to the Rosenneuheitengarten, on the Beutig hilltop 800m southwest of the Kurhaus.
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Monte Christo
This cheerful bar whips up tasty tapas from shallot-topped sardines to mussels in red-pepper sauce.
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