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
The modern Caracalla-Therme, which opened in 1985 and is named for a Roman emperor, has more than 900 square metres of outdoor and indoor pools, hot and cold water grottoes, various whirlpools, therapeutic water massages, a surge channel and a range of saunas, including a new log-cabin sauna. Bathing suits (available for purchase) must be worn everywhere except in the upstairs sauna; towels can be rented. Children are admitted from age three.
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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, take the waters in the sumptuous 19th-century Friedrichsbad. As Mark Twain put it: 'after 10 minutes you forget time; after 20 minutes, the world'. Modesty, rheumatic aches and the nudity of fellow bathers are soon forgotten as you slip into the regime of steaming, scrubbing, hot-cold bathing and dunking in the Roman-Irish Bath. With its cupola, mosaics and column-ringed pool, the bathhouse is the vision of a neo-Renaissance palace.
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Lichtentaler Allee
Even today you can imagine aristocrats, diplomats and celebrated artist types of 19th-century Europe promenading down this fragrant park avenue, planted with vegetation from around the world. Its gateway is at the main theatre, a neobaroque confection of white-and-red sandstone, and the famed street stops at the 13th-century Cistercian abbey, Kloster Lichtenthal.
This promenade cohabits with the Staatliche Kunsthalle (State Art Gallery), the modern art gallery (Museum Frieder Burda), and the Stadtmuseum (City History Museum).
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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
You can wander a 90m-long portico embellished with 19th-century frescoes of local legends in the Trinkhalle. Baden-Baden's elixir of youth, some say, is the free curative mineral water that gushes from a faucet (10am to 2am, until 3am Friday and Saturday) linked to the springs below. A cafe sells plastic cups for €0.20, or bring your own bottle to fill with super water.
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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
Sidling up to the Kunsthalle is Museum Frieder Burda lodged in an avant-garde edifice designed by Richard Meier. The star-studded modern and contemporary art collection includes works by Warhol and Picasso, as well as by German artists such as Georg Baselitz, Florian Thomas and Eberhard Havecost.
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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
Candlelight illuminates the vaults and art-nouveau mirrors of this one-time wine cellar, which marries full-bodied wines with French delicacies like garlicky snails and duck breast in honey-coriander sauce.
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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 stout pink villa's tree-shaded patio faces Lichtentaler Allee. Italian numbers such as whole sea bass and saffron-infused risotto pair nicely with local rieslings.
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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
Four blocks east of Stiftskirche, underneath the Friedrichsbad, are the Römische Badruinen, the well-preserved vestiges of Baden-Baden's Roman baths.
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Stiftskirche
A steepish jaunt northeast of Leopoldsplatz is the largely Gothic Stiftskirche, whose foundations incorporate some ruins of the former Roman baths.
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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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