Baden-Baden?

I should add that I will be traveling by train.

It's out of your way, and many of us are underwhelmed. Reasonable to stop there if you're headed further south to Basel or Freiburg, but with all the spa resorts in Germany (several of which are very close to Frankfurt), I don't think the detour is justified. If you want the spa treatment, look to Wiesbaden, Bad Homburg or Königstein im Taunus, all of which are within commuting distance of Frankfurt.

Is Baden-Baden worth it? For me and after several visits, the answer remains yes. Would I visit again? Yes.

Bruce, have you visited any other places on which to base your opinion? The thermal baths in other towns are very elegant and if you don't have to go out of your way to visit them, as Tom points out, then that is more time available to spend there.

Wiesbaden is gorgeous, as is Bad Homburg. Both have casinos too if that is of interest. Bad Soden and Bad Nauheim have thermal baths as well as many different mineral springs.

http://www.wiesbaden.de/microsite/mattiaqua-en/kaiser-friedrich-therme/index.php
http://www.wiesbaden.de/microsite/mattiaqua-en/quellen/content/kochbrunnen.php

http://www.kur-royal.de/en/info/galerie.htm
http://www.taunus-therme.de/en/therapeutic-baths---thermal-water.html

Malakial, Baden-Baden is worth it to some, depending on age group and also on wallet-potential. If you have got money to spend Baden-Baden can be the greatest experience. Also a person being 60 year of age would be considered as young in Baden-Baden.

From the train station, which is served by ICE trains and is located in the suburb of Oos it's about €15 by taxi to get into any downtown Baden-Baden hotel. The hotels are very old. They are clean but there is not a single hotel that could be considered as contemporary.

You can easily spend a day or two with great walks and spa treatments etc. And of course shopping (big brands, $$$) is huge there as well.

I rather like Baden Baden and was nowhere near 60+ when I first visited. I was no more than 56 or 57, but some of us accept all ages and others of us distrust people older than themselves.

There is a good bus service in Baden Baden and at least one bus (it is spelled out in the Rick Steves book) connects the station with the centre of town.

I find Baden Baden to be a good place to relax and enjoy strolling in the town which has wide boulevards and tree lined roads and riverbeds. For a first time trial of the German spa experience it can be very enjoyable, and the baths are very convenient and well laid out, and right in the middle of town.

I have been to quite a few of the others named and can say that they are by no means interchangeable or cookie-cutter. Some I have enjoyed more than the baths at Baden Baden but there are also several that I have enjoyed less or a lot less.

I would say that if you a distance away go to one of the spas closer to you. Consider Baden Baden is you are in the vicinity.

If in the southern Black Forest and you have wheels I have one near Freiburg im Breisgau I prefer but it doesn't offer Irish Roman.

@ Ms. Jo. I haven't tried the other spas mentioned, but would certainly like to do so. Maybe it's like the folks always visiting the same old same old (e..g. Paris) as they know it and truly enjoy it. Of late, having too many delightful times exploring the former GDR. There are fast, easy and frequent bus connections between the train station and the center of Baden-Baden. Costs for good (not luxurious) accommodations and food are affordable in my opinion. If you have money to throw money away, then gamble at the casino.

Baden-Baden is definitly worth a trip. In the 19th century it was one of the most important international spa towns in Europe. Like Tom said above there were lots of spa towns all over Europe but only a few of them (like Bath, Vichy and Baden-Baden) gained great international importance. Baden-Baden preserved lots of its beauty and therefore is currently applying for the UNESCO World Heritage status.

See the city wiki information page for Baden-Baden tourists to get a good overview.

As you are not having too much time, here some recommendations:

1. Take a walk in the famous Lichtentaler Allee, don't miss the rose garden Gönneranlage within the Lichtentaler Allee
2. Relax and forget about the world in the Friedrichsbad (without swimwear ;-))
3. Eat the best burger of your life in the restaurant Rive Gauche
4. Play some games of roulette in the Casino Baden-Baden but don't lose all your fortune!
5. Sleep at Hotel Deutscher Kaiser

Hope this helped... Tell us about your experiences!
Larissa

Thank you all for the information. There is lots to go over and think about.

Larissa,

that's not a hotel I've ever stayed at - can you tell me a little about it, and your stay there, please?

I spent a day in Baden-Baden a few years ago, and like Tom was underwhelmed. I did not find the town particularly attractive. It has a casino, but I'm not into gambling, and it has a glitzy shopping street, but I'm not into shopping. I've already spent plenty of time in some more traditional Thermen in the Black Forest, so I wasn't interested in another. Other than that, I found Baden-Baden too big and not a particularly attractive town.

@Nigel: it is a smaller hotel near the town center of Baden-Baden. Clean, silent and not too expensive. All of the above mentioned attractions can be reached by foot. There are lots of restaurants and cafés around it. I'm living only 50 min car drive away from Baden-Baden so I don't really need to book a hotel room in Baden-Baden, but relatives of mine spend some days there and were satisfied. Also find some reviews at tripadvisor.com. Have you already been in Baden-Baden?

@Lee: Well it is always a question of what you are expecting. In Baden-Baden the casino, the society and the cultural events were (during the glorious 19th century) more important than the thermal water. Only after the gambling ban in 1872 the thermal water became popular again. I recommended some basic attractions to malakial, because he has only one day in Baden-Baden... But there are lots of things to discover. Museums, the second largest opera house of Europe, churches of various faiths, luxury hotel buildings and mansions and beautiful nature surrounding Baden-Baden. For example hiking and visiting the Old Castle is also worth it.

Travel from Frankfurt to Munich by fast trains takes 3.25 hours. A detour to Baden-Baden adds 2 hours of train time. If you're not set on a spa town, then the (quite different) cities of Wuerzburg and Nuernberg are on the direct route.

In my opinion, museums, opera houses, and churches are boring and luxury hotel buildings even more so. Now, beautiful nature and castles are my thing, but you don't have to go to Baden-Baden itself to see that (in fact you have to leave Baden-Baden to see that.

Hi, it was our least favorite stop of our RS Germany, Switzerland, Austria trip mainly because we wanted to see the countries, not stop at a glamorous casino town. But, when you're on vacation, even the least favorite stop is fun.