Baden Baden

brent,

There are a couple of different "baths" in Baden Baden, so you wouldn't necessarily have to use the "no clothing" one. I haven't tried the "no clothing" one so will leave comments to the others.

Were you planning to only visit Baden Baden for one night? I'd suggest at least two nights so you can have a look at the famous Casino and some of the other sights.

As I'm sure the others will point out, there are many other good places with Baths in Germany, and you may find one of the others to be easier and quicker to reach from Frankfurt (especially in a jet-lagged state).

You don't need to travel a few hours out of your way beyond Heidelberg to Baden-Baden. There's several thermal resorts in the immediate vicinity of Frankfurt, including Wiesbaden, Bad Homburg, Bad Nauheim and Königstein im Taunus. My recommendation would be the Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme in Wiesbaden, mainly because it's so easy to reach from the airport.

I have enjoyed the European bath experience with swimsuit on, both in Germany and Hungary. That's a nice, relaxing first day plan.

No real reason to go all the way to Baden Baden when gorgeous thermal baths are near Frankfurt. Tom has already made great suggestions, so I am just backing them up. After a long plane ride, why would you want another long train ride.

For some baths, it is either take it all off or you aren't allowed in. Those are the rules. If you can see me, I can see you. Keeps the voyeurism under control. Just do it. It gives you something to talk about when you get home and after your day at the spa, you will wonder why you thought you couldn't.

If you don't mind the train trip and the "Textilefrei" environment, the Palais Therme, in Bad Wildbad, is a great spa. Built by a duke a century ago, it is all tiled in a Moorish style, very elegant. It's about a 2½ hr trip if you take the ICE via Karlsruhe.