Mosel Valley vs. Baden-Baden

Baden-Baden is worth the effort. More specifically, the spa is worth the effort. If you are already okay with the idea of being co-ed and naked, you are 90% there. It is an excellent way to end a trip. It is unique in that it is something I think most people would never do unless they were half way across the world and not likely to run into Mr. Jones from next door.

It transports you back in time and it is ultra relaxing.

As for the rest of Baden-Baden, most people might not think it is anything special - but we sure did. We had drinks in a tiny old bar and met some of the nicest, most talkative German folks. We had a really nice dinner. We went to a special exhibit of Marc Chagall at the museum that was spectacular.

I would go back in a heart beat and do it all over again. And to reiterate RS's statement, do NOT skip the 30 second cold plunge at the end. But do read the sign carefully and don't spend 3 minutes like my husband did. ;)

If it's spas you're looking for, there are closer options than Baden-Baden to the Mosel area, such as Aachen and Weisbaden. Even the town of Spa in the Ardennes region of Belgium might be closer. If I was a 19th century Russian aristocrat with liver cirrhosis and penchant for bacarat, I may have enjoyed Baden-Baden more. But as an American in the 21st century, I could not have found it more dull.

I was very unimpressed with Baden-Baden. Just a big old town. Of course, having been in a handful of real Black Forest spas, I didn't bother with the touristy one in B-B. The town does have a couple of blocks of glitzy pedestrian zone.

The best thing about Baden-Baden would be some more interesting places around it, the Murg Valley, Gernsbach, Freudenstadt.

I spent about 4 hours in Beilstein and was ready to leave. The castle ruins were closed for the season, and except for that there is not much to do. However, there are boat excursions from Beilstein and it is a short drive (or bus trip) to the bigger, more interesting Cochem, and the rest of the Mosel.

Hi Michelle,

I can only give my opinion on the Mosel, as we've never been to Baden-Baden or the Black Forest area.

We spent 4 nights on the Mosel in Oct. '07. Loved it. We had a car. We stayed across the Mosel from Cochem. Beilstein... I don't think I could spend 4 nights there. While it's very quaint, it's VERY small. We spent about 2 or 3 hours there and had dinner. That was enough. Don't know what one would do in the evening there, let alone 4 days or evenings. Cochem is more our speed.

We took a day trip to Trier.
We visited Burg Eltz (a must if in the area IMO).
Visited Bernkastel, Zell, Beilstein.
Enjoyed spending plenty of time in Cochem.
The Mosel is very charming and relaxing.

Paul

I've never stayed in Beilstein - just too tiny for me. Cochem is terrific and can be slow and easy too. Agree with Lee on Baden-Baden. Instead, you might want to try Bad Bertrich, a spa town just a few miles from Cochem.

www.bad-bertrich.de/

I'd have to recommend passing on Baden-Baden for the Mosel. We, too, are 'slow' travelers and love the Mosel because you can go as slow or as fast as you feel like. Big towns, small villages, it's all within day tripping distance. To valid my opinion, I've lived in the Mosel region and visited Baden-Baden; which, to me, seems touristy and a little expensive.

Germany has a plethora of spas to choose from, not just Baden-Baden. Below is the link to a nice one in Aachen.

http://www.carolus-thermen.de/go/bad_aachen/english.html

Hope this helps...Enjoy!

I would choose Beilstein/Mosel over Baden-Baden. The spa is nice but warrants about 3 hours then it just a older town with some formal gardens. Which is fine if you are in the area. But Mosel is lovely, peaceful, with interesting drives and vistas and castles.Beilstein is on the river with lockes that you can see in action a few min from Beilstein. The cafes are terrific. Do not miss Burg Eltz and Cochem is a nice town also. I drove easily from Beilstein in AM straight to Frankfurt airport to dep to USA.

There are plenty of spas all over Germany, so you don't need to go all the way to Baden-Baden.

In Wiesbaden - http://www.wiesbaden.de/en/sports/baths/kft/kft.php?p=5,2,5

In Bad Homburg, just north of Frankfurt -
http://www.kur-royal.de/en/

In Hofheim, just north of Frankfurt
http://www.rhein-main-therme.de/index.html

I haven't been to Baden-Baden (so nice they named it twice) but love the Mosel area. Trier is both a very nice small German town plus the site of some terrific Roman ruins. The hike through the forrest to Burg Eltz was half the fun of visiting the castle.

Thank you to all who responded to my query. I read and re-read each one carefully and will be coming to a decision soon.

no, stay in the Mosel valley! You can find another bad around there that it much closer I'm sure.

If you enjoy slow travel you will love Beilstein. We stayed with the Ostermann family at Hotel Gute Quelle in June 2007. It was the highlight of our trip and we left wishing we had stayed a week!