Neighborhoods & surroundings
Baden-Baden is more than its downtown: from the abbey in Lichtental and the concert hall in Oos to the vineyards of the Rebland.
For all the polish of its center, Baden-Baden is a surprisingly varied town. The social heart sits around the bath quarter and the Kaiserallee, where you will find the Kurhaus, the casino, the Trinkhalle and both thermal baths within a few minutes' walk of each other. From there the town climbs into wooded hills on one side and opens west toward the Rhine plain on the other, where the vineyards of the Rebland begin. That combination of Belle Epoque center, Black Forest ridges and wine country is what gives the place its particular appeal, and it is why choosing the right base matters more here than the small size of the town suggests.
Downtown & Old Town
The social heart of the spa town: Kurhaus, casino, Trinkhalle, the collegiate church and both thermal baths, wrapped in Belle Epoque architecture.
To the Trinkhalle →Lichtental
At the far end of the Lichtentaler Allee: Kloster Lichtenthal (Lichtenthal Abbey, founded 1245) and the Brahmshaus, where Johannes Brahms spent his summers.
To the Lichtentaler Allee →Oos
The station district, named after the river that runs through the spa gardens. The Festspielhaus concert hall occupies the historic railway station here.
To the Festspielhaus →Rebland (Varnhalt, Neuweier, Steinbach)
The wine slopes west of town: Riesling and Spätburgunder, the German name for Pinot Noir, seasonal growers' taverns and views over the Rhine plain.
To the Baden Wine Route →Geroldsau
Where the town turns green toward the Black Forest: the Geroldsau waterfall and the Baden-Baden Blossom Trail both start here.
To the Geroldsau waterfall →Ebersteinburg
A hillside district below Mount Merkur with the ruins of Alt-Eberstein castle and long views over the Murg valley.
To Mount Merkur →How the town is laid out
The core splits roughly in two along the Oos, the small river running through the middle. On the right bank lies the old bathing town, with the historic market square, the Stiftskirche (collegiate church) and the Roman bath ruins that sit under the Florentinerberg. On the left bank is the spa quarter, built around the Kurhaus and the Lichtentaler Allee. The two are an easy walk apart, and nearly every major attraction is inside this compact center.
To the south, Lichtental follows the park all the way to Kloster Lichtenthal (Lichtenthal Abbey, founded 1245). To the west sits Oos, the station district, home to the Festspielhaus concert hall. The hill districts such as Ebersteinburg and the slopes of Mount Merkur are where the hiking and the views are, while the Rebland, made up of Varnhalt, Neuweier and Steinbach, stands for wine and for the seasonal growers' taverns known as Straußwirtschaften.
Getting around
The center is best covered on foot, since the distances between the casino, the baths and the park are short. For the hillside districts and the Rebland there is a well-developed bus network, and a funicular railway climbs Mount Merkur. If you are driving, the parking garages at the edge of the pedestrian zone are the practical choice, because the center itself is largely closed to traffic. Worth knowing when you plan: some of the largest events happen outside the center, including the flat racing at Iffezheim out toward the Rhine. Our trip planner puts the pieces into a working itinerary.