Baden-Baden

After our visit to Strasbourg, we crossed over the French-German border to Baden-Baden. This cosy and relaxing little town is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

We first made a stop at the tourist information centre on the way entering the town centre to check out what to see and get a tourist map. As suggested by the people from the tourist information centre, we started the town walk at the Trinkhalle (Pump Room).
Then, quite a lot of visitors were having a taste of the mineral water from the spring at this spot, where it was famous since the Roman times for its healing power.

Baden-Baden’s Trinkhalle and Kaurhaus are two beautiful buildings. The former has impressive Corinthian pillars and murals. The latter is elegant and houses Germany’s oldest casino.

Leopoldsplatz was next, yet another pedestrian area with a quite interesting fountain in the centre. We picked a restaurant to try some local beers and food. I must say the experience in the restaurant was much better than those in France as the beers were nicer, less expensive and also we could make orders in English. ;-).

After the meal, we walked from Leopoldsplatz to Goetheplatz and then to Augustaplatz. The Baden-Baden’s Theatre can be seen at Goetheplatz. We took a leisurely walk around Augustaplatz, interesting square with a nice pond and the Evangelist Town Church.

In the heart of the old town, around Römerplatz there are a few places to visit and look around if you have more time such as the Caracalla Spa, the Roman-Irish Bath at Friedrichsbad, the Roman Bath Ruins underneath and the Klosterkirche.

Up the stairs at Neues Schloss (New Castle), we found a nice view point looking down to the Stiftskirche, Market Square and old town. The green in front of the New Castle is also a nice place to relax. Later in the afternoon, we took a long drive back to Paris.