Baden-Baden: Hotels & Evening Entertainment

Things to do during the day

• Twelve natural thermal springs supply the town's thermal spas with water at 68°C.¹
• Caracalla Spa covers 5,000 square metres and opens daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with last admission one and a half hours before closing. Two hours in the bathing area cost 21 euros and a day ticket 35 euros, and the sauna area costs 5 euros extra.^{4, 5}
• Friedrichsbad, a Roman-Irish bath that opened in 1877, is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., with last admission three hours before closing. Admission is 39 euros, including towels and bathing shoes, and the operator recommends allowing about three hours.^{6, 7}
• Beneath the Friedrichsbad, the ruins of Roman soldiers' baths are shown as a museum of ancient bathing culture. It is open from 16 March to 15 November, from 11 a.m. to noon and from 3 to 4 p.m., and admission with an audio guide is 5 euros for adults.⁸
• The Frieder Burda Museum, in the Lichtentaler Allee park, shows a collection of modern art.¹
• Museum Frieder Burda is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on public holidays except 24 and 31 December. A regular ticket costs 16 euros, and a combined ticket with the adjacent Staatliche Kunsthalle costs 23 euros. The building was designed by the New York architect Richard Meier and opened in 2004.^{9, 10}
• The Staatliche Kunsthalle, open since 1909, has no collection of its own and shows temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and admission is 10 euros for adults.^{11, 12}
• Other museums include the Baden-Baden Museum, the Fabergé Museum and the State Art Gallery.¹
• Lichtentaler Allee is a 2.3 km park promenade along the river Oos, from Goetheplatz to the abbey square in Lichtental. It passes the Staatliche Kunsthalle and Museum Frieder Burda.³
• The Trinkhalle, built from 1839 to 1842, consists of a covered walk and a pump room in which thermal water flows from a central drinking fountain.³
• The Old Town is a place for a leisurely shopping trip.¹
• The MerkurBergbahn funicular, in service since 1913, runs daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. to the 668 metre summit of the Merkur, the town's local mountain. A lift in the tower at the top leads to a viewing platform 23 metres up. A return ticket costs 8.50 euros for adults. A hotel in the town recommends bus lines 204 and 205 from Leopoldsplatz to the valley station, a ride of 10 minutes.^{13, 37}
• The Festspielhaus offers public backstage tours from Tuesday to Friday at 11 a.m. and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays at 2 p.m., when the schedule allows. A ticket costs 10 euros.¹⁵
• Baden-Baden has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2021, as one of the eleven Great Spa Towns of Europe. The listed core zone covers the whole historic town centre.^{2, 3}

Evening ideas

• The Festival Hall is Europe's second largest venue for opera and concerts.¹
• At the Festspielhaus the restaurant, in the former first-class waiting room of the old railway station, is usually open two hours before and after the event on event days. Children are admitted to performances from the age of six.^{16, 17}
• A Festspielhaus ticket also serves as a public transport ticket in the KVV network on the day of the event, until 6 a.m. the next morning.¹⁸
• The town also has its own theatre and a philharmonic orchestra.¹
• Theater Baden-Baden on Goetheplatz, opened in 1862, is a municipal theatre with a permanent ensemble. Tickets are sold at the ticket service in the Kurhaus colonnades, open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.^{19, 20}
• Casino Baden-Baden is in the Kurhaus.²¹
• Inside the casino, the restaurant The Grill serves sushi and beef. It opens at 3 p.m. and its kitchen at 5 p.m. The restaurant asks guests to observe the casino's entry requirements.²⁴
• Club Bernstein, also in the casino, opens on Saturdays from 10 p.m. to 3.30 a.m.²⁵
• Equipage, a dance, music and cocktail bar in the Kurhaus, has DJs from Wednesday to Saturday from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.²⁶
• The rooftop bar of the Roomers hotel opens at 9 a.m. and looks out on the Black Forest. In summer its terrace with a pool is in use.²⁷

Restaurants and bars

• Numerous award-winning restaurants serve refined cuisine, and the nearby wine region has guest houses of its own.¹
• The Theaterkeller at the hotel Maison Messmer serves French bistro cuisine daily from noon to 11 p.m., with the kitchen open until 10 p.m.²⁸
• The restaurant of the hotel Der Kleine Prinz serves seasonal, French and regional dishes. Lunch starts at noon and dinner at 6 p.m., and it is closed on Tuesdays and on Wednesdays at lunchtime.²⁹
• moriki, the restaurant of the Roomers hotel, serves pan-Asian cuisine from noon to 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 1 p.m. at weekends.³⁰
• Le Jardin de France im Stahlbad, at Augustaplatz 2, holds a Michelin star according to the neighbouring Atlantic Parkhotel. It opens for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, except Thursday evening.^{31, 32}
• Rizzi, at Augustaplatz 1, serves French and Italian Mediterranean cuisine and has a terrace on Lichtentaler Allee. It is open daily from noon to 11 p.m., with last kitchen orders at 10 p.m.³³
• The theatre restaurant Berlioz, directly behind the theatre, serves Mediterranean dishes and Greek specialities, with a lunch menu from Monday to Friday.²⁰
• Café Kunsthalle, at the Staatliche Kunsthalle, is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.¹²

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