Back Roads Germany (Dk Eyewitness Travel Back Roads)

212

VISITING BADEN-BADEN

Parking

Baden-Baden has a dozen central

parking lots of which several are under-

ground. One such is the Augustaplatz

parking lot.

Tourist Information

Kaiserallee 3, 76530; 07221 27 52 00;

http://www.baden-baden.de; open daily

BACK ROADS GERMANY

WHERE TO STAY

BADEN-BADEN

Bad-Hotel Zum Hirsch moderate

This is a historic old town hotel

whose fine public rooms include a

splendid ballroom. Thermal spring

water flows from the taps of its

antique-furnished rooms.

Hirschstrasse 1, 76530; 07221 93 90;

http://www.bad-bad.de/hirsch-baden-

baden/index.htm

Brenner’s Park Hotel expensive

The best address in Baden-Baden, this

hotel exudes 19th-century elegance.

Its own park and an excellent modern

spa and gym complex make it one of

the finest hotels in the world.

Schillerstrasse 4-6, 76530; 07221 90 00;

http://www.brenners.com

FREUDENSTADT

Bären moderate

A friendly and traditional three-star

choice a block east of the Marktplatz,

this hotel has rooms that have a

comfortably dated, vaguely 1950s feel.

Some rooms have balconies and the

hotel provides Internet access.

Lange Strasse 33, 72250; 07441 27 29;

http://www.hotel-baeren-freudenstadt.de

1 Baden-Baden

Baden-Württemberg; 76530

Founded as a Roman bathing spot, and a particular favorite of

the Roman Emperor Caracalla (188–217 BC), Baden-Baden has an

idyllic location in the midst of gentle wooded hills. In 1810, the Baden

Margraves built Neo-Classical thermal baths around the springs here,

to serve an early 19th-century fashion for bathing. Its importance has

faded since, yet something of these halcyon days continues to live on

in the elegant villas, grand hotels, spas, and manicured gardens.

A 90-minute walking tour

From the parking lot entrance turn

left to cross the park and the Oos

river on a small footbridge. Then

turn right along Lichtentaler Allee,

which becomes Kaiserallee. This

leads to a large building

in the greenery on the

left known as the

Trinkhalle 1 (open daily),

the grandest of a series of

19th-century build ings

and follies built along-

side the Oos as social

centers. It now houses

the tourist information

office. Turning right out

of the Trinkhalle, a path

leads through park land to the

Neo-Classical Kurhaus 2 (open

daily), the main venue for cultural

Where to Stay: inexpensive, under €70; moderate, €70–€150; expensive, over €150

and social events in Baden-Baden,

which includes a famous cas ino. Visits

to the interior are possi ble on 20-

minute tours, held every 30 min utes.

Outside the Kurhaus a band stand

marks the start of Kurgarten, an ave-

nue of chestnut trees lined

with expen sive boutiques.

A right turn at the bottom

of this leads back to

Lichtentaler Allee 3 , a

2-mile (3-km) long pro me-

nade. Down this avenue is

the Kunsthalle (closed Mon),

home to inter na tional con-

tem po rary art. Walk along

the pro me nade to

Bertholdstrasse, which is on

the left behind the Stadtmuseum, and

turn right on to the footpath on the

near side of the river. Over the next

footbridge lie the thick

beech hedges of the

Gönneranlage 4. These

are orna mental gar dens

where over 400 varie ties

of rose thrive. Exiting the

gardens from the oppo-

site side, take the left

turn that leads down

Ludwig-Wilhelm-Strasse

to the parking lot at

Augustaplatz. From here,

turn left then right down

Lichtentaler Strasse to the

square on Sophienstrasse.

Gernsbacher Strasse,

which is across the

square leads into the old

town, the Altstadt 5.

This was reduced to

ashes in 1689 during the

Palatinate War of

Succession; rebuild ing it

took a cen tury. Follow

Gernsbacher Strasse and

turn left into an alley at

Sonnenplatz. This leads

to the market place,

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Above Interior of the grand Trinkhalle,

Baden-Baden

Façade of the

Neo-Renaissance Trinkhalle

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SONNENPLATZ

AUGUSTAPLATZ

Kunsthalle

Stadtmuseum

Trinkhalle

Kurhaus

Stiftskirche

Liebfrauen

Bäderviertel

Altstadt

Gönneranlage