Baden-Baden - From the station to the opera house

A coachman awaits the walkers with his team in the famous Lichtentaler Allee, the alley of the luminous valley. At the end, the Cistercian monastery abbey recalls the origin of this park. It was Bernard de Clairvaux who would have said: "Build a monastery in this clear valley". After the nuns, it was the great of this world who discovered these enchanting places.

How many famous people have walked there on their way to the casino to make their fortune? Or lose it. The luxury shops under the colonnades are still there.

There was a time when they remained open all night to allow the lucky winners to quickly spend their nest egg! The impressive “Trinkhalle” with its frescoes recounting regional legends, the Baroque theater and the “Kurhaus” evoke the splendours of another era. A building with contemporary architecture fits in perfectly with it: the Frieder Burda Museum. In a style that borrows from the Bauhaus and Corbusier, the building is bright. Thanks to the large glass panels, nature seems to be an integral part of the collection of works of art.

The world according to Gursky

If Frieder Burda had this beautiful building built to regularly show part of his vast collection, the museum also hosts exhibitions. Currently (2015), and until January 24, 2016, it is the impressive photographs of Andreas Gursky that invite another look at the world. Giant images which are as many paintings of life, of reality that we often no longer notice: community standardization, overconsumption and misery, excessive breeding. But Andreas Gursky, some of whose works are worth 3 to 4 million euros, is not moralistic. He observes. As the guide says prosaically: “Her photographs are like dead paintings. Except that he manages to show the worm that eats away at the apple ... ”.

A word of advice: after admiring the works from a distance, do not hesitate to approach to examine the details!

Consult the Guski exhibition

Fabergé's treasures

After contemporary art, head to the city center to discover a small museum as precious as the little wonders it houses! Dedicated to the genius of Carl Fabergé, whose famous Easter eggs represent only a tiny part of his art, it is absolutely essential to visit it with one of the guides! In their company, a whole universe is reborn. That of the Tsar's court, of course, but also of all of Russia, in its splendor but also its misery during the war years. Did you know that Fabergé even produced war dishes in order to save his workers? It is thanks to a Russian collector, Alexander Ivanov, that these masterpieces of Carl Fabergé's work have been brought together in this villa in the heart of Baden-Baden. A city loved by Russians since the marriage of Alexander I with Princess Louise of Baden.

Since then, businessmen have taken the place of the Grand Dukes and other writers like Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. Attracted by the peaceful atmosphere, the cultural but also commercial offer, they bought apartments and villas. A great opportunity for the city after the departure of the French Forces in 1998 ...

Visit the museum website

The opera in the station

By pushing the doors of the magnificent (old) neo-renaissance-style station of the spa town, you will not be taking the train:

where the imperial wagons passed, stands one of the largest concert and opera halls in Germany. If it does not have the same old-fashioned charm of Baroque theaters, it offers impressive acoustics. From each of the 2,500 seats, even the cheapest, the view of the stage is unobstructed.

Behind-the-scenes guided tours allow visitors to discover this fascinating ensemble, supported by a private foundation (just like the Burda Museum). Large, very popular festivals, operas and concerts attract audiences from all over the world. The Festspielhaus even has its own travel agency to promote the city and the opera!

More info on their website

Hydrotherapy

Like Emperor Caracalla Water gushes from a depth of 2000 meters at 68 °. Two thermal establishments invite to take advantage of its benefits. Caracalla and its modern facilities, and the Friedrichsbad, with its Irish-Roman baths.

A nod to the Caracalla thermal baths of the eponymous Roman emperor, Baden-Baden, to an aquatic complex of the same name.

2000 years ago, the Roman legionaries already benefited from the benefits of this water coming from 12 sources and rich in sodium, calcium, lithium, silicic acid and other minerals with virtues which relieve rheumatism and osteoarthritis. Over an area of over 4000 m², several pools, including two outside, invite you to relax, in waters ranging from 18 to 38 ° C.

Upstairs, several saunas offer an additional moment of relaxation (naturist area). Each sauna has its own ambiance, ranging from meditation to the gentle chirping of birds and the soothing murmur of the waves to the “spectacle” with sound and light evoking the Titanic!

The little Paris"

While basking in the warm waters of the Caracalla thermal baths, you will especially hear people speak ... not Russian but French. Alsace is not far! The French left a fine legacy in Baden-Baden. When King Louis-Philippe banned casinos, the Benazet family came to dust off the spa near the border and built the casino. The “little Paris” attracts artists from all over Europe. As well as all the well-off ...

Like the Romans

A few steps further, it is a real historical bath temple which provides maximum relaxation.

When it opened in 1877, it was the most modern spa establishment in Europe. If the fashion is for more fun swimming pools, it is at the Friedrichsbad that we celebrate a Roman seaside tradition combined with Irish hot air baths. Here, it is an initiatory journey of 17 stations that awaits you in rooms and water basins at different temperatures, made of marble, surmounted by cupolas ...

To the beneficial heat is added the calm in an ... imperial setting. It takes 3 hours to complete the course (naturist area).