Baden-Baden

Friedrichsbad bathing, the Kurhaus and the Merkur funicular

A weekend in Baden-Baden starts with the three-hour bathing circuit at the Friedrichsbad above the Roman bath ruins, followed by the Trinkhalle, the Kurhaus and the Fabergé Museum. The second day suits a walk along the Lichtentaler Allee and a ride on the Merkur funicular for views over the town.

Day one, morning. Start at the ruins of the Roman soldiers' baths on Römerplatz, then step into the Friedrichsbad above them for its full bathing circuit, which takes about three hours. Book ahead and arrive with nothing planned afterwards; you will want to lie down.

Afternoon. Climb the old town lanes to the Stiftskirche on the Marktplatz for a view over the roofs, then drop down past the Trinkhalle and its frescoed colonnade to the Kurhaus. Coffee and cake in the spa gardens, then the Fabergé Museum on Sophienstraße.

Evening. Dinner in the Kurviertel and, if you like, an hour at the casino, where the gilded rooms are the real attraction. Alternatively, catch a concert or opera at the Festspielhaus, built into the old station building.

Day two, morning. Stroll the full length of Lichtentaler Allee beside the Oos. Stop at the Kunsthalle and the Museum Frieder Burda, then continue past the Brahms House, where the composer spent his summers, to the Cistercian abbey of Lichtenthal at the far end.

Afternoon. Take bus 204 or 205 to the Merkur Bergbahn and ride up to the summit tower for a view across the Rhine plain to the Vosges. Walk down through the forest to the Altes Schloss Hohenbaden, a hilltop ruin with long views, and the rocks of the Battert.

Evening. End with a soak in the warm outdoor pools of the Caracalla Therme as the lights come on.

Badisches Schäufele, Black Forest ham and Kirschtorte in the Kurviertel

Baden-Baden eats Baden food: Black Forest farm cooking with French influence and local wine. Look for Spätzle, chanterelles in late summer and autumn, Badisches Schäufele with potato salad, thin slices of Black Forest ham and Flammkuchen, and order Black Forest Kirschtorte with coffee in the Kurviertel.

Baden-Baden eats like Baden: Black Forest farmhouse cooking refined by French influence from just across the Rhine, washed down with local wine. On menus in the old town, look for Spätzle, soft egg noodles served on their own with cheese and fried onions or as a side to braised meats. In late summer and autumn, Pfifferlinge (chanterelles) appear everywhere, in cream sauce with dumplings or folded into omelettes, and vegetarians will find plenty of choice.

Regional classics include Badisches Schäufele, cured and cooked pork shoulder with potato salad, and Black Forest ham, smoked over pine and served in thin slices with bread. Flammkuchen, the thin, crisp tart of cream, onions and bacon from neighbouring Alsace, is a standard light dinner with a glass of wine.

Cake is taken seriously. Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, layered with chocolate sponge, cherries, kirsch and cream, is served in the traditional cafes around Lichtentaler Straße and the Kurhaus. Afternoon coffee and cake is a ritual among the spa guests.

Wine comes from the Rebland, the vineyards just south-west of town in Steinbach, Varnhalt and Neuweier, where Riesling and Pinot varieties grow on granite slopes. Neuweier is one of the few places outside Franconia that bottles its wine in the squat Bocksbeutel. Schneiders Weinstube in the Badener Weinkeller on Maria-Viktoria-Straße is a good place to try them in town; out in the villages, family inns serve their own wine with simple food. The pedestrian zone has cheaper eats too, from döner to Italian and Chinese.

Strasbourg, the Black Forest High Road and Iffezheim race days

Strasbourg, about 40 km south-west, is the easiest day trip from Baden-Baden, around 50 minutes by car or by train with a change in Offenburg. The Black Forest High Road (B500) starts at the edge of town and climbs to the Mummelsee, and race days at Iffezheim draw crowds in season.

Baden-Baden works well as a base for short trips into France and the Black Forest.

Strasbourg, about 40 km to the south-west, is the obvious outing. Drive in about 50 minutes or take a train with a change, usually in Offenburg, and spend the day on the Grande Île, with the cathedral, the canals of Petite France and Alsatian winstubs. The Flightliner bus from the airport is another option.

The Black Forest High Road (Schwarzwaldhochstraße, the B500) starts on the edge of town and climbs along the ridge toward Freudenstadt. Highlights include the Mummelsee, a small dark lake below the Hornisgrinde, the highest peak in the northern Black Forest, and the views west across the Rhine plain. Buses run part of the route in season, but a car gives you flexibility. In winter, the high road serves several small ski areas.

Closer to home, the old castle of Hohenbaden and the climbing rocks of the Battert can be walked from town, and the Murg valley to the south is good for gentle hikes and old timber-framed towns such as Gernsbach.

Horse lovers should time a visit for Iffezheim, just north-west of town on the Rhine, whose racecourse hosts a spring meeting in May or June and the main race week at the end of August, one of the social highlights of the German year. Hats and summer suits are the norm in the grandstand.

Karlsruhe, a short train ride north, adds a baroque palace and the ZKM media art centre.