15 Hours - The Perfect Day in Baden-Baden, Germany

Every Friday I will post an itinerary for what I would do if I only had a day (about 15 hours) in a city. The itinerary will be based on my interests of food, art, shopping and history so you may do it differently and if you're so inclined feel free to let me know what that might be.

This week - a city for relaxation - Baden-Baden, Germany:

Everything in the main town of Baden-Baden is very walkable. Shopping and restaurants are extremely accessible. To visit a castle you will need a car but it's worth the expense.

8:00 a.m. - Wake up in your hotel and get ready for the day. I recommend Hotel am Markt due to the out of the way location, yet close proximity to everything especially the thermal baths, and a great breakfast setup.

8:30 a.m. - Enjoy a leisurely breakfast with coffee and tea at your hotel. The kaiser rolls are a must try with jam or meat and cheese. The rolls are the perfect texture of crunchy on the outside and moist and fluffy on the inside.

9:30 a.m. - After breakfast head over to the the Friedrichsbad Roman-Irish Thermal Baths and spend the morning relaxing. Yes you do have to be naked. No it's not a big deal. The Friedrichsbad has 17 stages including sauna rooms, thermal baths, pools and at the end a nap room and a reading room. Each stage has a placard with a recommended amount of time to stay in each room but you can stay for as long or short as you please. Pay the extra 10 Euros for the 8 minute soap and brush massage to feel squeaky clean. There's no clocks inside so if you go on a day where genders are split up try to meet each other in the central bath where genders can mix and decide how much time you'll be napping or reading so you end up finished at relatively the same time. When we went my husband ended up staying an hour longer than me! It was a great way to feel relaxed and get through the jet-lag.

Noon - Lunch at Gasthaus Löwenbräu in their beer garden. They have a classic Bavarian menu of many meat and potato dishes. Plus try their Löwenbräu dunkel for a good beer.

1:00 p.m. - Walk off lunch with a stroll around the shops or head over to the Trinkhalle for the healing powers from a 17,000 year old spring.

3:00 p.m. - Hop into your rental car and head to Altes Schloss, a ruined castled that you can explore on your own climbing up stairs and poking into little rooms that are still intact. There's a great view from the highest point of the castle of the Baden-Baden valley. You can also hike up to a hill that looks down on the castle to get some even better views.

5:00 p.m. - Sit down for an early dessert and afternoon coffee and tea at the cafe attached to Altest Schloss at the entrance. Order the apfelkuchle mit vanilleeis (deep fried and dipped in cinnamon and sugar apple rings with ice cream) for a dessert that treats all of the taste buds and senses. That's me licking my fingers after finishing a plate.


6:00 p.m. - Head back into town and freshen up before dinner.

7:00 p.m. - Seek out dinner at a place that has Maultaschen on the menu. I can't the find the name of the restaurant we went to where I had excellent Maultaschen but it's on the left hand side of the main strip if you were heading towards the Kurhaus. Maultaschen is easiest described as a spinach ravioli. But it's thicker, richer and isn't in a sauce. It's also an original dish of the local area.

9:00 p.m. - To end your evening stroll over to the Kurhaus Casino to try your chance at the tables, play a slot machine or just people watch. You'll need to dress up and guys can rent a tie and jacket if needed to play the classic tables.