Bus Tour 208 – The Baden-Baden Tour

Our journey begins at the Augustaplatz stop, via Lichtentaler Straße to the exclusive Sophienstraße, the centre of Baden-Baden's best shopping addresses.

The route now takes us through the Mediterranean spa district and the narrow alleyways of the historic old town. Small shops and boutiques line Gernsbacher Straße - this is where the manoeuvrable minibus shows off its skills. We pass the Roman-Irish Friedrichsbad Spa, which was built between 1869 and 1877 as the most beautiful bathhouse in Europe at the time and where you can still indulge in traditional bathing culture at 17 stations.

Along the colourful houses of the picturesque Steinstraße, the bus finally reaches the market square, with the town hall on the left and the late Gothic collegiate church, the oldest building in the old town, on the right. On the right, you will now see the New Castle, which is privately owned. The freely accessible terrace of the estate offers a fantastic view of Baden-Baden's Old Town. To the left is the Hungerberg. The extensive park is perfect for a walk or a picnic in the countryside.

The journey continues through a short tunnel to the Herrengut estate, where the Fürstenberg monument, a white marble guardian angel standing in front of a semi-circular stone pergola, is well worth seeing. The views over the Old Castle and endless forests surrounding Baden-Baden are unique. The loop past the Herrengut estate leads through residential areas, alternating between villas and half-timbered houses, and then back towards the city centre. The bubbling thermal waters of the Caracalla Spa beckon on the right and the gleaming treasures of the Fabergé Museum on the left. We have now returned to Sophienstraße and continue past upmarket boutiques to the stop at Augustaplatz.

The second loop takes us from Augustaplatz past the neo-Gothic Protestant town church, right next to the congress centre. We cycle past beautiful villas and the Hotel Belle Epoque. To the right is the Brenners Park Hotel & Spa directly on the River Oos, and a little further on the splendour of the flowers in the Gönneranlage park beckons.

Pass the city museum and head towards the Kurhaus & Casino, the cultural heart of Baden-Baden. The tour continues past the synagogue on the right through a beautiful villa neighbourhood. 

Rose lovers should get off at the Moltkestraße stop in summer and discover the Rose Society Garden.

We drive past older and newer villas on the Beutig with beautiful views of the city. We look up to Michaelsberg on the left and see the Stourdza Chapel with its gleaming golden dome, which the Romanian Prince Michael Stourdza had built in 1864 for his son who died young. From the elevated road down into the Oostal valley, the next stop is the Festival Hall, then we cross the Oos and arrive at the beginning of the world-famous Lichtentaler Allee. On the right is the historic Trinkhalle and right next to it the Kurhaus with its Kurhaus colonnades, where the tourist information centre is also located.

Our next stop is once again the now familiar Augustaplatz and we begin our third and final loop.

At the start of the third loop, we turn left at the neo-Gothic Protestant town church towards Gausplatz, the next stop. Here, a church made of red and yellow sandstone in the English-Norman style catches our eye on the left. It is St John's Church, which was built in 1864/65 as "All Saints Church" for the Anglican community of the time.

Our bus now crosses the Oos and Lichtentaler Allee and winds its way up the steep and winding Hermann-Sielcken-Straße, named after the German-American coffee merchant who was a great patron of Baden-Baden. At the top is the largest villa estate in Baden-Baden, Maria Halden. It is a large park area with a villa that has been extended several times as well as gatekeeper's, Swiss and gardener's houses. Werner von Siemens had the estate laid out at the end of the 19th century. The impressive estate is popularly known as the Grundig Villa after its most famous owner.

Back down Lichtentaler Allee, you will see the shepherd's hut on the left-hand side. It served Empress Augusta, the wife of Kaiser Wilhelm I, as a resting place during her walks along the avenue. Halfway up Gunzenbachstraße, the bus turns round and drives back via Bertholdsplatz and Lichtentaler Straße to the end point at Augustaplatz, completing our three tours.