Unwinding in Baden-Baden

Baden-Baden may be best known in Germany for its many therapeutic baths called Thermen . If you are comfortable going nude, then you cannot miss a day at Friedrichsbad. If you feel better clad in your bathing suit, then Caracalla Therme can have a similarly relaxing effect.

Quick Tips:

Friedrichsbad is an all-nude pool. However, some days are coed, while others are single-sex. If you feel more comfortable naked among your own sex, visit the pool on Mondays or Thursdays, as the treatment is separate for males and females on those days. All other days are coed. Visit www.carasana.de before planning your trip for pricing, hours, and other details.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you choose to drive, the Thermen have a parking garage and will validate your parking ticket for 2 hours. After that, each additional hour costs 1€, which is quite inexpensive for parking in Germany. After your visit to the baths, take some time to wander around the walking streets of Baden-Baden and enjoy their shops specializing in fashion, chocolate, and antiques.

Friedrichsbad is an all-nude Roman-Irish bath/spa. The standard treatment is a 3- to 3.5-hour regimen. Guests have the choice of the treatment with or without a soap-scrub massage. This massage lasts about 30 minutes and accounts for the aforementioned time difference in treatment. Personally, I do not think the massage is a must, as it is mostly an exfoliation treatment rather than simply relaxing. If you choose to go on a Monday or Thursday, the bath is separated by sex. Other days, bathing is coed.

The standard treatment is a 16-step process that takes guests through special sauna rooms and a variety of small pools at different temperatures. The pools are all special for the different minerals in the water. In the final phase, you apply lotion to your entire body and are then guided into a sleeping chamber, where you are wrapped up in warm blankets for a 30-minute nap. This is my favorite part, as you will not find anything more relaxing.

A definite highlight is swimming around in the August-bad, a circular pool with a high dome ceiling surrounded by Roman sculptures.

The standard treatment without the soap-scrub massage is 21€, and with the scrub costs 29€. Towels and bathing shoes are included in the price.

While the all-nude atmosphere might be intimidating at first, after 10 minutes you won't care because it is so relaxing. This is a must-try if you are looking for the ultimate way to tune out the rest of the world and its problems!

Visit http://www.carasana.de/home/de/roemisch.html for more details and directions on how to get there.