Baden bei Wien
An Enchanting Cosmopolitan Town at the Gates of Vienna

In all of Europe, there is no place like Baden. It is a rather small town, lovely and romantic, dreamy, a place where time has stood still to guard a life of contemplation.
A town that is only 25 km from the city of Vienna, but far enough away to allow for quiet and relaxation.

Situated at the heart of the green hills of the Vienna Woods, it is surrounded by meadows and vineyards. It resembles a park dotted with villas and elegant mansions. Since time immemorial it has been a holiday resort.
Baden is a city with a very special ambience, with a unique flair that has gradually developed over centuries.

If you keep your eyes open when you stroll around Baden, you will find numerous traces of its splendid past. After all, this town with its numerous healing hot sulphur springs set in a region of health resorts has always been a spa for crowned heads.
Between 1803 and 1834, the Austrian royal family spent every summer here, far from the capital; they were followed by the nobility and the wealthy middle-class, by artists and the smart set.

The splendour and magnificence of Baden merge with its charm: Biedermeier architecture everywhere you look, and you can discover numerous wonderful things.
Biedermeier is not only a style of architecture and art but also the epoch that rediscovered horticulture. As a visible sign of this development, you can visit the "Rosarium" (rose-garden) with more than 20,000 roses and the "Kurpark", which extends from the town centre right into the Vienna Woods.

Without realising it, you leave the well-groomed parkland and find yourself walking on easy hiking trails that criss-cross an area that seems to stretch almost endlessly and is a very popular destination for day-trips. Castles and palaces, old monasteries and churches invite you to do a bit of sightseeing - here, the romantic idyll so often invoked in Viennese folksongs has become reality.

Baden is not only famous for its landscape, but above all for its water. Its thermal water, which emerges from the springs at a temperature of 36°C, is rich in valuable minerals.

Every day, about 4 million litres of superior thermal sulphur water are used in Baden. The spa Baden, which is also a recognised climatic health resort, specialises in the field of balneology and is famous far beyond Austria's borders for its rheumatism cures. The medical facilities and technology of the baths of the "Kurhotel", the "Kurmittelhaus" and other institutions are state-of-the-art.

Health and wellness in Baden embrace a wide range of facilities: rehabilitation, therapies for the various forms of rheumatism, Kneipp's hydrotherapy, blood circulation training, dietary and reduction programmes, cosmetic treatments and fitness.

The thermal water is not only used for treatments. Baden has extensive outdoor and indoor pools where you can happily enjoy a swim in naturally hot sulphur water,
For a change, you can spend an evening at the theatre, a concert or an operetta. At the Casino Baden, the largest one of its kind in Europe, it is fun to try your luck. You decide the stakes, and Lady Luck decides the game.

It does not always have to be a jackpot, you can just drop in to enjoy the thrilling casino atmosphere . And if you were not lucky enough to break the bank, you can visit the Baden trotting course, where large sums are changing hands as well.
The wooden grandstand dating back to the turn of the 19th century gives you an impression of the elegant world in the emperor's times. The grandfather style of days long gone by contrasts neatly with the tough betting business.

This town, which was built at the very heart of a winegrowing region, has yet another, very earthy side to it. The wine is genuine and unadulterated, and the many small vintner's taverns where people get together in the evening to talk and drink, have hardly changed over the years. In Baden, everyone can find a favourite restaurant to his or her taste, be it a florally decorated vintner's cottage or a gourmet place, an inn to stop by during an excursion or a restaurant that has been awarded one or more toques.

In a beautiful setting, it is easy to spend your leisure time in a more active mould. The countryside around Baden offers some of the most beautiful hiking trails in Austria. Breathing the pure air of the magnificent Vienna Woods, you can exercise all kinds of sports for which you need nothing, or almost nothing, but nature.
You can go cycling in the softly rolling hills, play tennis on especially well-groomed courts, play golf on the best greens or leisurely walk to the most beautiful castles of the southern Vienna Woods and to historical places like the former hunting lodge Mayerling.

Real sportsmen can explore the secrets of driving in extreme situations at the driving centre of the Austrian Automobile and Touring Club in the close vicinity of Baden. Perfect taking of corners, with simulated aquaplaning. Maybe you would rather try parachuting? You can do so at the nearby airport.

It is easy to get to Baden: by car via motorway and highway, or in greater comfort by buses and trams of the Wiener Lokalbahn or by train with the ÖBB.

Information:
Tourist-Information (Spa and Bath Administration), Leopoldsbad, Brusattiplatz 3, A-2500 Baden bei Wien
Phone: 02252/22600-600, fax 02252/80733
e-mail:info@baden.at