Baden: Experience the Spa Park, Thermal Baths and Culture

When choosing accommodation in Baden, you can structure your stay around three clear focal points: the spa park and springs, cultural history, and trails through the Vienna Woods and wine country. Baden combines these themes with specific places and experiences – from the 52-hectare spa park and thermal baths to museums and circular and family hikes.

Spa Park, Rosarium and Springs

Baden Spa Park covers 52 hectares and seamlessly merges into the Black Pine forests of the UNESCO Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve. The park is also home to the Beethoven Temple, which opened in 1927 and formed the centrepiece of the new Art Deco park in Baden Spa Park.

The official World Heritage guided tour programme offers a special perspective on Baden’s springs. It includes access to the underground Roman Spring in the spa park. A narrow passage leads six metres underground to the source spring beneath the stage of the Summer Arena. The source spring is the only one that emerges in a spring cave in the rock of Calvary Hill.

Every year, more than 25,000 rose bushes representing over 700 different varieties bloom across 75,000 m² in the Baden Rosarium.

Thermalstrandbad and Römertherme

Thermalstrandbad Baden covers 42,000 m². Its facilities include swimming pools, sulphur pools, water attractions and amenities for children. The sports pools are filled with water from Baden’s healing springs. Since 1951, it has also included two small pools with pure sulphur water, where visitors linger rather than swim.

The architecture of Thermalstrandbad is also part of the experience: it was created according to plans by architect Alois Bohn in the late Secession style, with cabanas, sun terraces, mosaics and stained-glass windows. At Römertherme Baden, spa tradition and modern wellness come together beneath Europe’s largest free-hanging glass roof.

Beethoven and Baden’s Museums

Ludwig van Beethoven stayed at what is now Beethoven House Baden during the summers of 1821, 1822 and 1823. Important parts of his Ninth Symphony were composed in Baden. During the redesign of Beethoven House, contemporary wall and ceiling paintings featuring floral patterns typical of the period were discovered in the living quarters.

The Arnulf Rainer Museum opened in 2009 and presents Arnulf Rainer’s work in monographic and thematic exhibitions. It is located in the former women’s bathhouse, a building in the French Classicist style erected in 1821 according to a design by Charles de Moreau. The Rollettmuseum presents the eventful history of the spa town of Baden across 350 m², from the Neolithic period through Roman times and the age of the knights to the 20th century. Its collection includes Roman artefacts and works of art from the Biedermeier period, among other items.

Further historic buildings add different accents. The Kaiserhaus stables are regarded as an outstanding example of French Revolutionary Classicism, with rational, functional architecture and an almost undecorated façade. Florastöckl was built by the French architect Charles Moreau and housed members of the family of Emperor Francis II/I, particularly Archduke Franz Carl and his son, the later Emperor Franz Joseph. Between 1820 and 1822, Sauerhof was converted according to plans by Joseph Kornhäusel into Europe’s first freestanding grand hotel.

Baden’s cultural offerings include theatre performances, theatre festivals such as the Baden Theatre Days, operettas, concerts, jazz festivals, dance shows, children’s events and exhibitions. This makes it possible to enjoy a varied stay even when not all travellers share the same interests.

Hiking between the Vienna Woods and Wine Country

The 39-kilometre circular hike “Stories from the Vienna Woods. The Hiking Trail” begins in Baden and leads via Heiligenkreuz and Siegenfeld back to Baden. Another family hike leads from the coat of arms of Weilburg via the wild and romantic Rauheneck ruins in the Vienna Woods to the wine village of Sooß and through the vineyards back to Baden.

The family hike from the spa park to Proksch Hut leads over the slopes of the Vienna Woods and through the wine country back to Baden. At Proksch Hut, children can enjoy an adventure playground high above the ground with swings, slides, tree houses and zip lines. The Beethoven Walking Trail leads through the Vienna Woods to the wine village of Gumpoldskirchen and back to Baden along the Water Pipeline Trail through the wine country.

Practical Orientation in Baden

The Badner Bahn is available for connections to Vienna. It connects the Vienna State Opera with Baden over a distance of around 27 kilometres. St. Stephen’s Parish Church in Baden is open for personal prayer approximately from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. These fixed points of reference complement the choice between the spa park, thermal baths, cultural offerings and hiking trails when planning your stay in Baden around different daily interests.

Another destination for your travel planning is Alland.

To the higher-level travel overview: Lower Austria.

More Destinations

More places within the same destination:

Gmünd, Sankt Pölten, Bruck An Der Leitha, Mödling, Amstetten, Lilienfeld, Melk.