Баден

May to September is best for the spa park, the outdoor pool and walks in the woods. The Rose Festival in June is a highlight. Autumn is good for wine villages. Winters are cool and quiet, and thermal baths are pleasant then.

• The Kurpark is a large spa park with fountains, flower beds and a bandstand.
• Beethovenhaus is the house where Ludwig van Beethoven spent summers and worked on his Ninth Symphony.
• Thermalstrandbad Baden is a large historic thermal outdoor pool.
• Arnulf Rainer Museum shows modern and contemporary art in a former bathing house.
• Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Museum and Rollettmuseum cover local history and the town's past.
• Stadtpfarrkirche St. Stephan is the main parish church, and Synagoge Baden is the town's synagogue.
• Schloss Weikersdorf is a castle that now houses a hotel.
• Weilburgpark is a park with a small palace.
• Burgruine Rauheneck is a castle ruin on a hill above the town.
• Helenental is a wooded valley with walking trails.
• Austrian Aviation Museum presents the history of Austrian flight.
• The Casino Baden is one of the largest in Austria.

• Walk through the spa park.
• Relax in a thermal pool.
• Visit the Beethoven house.
• Hike in the Helenental valley.
• Taste wine in a nearby village.

• Vienna is about 30 minutes away by train or car.
• Heiligenkreuz Abbey, a Cistercian monastery in the Vienna Woods, is about 15 minutes away by car.
• Mayerling, the hunting lodge where Crown Prince Rudolf died, is about 20 minutes away.
• Gumpoldskirchen and other wine villages are a short drive away.

• Vienna is the nearest large city and the usual gateway.

• By air: Vienna Airport is about 40 minutes away by car.
• By train: Regional trains run from Vienna Hauptbahnhof to Baden in about 30 minutes. The Badner Bahn tram also runs from Vienna Oper. Check times on ÖBB.
• By car: The A2 motorway runs from Vienna to Baden.

The centre and spa park are walkable. Local buses cover the town and surrounding villages. The Badner Bahn tram runs into the centre. Cycling is easy on the flat roads.

A car is not needed for the town, and the centre has limited parking. Motorways in Austria need a vignette. The A2 can be busy at weekends.

Baden is known for its wine from nearby vineyards, served in Heurigen, small wine taverns. Viennese dishes such as Wiener Schnitzel and Apfelstrudel are common. Cafes in the town serve traditional cakes.

Baden is very safe. Thermal baths can be tiring in hot weather, so drink water. Tap water is clean and safe to drink. The emergency number is 112.

The Romans built baths here, and the settlement was called Aquae. The town rose again in the 18th century as the Habsburg court and aristocrats came for the waters. Beethoven, Mozart and later Strauss visited. A large fire in 1812 led to the Biedermeier rebuilding of the centre.

Quick practical facts for Austria at a glance: