visit baden bei wien

Baden bei Wien: Austria’s Great Spa Town of Europe

Last updated on March 7th, 2024 at 05:00 pm

Vienna consistently ranks among the world’s best cities to live, for an abundance of reasons. Located just 15 miles (24km) southwest from Austria’s capital is the charming spa town of Baden bei Wien, which translates to “Bathing Near Vienna.” It is Austria’s lone destination among the Great Spa Towns of Europe, which includes 11 inspiring spa towns that are collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

Baden’s friendly and well educated residents create an ideal environment for visitors to relax amidst inspiring surroundings. The town’s lovely historic center includes pedestrian-only laneways and is dotted with 19th-century Biedermeier architecture. And the charming At the Park Hotel, which overlooks beautiful Kurpark, offers a fantastic stay in the heart of town.

Baden bei Wien offers an ideal spa getaway, amongst fantastic art, inspiring music, delicious gastronomy and fun outdoor activities. Lovely Kurpark features free daily orchestra performances in summer, and memorials to composers like Mozart and Beethoven (who spent the summers of 1821-1823 living and composing in Baden). Hiking and biking trails lead to Kalvarienberg, a hill where the park morphs into the Vienna Woods. And for those that enjoy gaming, Baden Casino is the largest in Austria.

Baden bei Wien: A Great Spa Town of Europe and UNESCO World Heritage Site

Baden bei Wien’s spa culture has been a popular draw for centuries. Therapeutic relief in an inspiring setting made it a favorite getaway and workplace for famous composers like Beethoven, Mozart and Strauss.

Emperors also visited, seeking rejuvenation and relaxation by soaking in the town’s mineral rich thermal waters. Baden was a favorite summer resort for the Hapsburg family, making the town a ‘Spa of Emperors.’

The Great Spa Towns of Europe became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021. They comprise 11 exceptional spa towns in 7 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The lone representative town of Austria is charming Baden bei Wien. Historic thermal towns like Baden are also classified as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.

How to Get to Baden bei Wien?

The best ways to reach Baden bei Wien are by car or train. We traveled to Baden by train, which is just 35 minutes from Vienna. Trains are frequent, running around every 20 minutes. So it is not necessary to buy train tickets in advance. Tickets can be purchased from automatic kiosk machines at the train stations like Wien Hauptbahnhof (Vienna Central Station). Train tickets from Vienna to Baden bei Wien cost around €7 each way.

Vienna to Budapest, Hungary is just 2.5 hours on the train. Budapest has more thermal baths than any other world capital, earning the nickname “Spa City.” Combining the two destinations makes for an excellent thermal bath itinerary and wellness getaway.

Festival La Gacilly Baden: An Incredible Outdoor Photo Exhibition

Baden bei Wien is a fantastic town for art and culture. Among the highlights is the incredible Festival La Gacilly, which is in its 5th consecutive year running. During the photo exhibition, the gardens, streets and squares of Baden are transformed into an epic gallery of thought provoking art.

Festival La Gacilly Baden features around 1,500 outdoor photos from some of the world’s best photographers. Along with beautiful images, many are thought provoking. Many images deal with pressing global issues like climate change, animal preservation and a variety of social issues. According to Klaus Lorenz, the Director of Baden tourism, objectives of La Gacilly include education and challenging the way people think about the world around them.

Director Lois Lammerhuber has done a phenomenal job heading Festival La Gacilly Baden , and is passionate about the project. The continued support of the exhibition makes it clear that Baden bei Wien is a destination that cares about education and the arts. The festival takes place annually from June through October. Check their website for updated information on Festival La Gacilly Baden.

Thermalstrand Baden

Thermalstrand Lido Baden is the largest sandy beach in Austria. The art deco facade features two 50-meter swimming pools, massage jets, jet stream canal, geysers, massage beds on the palm island and a children’s pool with water mushroom and a slide. There is also a big water slide, wide water slide, and a diving platform to enjoy.

We enjoyed our time at Thermalstrand Baden. It makes for a relaxing afternoon for families and couples like us. Alternate between the cold and warm thermal pools for optimal therapeutic relief, as the practice is great for blood circulation. Along with muscle and injury relief, spending time in thermal pools can aid in problems like anxiety and insomnia.

Park entrance to Thermalstrand Lido Baden costs €10. Entrance offers all-day access to thermal pools and the beach. Locker rentals are available. Don’t forget to bring a towel because Thermalstand Baden does not sell or rent towels!

Arnulf Rainer Museum

The Arnulf Rainer Museum is home to gorgeous art in a former bathhouse. Rainer grew up in Baden bei Wien and his abstract art currently on display deals with themes of nature, science, creation and the cosmos. The opulent and unique setting was a popular 19th-century bath house for ruling families like the Hapsburgs, as well as other aristocrats.

Rainer superimposes metal silhouettes with motifs of angels and stars in abstract works that feature spherical color moods. Artificial flowers, typically made of silk, add another layer of depth to the unique paintings. Works from the 18th and 19th centuries played an important role in shaping Rainer’s diverse works. 

Visitors to the Arnulf Rainer Museum can enjoy pondering the artist’s works in a unique gallery. We enjoyed our tour with Herman, a knowledgeable guide who is passionate about Rainer’s paintings. He asked us to look at a series of Rainer works and think of the angel that best spoke to us. Sitting in what was once a marble pool where emperors once bathed, to view beautiful art, is a truly unique experience.

Beethoven House (Beethovenhaus Baden)

Beethoven suffered from multiple health problems. In his late 20s he started to lose his hearing and by around 44 years old he was almost completely deaf. Other health problems Beethoven suffered from included digestive & respiratory issues and depression. Baden bei Wien offered him a reprieve. Beethoven drank the thermal waters and took long walks in the surrounding Vienna Woods.

In the summers of 1821-1823, Beethoven lodged in the upper floor of Rathausgasse 10, a house owned by a coppersmith. Beethoven composed music there, including important sections of his most complex and famous Ninth Symphony. During that period, Emperor Franz I spent summers with his family in Baden bei Wien. The town bustled with members of the high aristocracy and upper middle class, including patrons of Beethoven.

Today, Rathausgasse 10 houses the Beethoven Haus Baden , a museum dedicated to the famous composer’s life. The original pink wall painting was a surprise discovery found during 2014 renovations. An in-depth experience with the Ninth Symphony can be enjoyed through an audio and visual tour. Adult admission to Beethoven Haus Baden costs €8.

Baden bei Wien Hotels

At the park hotel.

We stayed at the At the Park Hotel . Located right along Kurpark, guests can enjoy lovely views of the beautiful park. The breakfast is delicious, featuring gourmet items like fresh honeycomb, smoked salmon, prosciutto, freshly baked croissants, breads and pastries. Adjacent to the park, it’s a great setting to enjoy a meal and drink.

We stayed in room 204 at At the Park Hotel , which commemorates Baden’s place as a Great Spa Town of Europe and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The suite features original art and thermal bath memorabilia. Two spacious balconies, one from the living room and one from the bedroom, offer beautiful views overlooking Kurpark and Baden.

At the Park Hotel Details

Address: Kaiser Franz-Ring 5, 2500 Baden, Austria

Phone: +43 2252 44386

Great Baden bei Wien Restaurants and Cafes

Streiterhof.

Be sure to visit a traditional “Heuriger” – a typical Austrian wine tavern. We loved our fantastic dining experience at Streiterhof. Their outdoor terrace is a delightful venue to enjoy traditional Austrian dishes over tasty wines and great conversation.

One of our favorite dishes at Streiterhof was the perfectly prepared crispy roast pork. A dessert highlight was their delicious apricot cake (Austrian apricots are fantastic). There is a huge selection of tasty Austrian wines starting at extremely reasonable prices, like under €3 a glass!

Streiterhof Address and Contact Details

Leesdorfer Hauptstraße 64 2500 Baden

Office email: [email protected]

Telephone number: +43 02252 80253

El Gaucho is a wonderful restaurant in the heart of town for steak lovers. Their tender prime steaks are dry aged for a minimum of 21 days, which offers robust and tender flavor in each bite. Ribeye is my go-to steak as I find it the perfect balance of flavor and tenderness. The ribeye at El Gaucho was the best I’ve eaten in quite a while.

Balmy summer evenings are perfect to enjoy delicious steaks and wine on El Gaucho’s lovely terrace. For dessert, we loved their sheep’s milk yogurt with apricot preserves. El Gaucho is very popular, so be sure to make a reservation in advance.

El Gaucho Address and Contact Details

Josefsplatz 2 2500 Baden bei Wien E-Mail:  [email protected] Tel: +43 2252 80399

Cafe Central

Cafe Central is an Austrian institution dating to 1841. Set in the main square of Baden bei Wien, with views of the Trinity column, their charming terrace is an ideal spot for food and drinks. Enjoy a cappuccino and a tasty regionally inspired dessert like dobos torte, a Hungarian sponge cake layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with caramel.

The Vienna location of Cafe Central is typically packed, with a line stretching out the door for a table. We appreciated that we were able to easily get a table inside on a lovely Saturday afternoon in summer at the Baden location. Traditional Austrian cafes and patisseries like Cafe Central, have inspired generations of writers, artists, musicians and politicians.

Cafe Central Address and Contact Details

Hauptpl. 19, 2500 Baden, Austria

Phone: +43 680 2004508

Baden bei Wien Electric Bike Rentals

E-bike rental: Bikes can be rented and picked up at the Tourist Information Baden office. We recommend renting the e-bikes for half-day, which currently costs € 15. That’s a great deal to explore Baden, and the biking trails in the Vienna Woods.

You can also bike to another nearby town like Heiligenkreuz during a half day bike rental. Check out the cycle rental page of the Baden website and contact them if you have any questions.

Tourist Information Baden Address: – 2500 Baden bei Wien, Brusattiplatz 3 Office phone number: 43 (0) 2252 86800 – 600 [email protected]

E-bike Rental Costs

1 hour – € 7

half day – € 15

full day – € 25

weekend – € 40

Vienna Woods, Including Helenental (Valley of Saint Helena) are Great for Biking and Hiking

The Helenental (Valley of Saint Helena) is wonderful for cycling and hiking. Beethoven enjoyed walking for many miles in the forest just outside Baden bei Wien. There is even a Beethoven plaque that commemorates a favorite spot of his.

We enjoyed our 13 km electric bike ride through Vienna Woods to Heiligenkreuz Abbey. E-bikes provide more powering in pedaling. This allows riders to travel further, while still getting a good workout. Bell and I were both under the weather during the bike ride. So we would have struggled to make the 26 km roundtrip journey on traditional bikes.

Heiligenkreuz Abbey

The beautiful Cistercian monastery of Heiligenkreuz Abbey is located in the village of Heiligenkreuz, in the southern part of the Vienna woods. Constructed in 1187, it’s one of the oldest continuously occupied Cistercian monasteries in the world. Plan to arrive at Heiligenkreuz Abbey before 12pm. Then you can enjoy a unique 20-minute prayer sang by a group of monks.

Klostergasthof Heiligenkreuz: Ideal for lunch on their terrace

After the prayers, we enjoyed a fantastic lunch at the abbey restaurant, Klostergasthof Heiligenkreuz. We highly recommend their local game stew with Viennese dumplings. They have a delicious menu featuring many traditional Austrian favorites. Their terrace is a beautiful spot to relax during the warmer months.

Apfelspritz (sparkling apple juice) is a ubiquitous drink in Austria. It is ideal to enjoy during a cycling stop on a hot day.

Casino Baden: The Largest Casino in Austria

The largest casino in Austria is Casino Baden . Roulette, Black Jack, Poker and a wide variety of slot machines give visitors numerous options for gaming. Four differently designed restaurants and a bar, offer diverse dining options for a night on the town. Housed in a beautiful venue, it can make for a fun night out for those that enjoy casinos.

Remember to bring your passport or European ID card. Austrian government regulations require visitors to register for a casino account. The regulation offers a buffer to help mitigate gambling addictions.

Casino Baden Address, Phone Number and Email

Address – 2500 Baden bei Wien, Kaiser Franz Ring 1 Phone: +43 (0) 2252 444 96 – 0 Fax: +43 (0) 2252 444 96 – 10222 [email protected]

Baden bei Wien Tours with Expert Local Guides

We enjoyed a 2 hour guided walking tour of the village led by local expert guide Renate Ryba. Our tour began at At the Park Hotel and the first stop was Kurpark, to view a little of the daily free orchestra concert in the park. Afterwards, Renate took us to see the source of Baden’s thermal waters, while discussing the town’s history.

There are several official Baden bei Wien guides that cover tours in Vienna as well as other popular regions in Austria. They have a wide range of tour specialties like historical walking tours, Beethoven & Mozart, military history, thermalism, Vienna Woods, Wachau Valley and Burgenland. It’s possible to book tours by foot, bike and bus. Guided tour options in Austria can be found on the Baden website.

Our tour with Renate had an emphasis on the amazing La Gacilly-Baden Photo Festival. She spent time discussing the festival, photos and some background information on the incredible photographers.

Baden bei Wien Recap

Vienna is a fantastic destination for a city getaway. Baden bei Wien offers many of the delights of Vienna – great music, architecture and delicious restaurants in a more compact and relaxing setting. Austria’s great spa destination has played an important cultural role for centuries. A visit today offers a therapeutic and rejuvenating reprieve from the busy hustle of city life. After a few encounters with its friendly residents, visitors will quickly realize that Baden is an ideal destination to live, work, play and visit.

Disclosure: This article is a collaboration with the Baden bei Wien tourism office and Great Spa Towns of Europe. Special thanks to Klaus Lorenz, the Director of Baden Tourism for a fantastic tour of the area, allowing us to put this article together. A big thanks also to Catherine Lloyd at Great Spa Towns of Europe, as well as Saskia Sailer from Baden bei Wien Tourism. All opinions and photos in this article are ours. This article also contains some affiliate links

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Alex Kallimanis is an award winning travel journalist and travel planner who has visited 67+ different countries, including all 27 European Union countries across all continents except Antarctica. He has resided around the world, living in countries like Australia, the Netherlands and Ireland for over 7 years combined. Currently residing in the Tampa, Florida, area with his wife Bell, he still spends much of his time in Europe as a dual Greek citizen. Alex is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a bachelor of arts degree in history, and was the president of Phi Alpha Theta (Honors History Society) during his senior year there. Alex is an avid enthusiast of sports, spas, delicious food, the outdoors, craft beverages, history and culture.

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Baden bei Wien, AUSTRIA: The Spa of Emperors

Baden bei Wien is just 30km from Vienna, the historic seat of one of the world’s greatest imperial dynasties - the Habsburgs. Baden was one of their favourite summer resorts; a ‘Spa of Emperors’ and a magnet for high-level politics. The town uniquely combines the classicist architecture of the beginning of the nineteenth century with the architecture and infrastructures of the turn of the twentieth century when Baden became a world class spa resort.

The spa district is centred on the spa garden that contains the Kurhaus, Trinkhalle, Sommerarena and music pavilion. The therapeutic and recreational spa landscape extends into a scenic terrain of hills and valley that contain a distinguished belt of villas and parks. Musical heritage of outstanding universal significance is linked to one of the favourite workplaces of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Strauß.

Baden bei Wien from above

Baden bei Wien Kurpark

Historic Urban Landscape of the ‘Great Spa’

The spatial plan of the nominated property can be divided into:

• The spa districts with the thermal baths, structures for leisure and pleasure and representative hotels (some of them with baths).
• The parts of the city, where bathing guests were hosted since at least the eighteenth century (the centre that had been enclosed by ramparts until about 1800, the former suburbs along Antongasse and Wassergasse, and, up to 1850, the independent Village Gutenbrunn).
• Spatial development of with a mixture of town houses, hotels and villas.
• The villa belt surrounding the town.
• Kurparks and spa-related landscape gardens and therapeutic spa landscape.

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Great Spa Towns of Europe - The spa town of Baden

Built on water: staying and healing in the vienna woods..

Alongside ten other important spa towns, the Great Spa Towns of Europe, Baden near Vienna has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as of 2021 - as a testimony to the rich spa culture that has decisively shaped Europe's cultural history.

The spa industry flourished in Europe between 1700 and 1930: Healing mineral and thermal springs attracted wealthy guests from all around the world who sought treatment for their ailments, but who were also completely unwilling to forgo society, luxury and entertainment. The spas that arose exerted a strong artistic, political, and social influence on society and continue to make an important contribution to European culture to this day. Austria's contribution to the Great SPAS of Europe is the spa town of Baden near Vienna. The historic spa and bathing complexes, pump rooms and houses, promenades, parks, pleasure gardens and spa hotels, which have been preserved to this day, are witnesses to an impressive world whose footsteps are increasingly being followed again today. 

Bathe like the Romans and the emperors

The Romans valued the warm healing springs of Baden so much that they even named the location after these springs: ‘Aquae’, or ‘Bäder’ in German. The spring tapped into by the Romans continues to bubble away today and is also open to visitors. This is also the case for the 13 other sulphur thermal springs in the city area; these carry warm ‘yellow gold’ to the surface from a depth of around 1000 meters, which reaches up to 36°C. However, Baden gained its reputation as a health resort around 1,700 years after the Romans discovered the spring. Empress Maria Theresa frequently visited Baden. The Theresiengarten (now the spa park) and the Theresienbad (now the site of the casino) were also named after her at the time. From 1796 to 1835, when Emperor Franz I and his court spent every summer in the spa town, Baden was even labelled as the secret capital of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy for a few months each year. Everyone who was anyone in Vienna, only 26 km away, followed the emperor and travelled to noble Baden for the spa treatment, including the nobility, the rich bourgeoisie and, of course, numerous artists.

The musical metropolis of Baden 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited his wife, Konstanze, who was undergoing treatment in Baden. Antonio Salieri, court music master and Mozart’s supposed rival, also spent several summers in Baden curing his rheumatic condition. Ludwig van Beethoven, who visited Baden 17 times, worked on his compositions in the spa town and even wrote sections of his Symphony No.9 here. The masters of operetta felt particularly at home here, however. The great figures of the genre - such as Joseph Lanner, Johann Strauss and Franz Lehar - lived, played and composed in Baden, and they are still honoured today in the Baden City Theatre and at the Operetta Festival in the Summer Arena. It is not without reason that Baden also still bears the honourable title of ‘operetta metropolis’.

Refreshing present

Much of the splendour of the noble spa town, situated between the Vienna Woods and vineyards, has survived into our own time. Take a stroll through the city and you’ll notice plenty of greenery, a number of villas, a lot of flair and a casual dolce far niente, fitting for a spa vacation. People stay in fine hotels, meet up at a spa, at trotting races (Baden was a centre of equestrian sports in the 19th century) and perhaps even at the casino, which is housed in the former spa house and is seen as one of the largest and most beautiful casinos in Europe. People also meet at wine taverns here, of course. Wagging tongues even claim that many a famous guest has travelled to Baden not for the spas or the healing waters, but rather for the taverns and their wines.

Explore Baden

Plan Your Trip to Baden: Best of Baden Tourism

Essential baden.

Baden Is Great For

Eat & drink.

• Das Gutenbrunn Thermen & Sporthotel
• At the Park Hotel
• Hotel Sacher Baden
• Hotel Herzoghof
• Hotel Schloss Weikersdorf
• Restaurant Akropolis
• Heurigen Kernbichler
• Casino Restaurant Baden
• Ristorante San Marco
• Roemertherme
• Casino Baden
• Baden Rosarium
• Doblhoff Park

• 1 Understand
• 2.1 By train
• 3.1 Bus and bicycle

Baden , also known as Baden bei Wien (i.e., "Baden near Vienna") is a city in Lower Austria near Vienna with around 25,000 inhabitants. Baden is one of 11 "Great Spa Towns of Europe", a transcontinental UNESCO world heritage site .

Understand [ edit ]

Baden is 25 km south of Vienna. In Roman times it was called "Aquae" and is named in 869. The sulfuric water springs attracts lots of artists and famous people in the 19th century with for example Schubert, Johann Strauß Vater, Lanner, Grillparzer and Raimund. This lead to the economic growth of the city and it has hence many beautiful representative Villa's built during the Biedermeier period.

• 48.008011 16.230787 1 Tourist Information Office , Brusattiplatz 3 ( Leopoldsbad ), ☏ +43 2252-22600-600 , fax : +43 2252-80733 , [email protected] . May-Sep: M-F 09:00-18:00, Sa 09:00-15:00; Oct-Apr M-F 09:00-17:00 . Can offer advice on tours and accommodation. ( updated May 2016 )

Get in [ edit ]

By train [ edit ]

By car [ edit ].

From Vienna take the A2 highway.

Get around [ edit ]

As Baden is a small city everything is within walking distance. The Tourist Information Office offers a free online map for download.

Bus and bicycle [ edit ]

• Citybus ( Stadtbus ). The city of Baden operates three routes Monday-Saturday: Citybus A , Citybus B , and Citybus C , and the VOR (regional transport authority) operates route R . A route map can be downloaded here . Tickets can be purchased at the train station. Single trip: €2.10 (adults), €1.10 (children 6-15); week ticket: €15.80; month ticket: €47; block of 4 tickets: €8.40; block of 8: €16.80 .  
• Nextbike ( bicycle rental ), ☏ +43 2742 22 99 01 (hotline) . After registration (online or by mobile), you can pick up a bicycle at the main train station or the Badener Bahn station, and drop it off at the same or any other Nextbike spot. A map of pickup and drop-off points can be found here (click 'Thermenregion' for Baden); a brochure with map is available for download . €1/hr, €10/day . ( updated Jan 2017 )

Taxis [ edit ]

• Taxi Kraupa , ☏ +43 664-2409612 .  
• Funktaxi , ☏ +43 2252-88500 .  

See [ edit ]

• 48.009712 16.231422 4 Doll and Toy Museum ( Puppen und Spielzeugmuseum Baden ), Erzherzog Rainer-Ring 23 , ☏ +43 2252 41020 , [email protected] . T-F 16:00-18:00, Sa Su and holidays 14:00-18:00 . This annex building of the Biedermeier Attemsvilla houses a collection of over 1000 dolls and toys, from 1760-1950. Tours in German, English, and French are offered with prior arrangement. €3 (adults), €1.50 (children), free (NÖ Card) .  
• 48.007454 16.222664 8 Rosarium , Doblhoffpark . Austria's largest rose garden with over 860 varieties, including specimens named 'Goldmarie' and 'Empress Elisabeth'. The roses bloom twice a year, in June and October. Free .  
• 48.0125 16.2334 9 Kurpark ( Spa Park ), Kaiser Franz Ring - at the CASINO ( second entry at Welzergasse 29 (Hotel Kurpark garni) ). Baden's popular spa park has 52 ha and is thus one of the largest in Europe. Next to a beautiful landscape, piece and quiet, and relaxation, the spa park also offers numerous historical attractions: a Beethoven temple, the bandstand with daily concerts during the summer, several monuments of artists and emperors, the Undine fountain and a nostalgic park café. The garden is home to a variety of semitropical plants and fascinates visitors with decorative floral ornaments. There is a smooth transition from spa park to the Austrian pine forest of Vienna Woods with its many hiking trails at Kalvarienberg. free entry .  

Do [ edit ]

• 48.008762 16.229816 2 Römertherme Baden , Brusattiplatz 4 , ☏ +43 2252 45030 , [email protected] . Pool: daily 10:00-22:00, last admission 21:00; wellness centre: M-F 09:00-21:30, Sa Su 10:00-19:00 (May-Sep), Sa Su 10:00-21:30 (Oct-Apr) . A Roman-style spa open year-round with hot springs and mineral waters. Adults: €12.10/3hrs, €1.80/extra hr, €15.30/day, €8 (after 19:00); seniors/disabled: €9.70/3hrs, €1.80/extra hr; concessions: €9.30/3hrs, €1.30/extra hr, €13.20/day; children 5-15: €6/3hrs, €.70/hr, €9.20/day .  
• 48.010928 16.232619 4 Sommerarena , Arenastraße , ☏ +43 2252 22522 (ticket hotline) . This Jugendstil theater features a glass roof, and is used for summer productions of Baden's annual Operetta Festival. Tickets and programs are available through the Stadtheater.  
• Schubertiade , ☏ +43 2252-81812 , fax : +43 2252-81812 , [email protected] . Late June - early August . This annual five-week festival celebrates chamber music, featuring mastercourses and performances by internationally-known musicians in several venues in Baden and nearby Heiligenkreuz. Concerts: €10 (adults), €5 (concessions) .  
• 48.010003 16.232055 5 Grand Casino Baden , Kaiser Franz-Ring 1 , ☏ +43 2252 444 96 , fax : +43 2252 444 96 222 , [email protected] . Casino 15:00-, jackpot casino 13:00- . Offers slot machines, roulette, and other classic casino games. Several restaurants are onsite.  
• 48.012973 16.258509 6 Baden Trotting Course ( Trabrennverein Baden ), Wiener Straße 84 , ☏ +43 2252-88773 , fax : +43 2252-86612 , [email protected] . M-F 7:30-12:00 (info) . A traditional horse-trotting race course, in use since 1892.  

Buy [ edit ]

Badener Café Bonbons are a traditional Austrian sweet mostly composed by Café and sugar. They exist in different textures and depending on it either wrapped in pink or brown paper. Each pastry in Baden have their specific home-made production.

Eat [ edit ]

• 48.0178 16.23 1 Restaurant Rudolfshof , Restaurant Rudolfshof Gaminger Berg 5, 2500 Baden ( End of Welzergasse >>> ), ☏ +43 2252 209 203 0 , [email protected] .  

Drink [ edit ]

Sleep [ edit ].

• 48.013065 16.234343 1 Hotel Kurpark garni (Bed & Breakfast) , Welzergasse 29 , ☏ +43 2252 89104 , fax : +43 2252 89104 15 , [email protected] . A small hotel ideally located by the Spa Park, with guest rooms and apartments available. Free wi-fi, indoor pool, sauna and garden pool. €78+ (double rooms), €100+ (apartments); breakfast included .  
• 47.938724 16.252352 3 Hunting Lodge Schönau Castle ( Jagdhaus Schloss Schönau ), Kirchengasse 18, Schönau an der Triesting ( 15min S of Baden ), ☏ +43 2256 2020 950 , fax : +43 2256 2020 920 , [email protected] . Check-in: 16:00-22:00 , check-out: 11:00 . Situated amidst the gardens of Castle Schönau, the castle's former hunting lodge offers 8 beds in three apartments for rent on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Pets permitted. €120+ (not including breakfast) . ( updated May 2016 )

Connect [ edit ]

Go next [ edit ].

Baden lies on the Austrian south railway and highway line (A2) which connects Vienna and Graz . Of course cities on the track like Wiener Neustadt , Semmering , Bruck an der Mur , Kindberg or Kapfenberg are also easily reached.

• Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and by far its most populous city. It is Austria's artistic, cultural, economic and political centre.
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Baden bei Wien

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Things to Do in Baden bei Wien

24km (15 miles) SW of Vienna; 299km (186 miles) E of Salzburg

Around A.D. 100, the Romans were drawn to Aquae, the name they gave to Baden, by its 15 thermal springs whose temperatures reach 95°F (35°C). You can still see the Römerquelle (Roman Spring) in the Kurpark, which is the center of Baden bei Wien today. The resort is officially named Baden bei Wien to differentiate it from other Badens not near Vienna.

Czar Peter the Great of Russia ushered in Baden's golden age by establishing a spa there at the beginning of the 18th century. The Soviet army used the resort city as its occupation headquarters from the end of World War II to 1955, but the Russians left little mark on "the dowager empress of European health spas."

Although the spa was at its most fashionable in the early 18th century, it continued to lure royalty and their entourages, musicians, and intellectuals for much of the 19th century. This lively casino town and spa in the eastern sector of the Vienna Woods was for years the summer residence of the Hapsburg court. In 1803, Franz I began annual summer visits to Baden.

During the mid- to late 19th century, Baden became known for its Schönbrunn yellow (Maria Theresia ocher) Biedermeier buildings, which still contribute to the city's charm. The Kurpark, Baden's center, is handsomely laid out and beautifully maintained. Public concerts performed here pay tribute to great Austrian composers.

The bathing complex was constructed over more than a dozen sulfur springs. Visitors today flock to the half-dozen bath establishments, as well as the four outdoor thermal springs. These springs reach temperatures ranging from 75° to 95°F (24°-35°C). The thermal complex also has a "sandy beach" and a restaurant. It lies west of the center in the Doblhoffpark, a natural park featuring a lake where you can rent sailboats. There's also a rose garden restaurant in the park.

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Our Wanders

Baden bei Wien, A Picturesque Small Town Near Vienna

Vienna is a city we visit each year at least once. We like spending a romantic weekend there, and we usually explore something new in the area each time. Our favorite new finding this spring was Baden bei Wien. It’s a lovely little town southwest of Vienna and it’s a perfect half day romantic getaway!

It’s neat and pretty and full of flowers like most of the small towns in Austria.

It amazes with 19 th -century Biedermeier architecture and picturesque walking streets.

The Main Square ( Hauptplatz ) with the City Hall ( Rathaus ) and the Trinity Column plague memorial is the place to sit down with an ice-cream in hand and just enjoy the vibe.

A walk in Kurpark is like travelling back in time.

It’s also full of flowers.

The gorgeous building of Casino Baden was originally built as a spa, but later it became a casino.

There’s a rose festival in Doblhoff Park every spring. It means exactly what you think it does: the park is full of roses!

Have you ever been to Austria? Do you have a favorite small town there?

Which are the best lesser-known hikes in North America?

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Bea is a travel writer and the co-founder of Our Wanders, an adventurous family travel blog. She’s been traveling for more than 10 years, seeking outdoor adventures, fairy tale castles and unique experiences. She's passionate about sharing all she has learned along the way, and she's an expert in planning trips of any length. She’d love to help you plan your own amazing trip, too.

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Baden bei Wien: Vienna’s Grand Spa Town

When everyone flocks off to the beach, I personally prefer to relax in a historic spa town, ideally with plenty of neoclassical colonnades, romantic parks with the odd Greco-Roman looking temple in the backdrop and a historic “it list” of composers, writers and royalty. After my visit to Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázn? last summer, I’ve formed an obsession with Central Europe’s historic spa towns, which is why this Easter Holiday I find myself in the town of Baden bei Wien, a Biedermeier spa town just 20 minutes by train from Vienna .

Baden, meaning “bath” in English, has been famed for its thermal sulfuric waters ever

since the Romans, but to look at it today it looks more like a playground for the Viennese elite of the 19th century with classical columns sprouting out of stately buildings like trees, complete with a casino and domed structures inscribed with the word -bad some where in their name.

On first impressions, Baden seems compact and peaceful. Two storey houses line the roads, where the local stadtbahn slinks by on its way back to Wien Oper on its hour long commute. The air feels clean, decontaminated from city life as the breeze comes down from the Vienna Hills surrounding the valley. In the distance, ruined castles pepper the hills to one side, to the other vines in their springtime infancy dot the landscape.

Like Mariánské Lázn?, I feel Baden was landscaped for healing, with stretches of

parkland that carry the aroma of pines and botanicals – alas the Rosarium, a park

filled with 30,000 roses won’t come into bloom till June – and architecture that evokes the World of Yesterday described in the novels of Stefan Zweig.

In fact, Zweig spent summers in Baden, describing the blue skies and the summer time strolls through the town when the news of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination broke, the fuse for World War I ignited as the music cut on the bandstand during the daily concert.

But strolling through the cobbled streets and slipping in and out of the winding paths up the Kurpark, it’s not Zweig who is present but a German composer whose memory lingers in the town. From the Beethoven weg that winds up the Kurpark to collonades of the Beethoven Temple the Beethovenhaus downtown, Baden has Beethoven inscribed in every street and park. The German composer loved the town, and came here 17 times, even composing parts of his epic 9th Symphony while taking the waters in the town.

The small townhouse in the heart of Baden houses a small museum dedicated to the composer, with artifacts and a musical lab to explain how Beethoven composed whilehis hearing deteriorated by using bone conduction, but the main focus is on his stay in Baden. His deteriorating health mean the composer came to the town (only three hours by stagecoach from Vienna those days) to take the water. Baden’s water has been used since the Romans, with sulfuric water that bubbles up at 36C that’s said to have curative properties.

Many of the historic baths have been converted into tourist information centers or wine bars, and a few like the Römertherme, got a modern upgrade with a huge glass roof extending over the Biedermeier era building, and in the summer there there is an art deco lido that opens up along the river banks. Although it seems like Baden’s water culture has faded over the past century, the smell of sulfur permeates through the air besides the Franzenbad Hamam down by the river and the spirit of healing still stretches through the town.

Whether you’re grabbing a coffee in one of the numerous elegant cafés dotted in and around the center or taking a stroll through the Kurpark, Baden is a city made for recovery and relaxation. The park mixes up the feel of a landscape garden, with colonnaded temples to Beethoven and Mozart with spring flowers, yew and chestnut trees hobnobbing with aromatic pines. Sweeping views from the windswept Beethoven temple capture the town with its church spires and art nouveau theaters, quaint houses and vine yards in the distance.

Baden is not a city you come to where you rush to take in a million sites and museums, like nearby Vienna. It’s a refuge where you can easily lose hours in the thermal pools at the Römertherme or exploring the winding paths of the Kurpark. Some even come to gamble at its elegant casino, where I know even my poshest clothes wouldn’t get me past the door. I try to imaging the Rosarium in June when the 30,000 roses are in bloom, but now only the perfume of pines fill the clean air. Baden forces me to relax, to savor the scent of the trees and the blooming flowers, to listen to the birds singing in the trees and feel the water against my skin. Next week is back to the grind, but for now, time stands still.

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About the author.

Jennifer Walker

Jennifer Walker is an Anglo-Hungarian writer Budapest, Hungary. After a sordid past involving a career in Nuclear Physics, and after completing her PhD, Jennifer threw caution - and physics - to the winds to follow the cliché expat writing dream. She's lived in the UK, Hungary, Spain, Germany, Georgia and India. She's passionate about making up stories, the arts, surrealism, underground culture, dilapidated art nouveau buildings, languages and travel. She is the co-author of the Moon Prague, Vienna & Budapest guide. You can learn more about her at her website .

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Amazing post.Thanks for the blog.Love reading your post and love to visit here.thanks for sharing.

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Aktiv für Baden und Umgebung

Herzlich Willkommen im Weltkurort Baden bei Wien!

Südlich von Wien, inmitten des sonnenverwöhnten Weinbaugebiets Thermenregion am Rande des Wienerwaldes, lädt die elegante und moderne Kurstadt Baden zum Besuch ein. Einst kaiserliche Sommerresidenz bietet die Stadt erstklassige Unterkünfte, ein reiches Angebot an kulturellen und kulinarischen Genüssen, effiziente Wellness und SPA-Einrichtungen sowie ein Congress Center und Casino direkt im Kurpark. Zahlreiche Möglichkeiten stehen für attraktive Erholungs-, Business-, Shopping- und Freizeitaufenthalte zur Verfügung. Aus den 14 natürlichen Schwefelthermalquellen in Baden, sprudeln täglich mehr als 4 Millionen Liter Schwefelthermalwasser mit 32 bis 36 Grad Celsius. Zwischen 1804 und 1834 entwickelte sich Baden bei Wien zu „Kaiserlichen Sommerresidenz“, als der Habsburgische Hof unter Kaiser Franz I. jeden Sommer hier verbrachte. Ihm folgten Aristokratie wie auch Kunstwelt, die in der Kurstadt elegante Palais und Villen bauten, die dem Stadtbild bis heute seinen typischen Biedermeiercharakter und das imperiale Flair verleihen. Ludwig van Beethoven komponierte u. a. wichtige Teile der Neunten Symphonie, die Ode an die Freude, in Baden. Seit 2021 ist die Kurstadt Baden als eine der 11 führenden Kurstädte Europas Mitglied der Vereinigung UNESCO – Great Spa Towns of Europe.

Überblick über die vielfältigen Aktivitäten des Tourismusvereins und Präsentation der Kurstadt Baden von heute und aus der Römerzeit.

Der Verein & Vorstand

Geschenke & Souvenirs

Kooperationen & Projekte

Informationen über Hotels und Pensionen, Kur und Rehakliniken, Restaurants, Heurigenbetriebe, Cafés sowie über alle touristischen Angebote, Veranstaltungen, Aktuelles, etc. der Stadtgemeinde Baden

Social Media und Co.

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UNESCO - Great Spa Towns of Europe

Dafür stehen die 11 führenden Kurstädte Europas. Gemeinsam wurden sie vom UNESCO Welterbekomitee als Great Spa Towns of Europe am 24.7.2021 in die Liste des UNESCO Welterbes eingetragen. 

UNESCO Welterbeführung

UNESCO-Welterbe seit Juli 2021

Die Great Spa Towns of Europe

11 herausragende Kurstädte Europas stellen sich vor

Great Spa Towns of Europe Packages & Produkte

Genießen Sie das UNESCO Welterbe in der Stadt Baden bei Wien!

Die heilenden Quellen Badens - Das gelbe Gold der Stadt

Baden bei Wien ist größtes österreichisches Kurbad mit besonderer Bedeutung im 19. Jahrhundert.

Die Terrainkur in Baden bei Wien

1887 wurde sie im Kurorte eingeführt und findet heute ein Revival in der UNESCO Welterbestadt Baden bei Wien.

Daliy trip to Baden bei Wien

Posted January 19, 2016 by Vienna Insider under Austria , Travel

Looking for an inspiration for a day trip to a cute place near Vienna? Then Baden near Vienna might just be the right choice. This charming little town, once an imperial summer residence, is above all well known as Baden spa and water springs with curative properties. This time we didn’t visit the spa, but took a nice walk exploring the streets and other sights of Baden. What we loved the most about this place was – the people! It was such a pleasant surprise to experience friendly and communicative shop owners and be greeted with a smile by so many people we encountered. This  is something unfortunately not very common practice in Vienna, where being grumpy is kind of normal thing. So whenever we become eager for warmness in the future, there is Baden only 26km away from Vienna, to welcome us. 🙂 Apart from the people, Baden has very nice architecture, abundance of adorable stores, good food and many nice places to visit. One of them, which we due to cold weather missed this time, is Rosarium – the largest rose garden in Austria. They bloom twice a year – in June and October, so next time we visit Baden will definitely be June, at the latest. Because as there are many beautiful parks there, we can already imagine how nice it looks like in blooming spring.

Hope you will enjoy our post and if you have some Baden tips, please share them with us! 🙂 And if you are looking for more ideas for a daily trip close to Vienna, check our posts about Laxenberg ,  Neusiedel am See  or Podersdorf .

Una and Isi

Baden Bei Wien Click here  for more information about Baden. PS: Badner Bahn, famous Viennese white-blue tram, which stops by the Opera, will take you in about hour and a half directly to this cute town.

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[…] of Wiener Neustadt. You can even leave it to visit really cute Christmas markets in the town of Baden (check our post from Christmas in Baden here), Moedling or Wiener Neustadt. The train has catering, so don’t worry if you get hungry you […]

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visitBaden by Peter

• Ferienwohnung

Bei Peter in Baden bei Wien

in Zentrumsnähe geräumige Ferienwohnung mit 2 Schlafzimmern für je 2 Personen, also insgesamt 4 Personen auf 74 m²

mit eigenem Bad/WC eigener Küche und eigenem Speiseraum. Schnelles Internet!  Nur mit erneuerbarer Energie betrieben.

keine Haustiere

Willkommen in Baden, dem Weltkulturerbe "Great Spa Towns of Europe" ein Ort wo sich Kaiser und Könige wohlfühlten und die großen Komponisten ihre Inspiration fanden. Entspanntes Lebensgefühl trifft auf historische Tradition.

geräumige Unterkunft visit Baden, in Zentrumsnähe beim Kurpark 5 Personen 2 Schlafzimmer

geräumige Unterkunft visit Baden, in Zentrumsnähe beim Kurpark

European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA)

Historic Thermal Towns

Baden bei Wien (Austria)

Archaeological finds place Neolithic camps in the centre of the spring field, long before the Romans in the Imperial Province of “Pannonia” bathed in the sulphur rich waters to soothe their aching joints and muscles. The hot springs at Baden bei Wien were in use in the middle ages, and the town gradually developed by the 13th century to the side of the springs, rather than directly above them. As early as 1276 the Kaisers of the House of Habsburg visited , indeed owned, the springs, beginning a long tradition of royal patronage, which continued well into the 19th century, leading Baden bei Wien to be known as the “Spa of Emperors”.

Baden bei Wien is one of the eleven  Great Spa Towns of Europe , inscribed on the World Heritage List since 2021. 

Geschäftsgruppe Tourismus der Stadtgemeinde Baden

A - 2500 Baden bei Wien, Brusattiplatz 3

+43 (0) 2252 / 86 800 - 600

www.tourismus.baden.at/

The then Prince of Wales, who was later to become King Edward VII of England, visited Bad Homburg a total of 32 times. On a side note, it was he who popularised the famous “Homburg hat”.

Springs & Spas

Bad Homburg’s Mineral Springs

• Ursprungsquelle(original spring)
• Frauenquelle
• Karolinenquelle
• Josefsquelle
• Mariazellerhofquelle
• Perigriniquelle
• Leopoldsquelle
• Franzensquelle
• Johannesquelle
• Ferdinandsquelle
• Sauerhofquelle
• Engelsbadquelle
• Petersquelle
• Marienquelle, (latest and most productive spring tapped in 1924)

Aquae Pannonicae (water in the province of Pannonia)

Neolithic times

Hottest Spring

Chemical elements.

Sulphur, Calcium Carbonate compounds, Calcium Chloride and Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salt)

Discovering the Spa Town

Baden bei Wien has always attracted famous and fashionable visitors, becoming a world-class spa resort by 1870, and remains a very popular tourist destination to this day. Some of Baden bei Wien’s most notable guests are musical legends, often composing celebrated works in the town – Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Mozart’s haunting Ave Verum Corpus are two of the most famous examples, while the Joseph Lanner, one of the earliest Viennese composers to perform the waltz, and Johann Strauß the Elder and Younger performed for guests at many different venues throughout the town.

The political, artistic and scientific elite of the Enlightenment met here (particularly during the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15), and the legacy of all these famous visitors can be seen today in the magnificent villas, hotels and spa facilities which were built to accommodate them.

Modern-day visitors to the Kurhaus and four other large privately-owned spas make good use of the 2 million litres of curative thermal water that bubble up under the town in fourteen springs.

Conditions treated here include rheumatism and arthrosis, chronic inflammation, and regeneration of connective tissue and cartilage . Visitors also enjoy the Kurpark and other landscaped gardens, the Congress Casino, two historic theatres, six museums and a racecourse, lido and international festivals such as the 120 year old Festival of Operetta, the biggest photographic festival in Europe the (LaGacilly-Baden-Photo) and the Festival of Roses.