What's new in Baden-Baden?
Discover the latest news from Baden-Baden, from the (re)opening of new hotels and restaurants to shops and tours.
New Connection: Berlin Is Back
Berlin Makes a Comeback: VINI and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport Develop New Connection to the Capital.
The Berlin-based startup VINI, in partnership with Baden-Airpark, is launching a soft launch in October and November on the route between Schönhagen/Trebbin, south of Berlin, and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport, with flights on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, including a direct bus connection from Berlin-Mitte. A gradual expansion is planned starting in 2027.
The preliminary flight schedule is as follows:
- Outbound flight: Departure from Schönhagen/Trebbin at 5:30 p.m., arrival in Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden at 7:00 p.m.
- Return flight: Departure from Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden at 7:30 a.m., arrival in Schönhagen/Trebbin at 9:00 a.m.
- Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from October through December 2026.
The final flight schedule, including bus connections, will be published when booking opens. For more information and booking: https://www.flyvini.com/de
Reopening of the Badischer Hof
A legend returns.
Some buildings hold a city’s history within their walls. The Badische Hof is one such building. Once a Capuchin monastery, then one of Germany’s first palace hotels, and today one of Baden-Baden’s historic luxury hotels.
Following a comprehensive renovation, this historic hotel is slowly reopening its doors as part of the Leonardo Limited Edition: The 153 rooms and suites combine timeless elegance with first-class comfort; the La Fontaine restaurant blends French influences with the flavors of the region; the historic staircase hall invites guests to enjoy afternoon tea; and soothing thermal waters bubble in the wellness area.
The hotel’s full reopening is scheduled for fall 2026.
New City Guides
15 new city guides for Baden-Baden
The training programme is demanding – and the range of topics is as diverse as the job requirements. Knowledge of history and art history, cultural awareness, strong public speaking and communication skills, excellent foreign language skills, an interest in current urban development, and a genuine enjoyment of interacting with people from all over the world are among the requirements that official Baden-Baden City Guides must meet.
We congratulate the 15 new City Guides on successfully completing their training and welcome them to our team of guides, which now comprises 50 guides. Get to know the city with our guides, discover the unexpected and hear personal stories – our guides love and live ‘The good-good life’.
Apart from German, our city and themed guided tours are also available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese and Chinese.
Sightseeing App
Discover Baden-Baden digitally, interactively, and around the clock
The zeigmal. app is the digital guide to Baden-Baden. The app combines traditional city tour content with modern technology: thanks to the built-in GPS function on smartphones, zeigmal. automatically detects when users are approaching a point of interest and immediately plays relevant content. Depending on the location, users have access to informative texts, audio stories narrated by three Baden-Baden tour guides, and augmented reality experiences—including historical images that appear exactly at their original locations, allowing users to take a journey back in time to the city’s past.
The zeigmal app complements our range of traditional in-person city tours and is available to guests 24/7, all year round. The app offers two modes of use:
- In discovery mode, the app responds to your current location and alerts you to nearby attractions in real time.
- In recommended tours mode, themed routes guide you through Baden-Baden in a structured way.
The zeigmal. app is available for free in the App Store and Google Play Store and comes in ten languages.
Discover Baden-Baden by City Train & E-Carriage
New sightseeing tours through Baden-Baden
With the City Train and the elegant electric carriage, two new, charming vehicles are now available for stylish city tours. These lovingly designed vehicles let you discover the most beautiful spots in the Oos Valley in a relaxed way.
City Train – the „Good‑Good Train“
On its approximately 45-minute tour, the City Train takes you to the most beautiful spots in Baden-Baden: along Lichtentaler Allee to Lichtental Monastery, past the Russian Church, Augustaplatz, the thermal baths, and the MerkurBergbahn valley station, and back to the Kurhaus Colonnades, where the tour begins and ends.
With a top speed of 25 km/h, you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the city at a leisurely pace - taking in views you’d hardly notice on foot. An audio guide in several languages accompanies the ride, sharing stories about architecture, culture, and the good-good life between the Kurhaus and the Black Forest.
E-Carriage
No clatter of hooves, but just as elegant: The E-Carriage showcases Baden-Baden’s quiet, modern side on three different tours lasting between 30 and 45 minutes. It glides silently through tree-lined avenues and parks, past historic buildings and blooming gardens. A stylish way to experience Baden-Baden in an eco-friendly way.
You can purchase tickets for the E-Carriage and the City Train directly from the driver or online.
The good-good talk. The Baden-Baden podcast
This is what the unique Baden-Baden lifestyle sounds like
In the new podcast series “The good-good talk,” host Nora Waggershauser and co-host Carl-Georg Gruner speak with people who are making a difference in this city. The guests are prominent figures from Baden-Baden whose work shapes the city’s way of life, values, and hospitality. Each episode thus offers new perspectives on what makes Baden-Baden so special - and on what unites us all: The good-good life.
Episode 1 premieres on March 1 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the BBT channels.
Biodiversity: Preserving our natural heritage
Climate-resilient tree species for a healthy city forest
The natural diversity around Baden-Baden is evident in meadows, forest edges, and near-natural woodlands. The city forest plays a central role in this - as a habitat, a climate protector, and a recreational area. However, drought, heat, and storms are taking an increasing toll on it.
This is precisely where the first project comes in: New, climate-resilient tree species are intended to strengthen the forest and secure its biodiversity in the long term. They cope better with rising temperatures and longer dry spells, thereby helping to keep the ecosystem stable.
Why the focus on the city forest?
This is the starting point - but the project has bigger plans: In the future, species-rich hay meadows, sunny forest edges, and abandoned vineyards will also be included. Step by step, this will lead to comprehensive protection of valuable habitats in Baden-Baden.
Guided tour: Baden-Baden at Christmas
New guided tour of the Old Town, the Christmas Market, and the Spa District
This new two-hour guided walking tour combines the festive atmosphere of the Christmas Market with insights into the historic old town and the traditional spa district. Along the way, you’ll come across unique handicrafts, the scents of winter and some of the city’s most picturesque photo spots.
Some of the tour’s highlights: mulled wine / glass ornaments / enchanting nativity scenes / historic old town
When do the guided tours take place?
- Dates for German-speaking visitors: 28 November 2025 to 6 January 2026
Monday to Thursday: 2.00 pm | Friday to Sunday: 12.00 pm - Guided tours in other languages
English: Saturdays, 2.30 pm | French: Fridays, 2.30 pm
Golf: Green fee reduction
50% discount on green fees once a year
With the Baden-Baden Guest Card, you can also enjoy benefits on the golf course: once a year, our guests receive a 50% discount on green fees at selected partner clubs in the region.
Requirements:
- Presentation of the Baden-Baden Guest Card at check-in
- Advance booking of a tee time, mentioning the Guest Card
- Membership of a golf club (national or international)
- Presentation of a valid handicap
Discover the participating golf clubs and secure your tee time with the guest card benefit:
Europäischer Hof: Grand reopening
On 14 August 2025, the Steigenberger Icon Europäischer Hof will reopen its doors following extensive refurbishment.
- Following extensive refurbishment, the Steigenberger Icon Europäischer Hof Baden-Baden will celebrate its reopening in the summer of 2025 – a grand hotel that combines timeless elegance with a contemporary lifestyle.
- The Steigenberger Icon Europäischer Hof offers 126 individually designed rooms, suites and apartments – characterised by clean lines, high-quality materials and thoughtful comfort. Smart technology, peaceful retreats and views of the castle, park or courtyard create a stylish atmosphere.
- Culinary-wise, the hotel specialises in sophisticated European cuisine with French influences and a carefully curated wine list. The LUIZA Rooftop Bar with its terrace, as well as the historic ‘Auerhuhn’ lounge with its open fireplace, enhance the dining experience with unique views and moments of tranquillity.
- The Vault Spa & Suites covers an area of 1,300 m² and offers stylish spa suites and modern relaxation rooms – perfect for an exclusive retreat of the highest standard.
- With the opening of Germany’s first Porsche Studio in a hotel, the Europäischer Hof is set to become a hotspot for car enthusiasts – offering a unique brand experience in the heart of Baden-Baden.
- Just a short walk from blooming gardens, art and culture, the hotel serves as a new hub for discerning travellers – in a city that embraces and reimagines European lifestyle.
Reopening of Fritz & Felix and Restaurant Wintergarten
We will have to wait a little longer for the long-awaited reopening of the Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa – but we are all the more delighted that these two restaurants are reopening their doors following a creative hiatus whilst the main building was being modernised.
Fritz & Felix
The trendy Fritz & Felix restaurant serves up top-quality cuts of meat, the finest fish and unusual vegetarian and vegan creations from around the world. At the legendary Charcoa Grill, the centrepiece of the open kitchen, Chef Farid Fazel creates unique flavour combinations.
The award-winning wine list and extravagant drinks from the urban Fritz & Felix bar round off your culinary journey.
Fritz & Felix follows the seasons and uses primarily seasonal produce from the region.
Restaurant Wintergarten
In the light-filled Wintergarten and on the picturesque park terrace overlooking Lichtentaler Allee, Brenner’s culinary classics meet contemporary haute cuisine.
The kitchen team at Restaurant Wintergarten combines the culinary traditions of the Baden region with French influences, using carefully selected regional produce to create haute cuisine with a modern twist.
Steinway Gallery Baden-Baden
For the first time, Steinway & Sons grand and upright pianos can be experienced first-hand in Baden-Baden – instruments that are unrivalled worldwide in terms of precision, expressiveness and tonal depth. The Steinway Gallery is an exclusive venue where outstanding sound quality, precision craftsmanship and the cultural flair of this spa town come together.
- For over 170 years, Steinway grand pianos have been regarded as the gold standard in piano-making – crafted from over 12,000 individual parts, masterfully finished by hand, and the instrument of choice for 98 per cent of international concert pianists.
- Why Baden-Baden? Baden-Baden is the ideal location for the Labianca family: “Many of our loyal Steinway customers live here, and the renowned Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, one of Europe’s most important concert halls, regularly attracts world-class stars and music lovers from all over the world. This unique cultural appeal fits perfectly with our vision of making the world of Steinway & Sons even more accessible.”
- What can you expect? Claudio Labianca: ‘In our new gallery, we are showcasing the masterpieces of Steinway & Sons, including the innovative Spirio model, a self-playing grand piano that combines craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technology. Our aim is to offer you a first-class musical experience in an exceptional setting – true to our motto: ‘Close to people, close to the piano.’’
New shops, cafés and restaurants in Baden-Baden
Check out this overview of the latest (re)openings of shops, cafés and restaurants, just waiting for you to discover them.