Germany has a long history of spas and wellness. The Romans appreciated the hot springs in Baden-Baden and, from the 18th and 19th centuries, the royalty of Europe and other aristocrats would meet in the great German spa towns.
You can still get a taste of the life they enjoyed with a historic (and nude) bathing experience in Friedrichsbad or by staying at spas like Villa Stephanie at Brenner’s Park Hotel & Spa in Baden-Baden, one of the best spas in Germany.
Germany has about 900 spa centers, including mineral and mud spas, climatic health centers (known for fresh air), seaside resorts, and Kniepp hydrotherapy spa centers.
If you want to enjoy the big resort town of Baden-Baden or elaborate Bad Duerrheim public baths, head to the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemburg. It borders France and shares that country’s love for food and great culinary traditions, so you can eat exceptionally well there.
Differences between American and German spas
If you go, there are a few differences between American spas and German spas that you should be aware of:
German spas have a more relaxed attitude towards spa nudity. Therapists don’t care as much about elaborate draping techniques, and saunas and steam rooms are mixed and nude. It is also easy if you relax.
Hotel spas don’t have elaborate changing rooms like American spas. Most people stroll to the spa in their robes. They’re nice, but they don’t have the super luxurious and over the top feel of the bigger American spas (unless you’re in the sauna and steam wing, in which case they’re more luxurious).
The sauna and steam rooms are more sophisticated: more rooms, a range of temperatures, hot and cold plunge pools, scents and special lighting. In Bad Duerrheim, near Donaueschingen, he approaches Fantasyland. Think igloo rooms, open fireplaces you can warm your feet with, chamomile-scented steam rooms, and a real live person churning the air in the Finnish sauna, just to make it hotter.
Public toilets are a great bargain. For between € 5 and € 30, a fraction of the cost of a massage in the United States, you can spend the day moving from pool to pool, some large like a pool, some more for lounging. It’s a delightful way for lovers and the elderly to spend the afternoon (and sometimes they are the same).
Spa terminology is a bit different in Europe. Hotel-affiliated spas often have a “beauty farm.” This is the part of the spa that deals with facials and makeup. This distinguishes it from the “medical” or “wellness” part of the spa, where people are massaged, sometimes on prescription, and healed.
There are no language barriers in big cities like Stuttgart or in major destinations like Baden-Baden. But once you get off the beaten track, don’t assume everyone will speak perfect, fluent English. While most Germans have studied it, they could be a bit rusty. If you don’t know German, get a phrase book.
