The Art of Bathing Naked at Baden-Baden’s Friedrichsbad
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The Germans sure know how to take a bath!
In Baden-Baden, nestled in the foothills of the Black Forest, more than 210,000 gallons of hot mineral-rich water bubble up daily from 12 thermal springs. Not surprisingly, this beautiful spa town has several places to soak.
The Friedrichsbad is the best Baden-Baden spa – if you don’t mind a co-ed, clothing-free experience. (Yes, we did it!)
This historic bathhouse elevates the simple act of getting clean into a decadent 3½-hour indulgence.
And just like you have to go to a Turkish hammam in Istanbul, when in Baden-Baden, you must visit the Friedrichsbad!
Here’s what to expect – ritual stages, nude bathing days and more!
Pssst! Not ready to bare it all? Friedrichsbad has “swimwear days.” And right next door, Caracalla Therme offers a fabulous swimsuit-friendly alternative (we cover it at the end of this post).
Featured reader comments
“Oh my – I don’t think I’d be comfortable enough with all of the nudity to enjoy the experience. I’d be making my way to the other spa (with my bathing suit) instead :-).”
~ Jill
“I went there last year and had a very good time. It was August and very hot, and after the baths, it was the cleanest I’d felt the whole trip.
The nudity was a bit different but I figured that I would never see any one there again, and I really wanted to experience the Roman bath. I would most definitely go again!”
~ Jim
Contents: Guide to visiting the Friedrichsbad spa
The Friedrichsbad, Baden-Baden: History
The Friedrichsbad was built at the end of Baden-Baden’s Belle Epoque as the summer capital of Europe, when Queen Victoria, Dostoevsky, King Ludwig of Bavaria and Brahms would stroll its leafy Lichtentaler Allee park.
Baden-Baden’s famous casino (described later by Marlene Dietrich as the “most beautiful” in the world) had closed, and the town needed a new attraction.
Hence the Friedrichsbad – an enormous neoclassical palace – opened in 1877, dedicated to the art of bathing.
And whether you spend a week or a weekend in Baden-Baden, be sure to carve out time for this iconic spa experience!
German spa etiquette
Be prepared to leave your modesty outside.
Have you heard of textile-free spas? The Friedrichsbad is one of them. You’ll strip completely (all part of the German sauna culture) and be in a “textile-free zone” (i.e., swimsuits are verboten).
These Baden-Baden baths are also co-ed.
The Germans are quite used to this. It’s only the tourists who look sheepish.
And we have to admit we felt uncomfortable too for a while at the beginning of our Friedrichsbad bath journey – until we started to relax and enjoy our time.
Friedrichsbad baths: 17 stages of pleasure
You follow a 17-step ritual combining Roman-Irish bathing traditions.
First you get butt naked. Then you walk from one opulent tiled room to another.
The rooms are filled with clouds of steam, hot dry air or pools of varying temperatures. Signs along the way indicate the recommended amount of time you should spend at the different stations.
You should allow at least three hours for this exclusive bathing treat. And even then, time will fly.
When Mark Twain took to the thermal waters at the Friedrichsbad, he wrote, “You lose track of time within ten minutes and track of the world within twenty.”
Getting squeaky clean at this Baden-Baden spa!
Stage 1: Shower
A white-garbed attendant (and she’s a female attendant in the ladies’ locker room) guides you to the shower room for a strong hot dunk under a showerhead as big as a dinner plate.
Stages 2 and 3: Warm- and hot-air bath
You recline on a teak lounger, first in a vaulted warm room, then in a hot sauna room, while staring up at decorative tiles of peacocks, flowers and lily ponds.
Your body temperature rises, and you begin to sweat.
Stage 4: Shower again
Take another shower under another huge showerhead.
Stage 5: Brush and soap massage
This is the brush and soap massage – lie down on a white marble bed in a white marble room, and a masseuse lathers you like a baby, massages you and scrubs you with a stiff brush.
And, yes, she slaps you on the backside when done.
Stage 6: Shower
Rinse off again. (You’re starting to feel quite clean by now!)
Stages 7 and 8: Thermal steam baths
Then it’s on to a thermal steam room, with massive mysterious-looking copper pipes coiled around exposed rocks.
Grab a clean white fanny pad, and sit on a stepped pyramid-shaped block in the center. The higher you sit, the hotter the steam (48 degrees C).
Move on next to another room for a slightly hotter thermal steam bath.
Stages 9 and 10: Thermal full bath and whirlpool bath
Next stop: Statues of a Roman god and goddess greet you at a warm pool, which is followed by a cooler whirlpool bath.
We half-expected slaves to emerge and feed us grapes.
Stage 11: Thermal exercise bath
Finally, you reach a large swimming pool, encircled by gold columns, with an elaborately painted domed roof (55 feet high) and stucco cupids.
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The water temperature is perfect here for swimming a few gentle laps.
Stage 12: Shower
Head back to the shower room again.
Stage 13: Cold water bath
From here, a freezing cold plunge awaits.
Yes, you must do it. And it feels very cold after all those hot-air baths and warm water soaks!
Stages 14 and 15: Drying off and cream massage
The water journey ends with another shower and a gigantic warm corn towel, followed by getting your skin massaged and moisturized with lotion.
Our favorite part of these Baden-Baden thermal baths?
And then the best part – a well-earned nap in a luxurious relaxation room (Stage 16).
“Are you ready for bed?” an attendant asked as we were led to a heavily draped room, where she wrapped each of us up in a warm blanket and offered to wake us 30 minutes later.
Stage 17, the last stage is enjoyable too, as you get to finish with a cup of tea as you thumb through different language magazines in the reading room.
Friedrichsbad Roman-Irish bath
You may hear the Friedrichsbad described as Roman-Irish baths, and for good reason.
Beneath the spa lie the ruins of 2,000-year old Roman baths. The Romans too liked bathing in stages, and the onsite museum has artifacts showcasing their bathing culture – like a strigl, a sickle-shaped tool used for scraping the skin after sweating in the caldarium.
The “Irish” bathing part of this Germany spa is the hot-air bath or sauna component.
Irish hot-air baths were championed by an Irish doctor, Richard Barter, in the late 1800s. He believed that sweating in dry hot air had health benefits, and he was involved in building bath houses in Cork, Dublin for medical treatments.
Hours and nude days
Hours
The Friedrichsbad baths are normally open seven days a week, from 9 am to 10 pm. The last admission is three hours before closing.
It’s closed on December 24 and 25. Hours are shorter on December 31, when it closes at 8 pm.
You don’t have to make a reservation.
Nude days
Five days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday), the Friedrichsbad is strictly nude bathing only (with no same-sex days or hours). That means it’s mixed-sex bathing at all times on these days.
Swimwear days
Wednesdays and Saturdays are reserved for “swimwear days,” meaning swimsuits are required. It’s the perfect option if you want to experience the baths without going nude – especially in mixed company!
More information
See the spa’s website.
Caracalla, Baden-Baden (not a naked German spa)
We think the Friedrichsbad is the best spa in Baden-Baden.
But if you’re not comfortable trying on the nude German spa experience – or want to experience a different spa – the modern Caracalla spa is a great way to get your soak on. Bathing suits are worn here, so it comes without the gawk factor.
The Caracalla Therme is ginormous.
It offers more than 43,000 square feet of space to splash about, including steam rooms (with aromatherapy infusions), a hot water grotto, cold plunge pools and a brine inhalation room plus a swim-through passage to outdoor pools in the gardens.
There are no “stages” like at the Friedrichsbad – you move about as you please. Many people enjoy this freedom.
For more information about the Caracalla Therme, see their website.
Where to stay in Baden-Baden
We bedded down at the lovely Hotel Belle-Epoque.
A villa built in 1874 and now a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, it has 20 rooms and suites decorated in Louis XIV, Victorian and other different styles.
That wraps up our guide on the Friedrichsbad spa!
Both the Friedrichsbad and Caracalla are two gorgeous Baden-Baden spas. You can’t go wrong whichever you choose.
But for a completely different experience, pick the Friedrichsbad.
Would you be comfortable bathing nude at co-ed baths?
Let us know below! You can also read comments from other readers.
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