Thermal baths
Caracalla Therme
Tel +49 7221 275940 fax +49 7221 275980, [email protected]. (http://www.carasana.de/ho...) every day, 8am-10pm. follow the steam rising off the outdoor pools to find this modern bathing complex. your ticket gets you into the pool area where you'll find a cafe, several indoor and outdoor pools, whirlpools, waterfalls, water jets and so on and the upstairs roman sauna scape. â¬14-20 for 2-4 hours. no children under 3.
Friedrichsbad
Tel +49 7221 275920 fax +49 7221 275980, [email protected]. (http://www.carasana.de/ho...). m-sa 9am-10pm, su 12pm-8pm. friedrichsbad is a beautiful temple to traditional bathing culture, built in 1877, complete with statues and decorative tiling and culminating in a circular central pool in an ornate domed hall. in these elegant surroundings, the roman-irish bath rã¶misch-irisches bad is a programme of heat, massage, steam and water that will detoxify and rejuvenate any weary traveller. it's a wonderful, deeply relaxing experience. â¬21 for 3 hours optional massage â¬8 extra. no children under 14.
Römerplatz, the heart of the bath quarter Badeviertel, is five minutes' walk from Leopoldplatz through the pedestrian zone. In Römerplatz you can see the ruins of the Roman baths and take to the thermal waters yourself at Caracalla Therme and Friedrichsbad. More details:
Roman bath ruins
rã¶mische badruinen, adjacent to the underground car park below rã¶merplatz. tel +49 7221 275934. (http://www.badruinen.de/) every day, 11am-5pm. small area of excavations with good audioguide in english. â¬2.
(http://www.carasana.de/ho...)
Caracalla Therme spa is unlike its sister Friedrichsbad Spa next door in that swimming costumes are required to be worn at all times in the pools. The upstairs sauna area is nude only however and you should be warned is mixed sexed for those with a prudish nature. Once you have removed your swimwear however you are free to enjoy a wonderful series of indoor and outdoor saunas, steam rooms, plunge pools, hot tubs and relaxation areas at your leisure. This is a unique and highly invigerating experience to be tried at least once in your life time.
The procedure at Friedrichsbad is unique, so read these instructions carefully before you go in, especially if you don't speak German. Buy your ticket at the entrance, plus a token for the soap-and-brush massage Seifenbürstenmassage if you want. At the top of the stairs, men and women go into separate changing rooms and follow the programme separately for the first hour or so this traditional procedure is now only followed on three days of the week -- see the website. Take off all your clothes and put them in a locker, inserting your ticket into the slot inside the door before locking it. Naked, follow the sign to the baths, where an attendant will greet you. Follow the numbered sequence of rooms. Each room has a sign in English on the wall telling you how long you should spend there. You'll be given a towel and bath shoes at the first shower. You need these for the hot rooms you must lie or sit on your towel. After the hot rooms, you reach the massage station, where you must hand back your towel, shoes and token. After the massage, proceed to the steam rooms and shower again before going through to the pool area, where men and women bathe naked together in pools at three different temperatures. When you've had enough, head back via the cold plunge pool and the sleeping room, to be wrapped in blankets for half an hour.
Walk
Along the river oos or in the hills and forests around the town. the tourist office at the trinkhalle can sell you a booklet of walks based on bus routes. the walking is generally easy, but for maximum reward for minimum effort, take bus 204/205 to the merkur bergbahn funicular railway, ride up to the cafe at the top, and walk back via the old castle altes schloss.