Baden-Baden - 'the green town of short distances' - is perfect for taking a break from the routines of daily life. Its entire ambience is conducive to relaxation. Recharge your batteries on long, leisurely strolls through parks and gardens. Follow up a soothing session at a thermal bath with a visit to one of many cafes. Indulge in window shopping while en route to a beauty treatment. Take in the natural splendors of the Lichtentaler Allee during a jog through this famous park. Golf, tennis, mountain biking, climbing or horseback riding. Here, where the ambience is right, being active is synonymous with pleasure.

So what is it that makes Baden-Baden special? Nowhere else will you find the sophistication and flair of a major city presented within such a charming, small-town setting. During evenings, top-rated restaurants, the elegant Casino, the Festival Hall, the Baden-Baden Theater and the Kurhaus are all locales inviting guests to round out the day in style.

Baden-Baden has always set health standards. And so it's only fitting that, since 1996, the Spa Awards have been presented here. In 2000, it was the famous German actress Hannelore Elsner's turn to receive the coveted award. The word 'spa', by the way, is derived from the Latin 'sanus per aquam', meaning 'healthy through water'. In Baden-Baden, where 800,000 litres of soothing, healing thermal waters flow from 23 springs each day, the term has taken on - quite literally - the ancient Roman meaning.

Baden-Baden's spas go far beyond classic cure therapies: Anti-stress massages and bubbling spring baths. Far Eastern Shiatsu and Hawaiian Lomi-Lomi. Permanent make-up and individualized fitness programmes. These are just a few of the options.

The spa hotels have devised outstanding and, in some cases, unique facilities and treatments. The Brenner's Park Hotel & Spa, for instance, has a 'Spa Suite' and the world only 'Bulgari Cabin'. The clinics offer either quick or more thorough health check-ups as well as such programmes as 'Fitness for Executives' and 'Golf & Health'.

Beauty and well-being are the prime objectives at many of the first-class specialized health institutes as well. And finally there are the two thermals baths of the town, perfect for those who simply yearn for relaxation and rejuvenation.

A new brochure published by Baden-Baden Marketing presents travellers with every option to make them fit, healthy and beautiful. Called 'Take Time for Health, Beauty & Well-Being', it contains a wealth of programmes and packages offered by the town's hotels, clinics, specialized health institutes and thermal baths. A free copy (fully in english) is available from the Convention & Visitors’s Office, address see below.