Wiesbaden

Wiesbaden, the state capital of Hesse, is about 40 km west of Frankfurt, reached in around 40 minutes by direct S-Bahn (S1/S8/S9) or regional train, or about 35 minutes by car via the A66. A mid-morning arrival leaves ample time, since the city's main sights cluster around the center near the station. The day typically opens at the Kurhaus, a Belle Époque building housing the Spielbank Wiesbaden casino, one of Germany's oldest, with its columned facade and formal gardens fronting the Bowling Green lawn. From the Kurhaus, the morning suits a walk through the pedestrian old town toward the Marktkirche and the neoclassical Hessian State Theatre nearby. The afternoon is well suited to the Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme, a historic thermal bath fed by Wiesbaden's natural hot springs, offering Roman-Irish bathing rituals in a restored 19th-century building; visitors should note the baths operate on mixed nudity rules on most days, with designated textile days available. For those less interested in the baths, the wooded Neroberg hill above the city, reached by a historic funicular, offers views over Wiesbaden and the Rhine-Main basin. Food and rest stops include cafés around the Kurhaus gardens and traditional Hessian restaurants in the old town. Wiesbaden suits a visit in any season, since the Kurhaus casino and thermal baths operate year-round regardless of weather.