For an entirely new perspective on the area, go hot-air ballooning. Ballooning 2000 offers rides between the Black Forest and the Vosges. Contact pilot Rainer Keitel (tel. 07223/60002) for details. A 2-hour champagne breakfast trip over the Rhine Valley goes for 253€ ($405) per person.
For a more up-close and personal experience, rock climbing at all levels and altitudes can be enjoyed on the Battert rocks directly over the city. For a climber's guide, contact the German Alpine Club, Rathausplatz 7 (tel. 07221/17200). You can also walk the 8km (5-mile) nature trail from the Strouzda chapel via Friesenberg to Fremersberg.
Horse races and horseback riding provide additional entertainment in Baden-Baden. Most races take place at the racetrack at Iffezheim, 30km (19 miles) from Baden-Baden, but for tickets and information about the races, contact their organizers, the Internationaler Club, Lichtentaler Allee 8 (tel. 07229/1870). Highlights of Baden-Baden's racing season, of which the Internationaler Club is the primary architect, occur during Spring Meeting (a week in late May and early June) and Grand Week (the last 8 days of Aug). If you prefer to actually ride a horse instead of watching others do it, you can ride on a 1km (2/3-mile) outdoor track at Equestrian Hall, Gunzenbachstrasse 4A (tel. 07221/301862) for 30€ ($48) per hour of instruction.
Many other outdoor sports are offered as well. The local 18-hole course in Fremersberg is one of the most scenic in Europe; contact the Baden-Baden Golf Club at tel. 07221/23579. Monday to Friday greens fees are 45€ ($72), Saturday and Sunday 60€ ($96).
For tennis, contact either Tennis-Halle 365, Rheinstrasse 197 (tel. 07221/67808), which maintains indoor and outdoor tennis courts; or Tennis Club Rot Weiss, at Lichtentaler Allee 5 (tel. 07221/24141), which offers only outdoor tennis courts. At either complex, outdoor courts are available daily late April to October (weather permitting) from 8am to an hour before sundown for around 5€ ($8) per hour. At Tennis-Hallee 365, indoor courts (available daily, year-round, pending the availability of space and advance reservations, 7am to 10pm) cost 20€ ($32) per 50-minute session.
Swimmers can exercise and splash around at the Bertholdbad, on the Ludwig-Wilhelm-Strasse 24 (tel. 07221/277581). The complex contains a Hallenbad (indoor heated pool) that's open to the general public Tuesday to Friday 7:45 to 9am and 1 to 8pm (Wed until 9pm), Saturday 7:45am to 3pm, and Sunday 7:45 to 1pm; and a Friebad (outdoor swimming pool) that's open mid-May to mid-September daily from 9am to 7pm. Daily entrance to the compound costs 3.50€ ($5.60) for adults and 2.50€ ($4) for students and children 8 to 18.
