Nightlife

Baden-Baden has a busy annual schedule of concert, dance, and dramatic performances. The centerpiece for most of the resort's cultural activities is the oft-photographed Kurhaus, Kaiserallee 1 (tel. 07221/9070; www.kurhaus-baden-baden.de). Originally built in the 1870s as the focal point of the resort, the Kurhaus does not contain spa facilities, as its name implies, but is rather a catchall entertainment complex. In the same building is Baden-Baden's casino, the Spielbank.

Theater am Goetheplatz, Goetheplatz (tel. 07221/932700; www.theater.baden-baden.de), is a well-maintained and beautiful baroque-style theater that presents opera, ballet, and drama productions. It opened auspiciously with the world première of the Berlioz opera Beatrice et Benedict in 1862. Every summer, the verdant core of Baden-Baden is home to several outdoor concerts, many of which focus on jazz or classical music, often informal late-afternoon or early-evening affairs organized on short notice by the tourist office. More elaborate concerts, many of them performed by the town's resident orchestra, the Philharmonie Baden-Baden (Philharmonic Orchestra of Baden-Baden), are part of the resort's Musikalischer Sommer Festival, usually conducted during an 8-day period in mid-July. Although the orchestra is likely to perform mostly within the echoing interior of one of the largest concert halls in Germany, the Festspielhaus, in the Alter Bahnhof, smaller events are likely to crop up within venues scattered throughout the town. For tickets to any cultural or musical event within Baden-Baden, contact either the tourist office (tel. 07221/275200), which sells tickets on its premises, or the Ticket Service Trinkhalle, in the Trinkhalle on Kaiser Alee (tel. 07221/932700).

After a long slumber, Germany's most famous spa is percolating once again. Attracting visiting celebrities, the bar at Medici, Augustaplatz 8 (tel. 07221/2006; www.medici.de), has become the most fashionable in town.

Bars in the resort hotels often have low-key entertainment. Try the Jockey Bar, in the lobby of the Radisson Blu Badischer Hof (tel. 07221/9340), or the Oleander Bar in Brenner's Park Hotel, Schillerstrasse 4-6 (tel. 07221/9000).