Baden

Baden in the Aargau canton of Switzerland is one of the oldest and most historically celebrated spa towns in the Alpine world, where sulphurous hot spring water at 47°C has been enjoyed since before Roman times — the Romans called it Aquae Helveticae — and where medieval, 19th-century, and cutting-edge 21st-century spa architecture coexist in a compact historic town straddling the Limmat River gorge. The town's thermal heritage is visible in its beautifully preserved medieval Bäderquartier (spa quarter) of half-timbered houses, the grand 19th-century hotel spas, and the spectacular Fortyseven wellness complex (formerly Thermalbad & Spa), designed to bring Roman, medieval, and modern bathers into a single extraordinary architectural experience. Goethe visited Baden's springs, as did countless European aristocrats and travellers across the centuries of the town's distinguished thermal tradition.