Bad Kissingen Travel Guide

From the beginning, the guiding principle was always to make the castle into a tourist attraction, which became more of an historical interest at the start of the 20th century. In the second half of the century, the castle underwent some restoration work. Today, life in the castle during the Middle Ages is remembered and re-enacted each year in September with the Burgfest.

The Kurgarten was and still is a central meeting point. Although there is not as much royalty about nowadays as there was when King Ludwig I was alive, the Kurgarten is still arranged in his chosen style. In the 20,000 sqm garden you can see flower bed arrangements that change continuously during the spring and summer months.

The Luitpoldpark is an English style landscape garden, with wonderful lawns. Native and exotic, young saplings and 100 year old trees give this spacious park plenty of elegance and flair.

The Kurhausbad was opened in 1927 and was the most modern spa treatment center of its time. The architect, Max Littmann chose the stylish neoclassical design and adorned the building with many beautiful details such as the stained glass windows, wall plastering made out of Nymphenburg porcelain, and red terracotta paneling. However the Kurhausbad's main attraction is most probably the Roman-Irish steam baths found in the basement of the building. The hot rooms and saunas have been decorated with Villeroy & Boch tiling and have been excellently maintained.

With its nostalgic flair, the Kurhausbad builds a contrast to the new and modern KissSalis Thermae and offers a range of out of the ordinary treatments – the power bath is suitable for men, the Sisi bath for the ladies, and also an endless list of traditional treatments – massage, hydrotherapy, mud treatments, salt-water baths, power jet baths, to name but a few. The Kurhausbad is close to the town center, in the Prinzregenten Street, and can easily be reached by foot. Even if you are not planning to have treatments there it’s certainly worth taking a look at.

The Kurbähnle, Bad Kissingen’s little train, has been one of Bad Kissingen’s firm fixtures for many years. You can board the train at regular intervals at the roundabout next to the Kurgarten and will be assured of a pleasant trip to the deer park Klaushof, where you can see many native European and more exotic wild animals, some of which are endangered species. Some of the favorites are the wild boars, lynx and also the deer who will eat of your hand – if you let them! Enjoy a meal or refreshments at the Klaushof restaurant next to the park. The neighboring woods are also lovely to walk around in.

On 7th July in 1877 the first steamboat, appropriately named Kissingen, was delivered to the spa resort by train. Everyone delights at the sight of the steamboat moving up the middle of the majestic Saale river on one of its hourly trips between the Rose Garden and the Saline. A pleasant afternoon trip for families with children is a ride up the Saale to the Salinenblick Café, where you are not only served a wonderful variety of reasonably priced meals and snacks on the outdoor patio but can also take part in a round of crazy golf.

The state-of-the-art KissSalis Thermae is an impressive contrast to the historical buildings of the town. It was presented to the public after construction was completed in 2004 and represents the spa resorts motto of being one of the most excellent spa resorts in Europe. Visitors can look forward to a 1000 sqm water surface, freshly derived from the Schönborn springs and consisting of two large pools on the inside and out, an intensive salt water basin, a hot and cold water grotto, a salt water hydrotherapy room, a pool designed for gymnastic and movement therapy, a mud therapy room and a steam room, all combined with a view of the beautiful surrounding scenery. Adjacent to the thermae is the enchanting SaunaPark, boasting five sauna cabins inside, varying from 55 °C to 90 °C, and three alpine sauna cabins in the sauna garden outside and a nearby cooling down swim basin.

The KissSalis Thermae is on the outskirts of the resort and is easily reached by bus or the KissSalis shuttle bus (sets off at the Kurgarten roundabout at half-hourly intervals). Other than that there is ample parking space.