AUSTRIA - Europe by Eurail 2015: Touring Europe by Train - page 51

Tourist Information Office: Brusattiplatz 3 (Leopoldsbad), A-2500 Baden bei Wi-
en
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
www.baden.at
E-mail: [e-mail]
Hours: May 1-September 30: 0900-1800 Monday-Friday, 0900-1400 Saturday,
closed Sunday; October 1-April 30: 0900-1700 Monday-Friday; closed Saturday
and Sunday
Notes: Proceed to level 3 for trains departing on tracks 11 and 19 for Baden in
direction of Graz. To get to the tourist information office from the rail station, use
the station underpass to the town side of the tracks. Walk directly through the park
in front of the station and bear right onto Bahnstrasse (Station Street) at the end
of the park. Two blocks farther along, you will see a Fussgängerzone (pedestrian
area). Turn right and walk to the town square. Pass the Rathaus (city hall) on its
left side and proceed toward the end of the pedestrian area through Grüner Markt
(the marketplace). The tourist office is just behind Grüner Markt.
Baden is situated on the eastern edge of the Vienna Woods and surrounded by
extensive vineyards and woodlands. Because it also lies on the edge of Europe's
great eastern Pannonian plain, it enjoys a moderate climate, much sunshine, and
favorable temperatures. In fact, Baden is in the warmest part of Austria, and it is
well-known as a health resort.
Baden sits on 15 ancient thermal water springs —with a regular temperature of
36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit). These sulfurous thermal springs form
the basis for treatments and cures; some four million liters of it are used daily. The
early Romans were always keen on baths, and they spent hours soaking in the
medicinal, hot sulfur springs of the area they called “Aquae.” In the 19th century,
Baden became the center of social life for Vienna's growing sphere of influence.
Today, it is a world-renowned spa full of charm, flowers, and more swimming pools
than one can possibly enter in a single day excursion.
Swimming is a year-round pastime, either outdoors in the thermal and mineral
pools or indoors at Römertherme. The thermal public swimming pool ( Thermal-
strandbad ), with its Art Deco-style, 5,000-square-meter pool area and extensive
sandy beach, is an adventure-bath for the whole family. In 1930 a section of the
parklands of Castle Weilburg was added, making it one of the largest open-air
baths in Austria.
Baden offers other forms of relaxation, ranging from quiet paths leading in and
around the eastern edges of the Vienna Woods to a lively game of blackjack in