At the northern edge of the Black Forest, Baden Baden lays claim to being one of the most glamorous towns in Germany. Taking its name from the German word to bathe, and being in the former Duchy of Baden (thus the distinctive double-barrelled name), the town is home to some internationally renowned spas.

The Romans first discovered the twelve healing thermal springs that lie below Baden Baden, but the town shot to international prominence in the mid 19^th century when it became a favourite destination for various European royals, including Napoleon III and Queen Victoria. In their wake, it grew hugely popular with many of the continent’s wealthy and famous, who travelled in numbers to take in the warm climate and soothing waters. The town’s population would more than double during the summer season.

Hitting its peak during the Belle Époque period around the start of the 20^th century, and largely undamaged during WWII, Baden Baden has never lost its reputation for glamour and sophistication. During the 2006 World Cup it was the base for the England football team and the high-profile wives and families that came with them.

Naked – or not

To take advantage of the hottest and most mineral-rich waters in Germany, visitors have two options: the Friedrichsbad and the Caracalla Spa. Which you pick will depend on your budget, your taste and your modesty!

The Friedrichsbad is located in grandiose 19^th century buildings and requires visitors to enjoy the fairly rigorous 17 step sequence of treatments, designed to leave you feeling better in mind and body, and be entirely naked. The Caracalla is a much more modern affair, featuring indoor and outdoor pools, a rock grotto, a salt inhalation room and other facilities in a glass fronted building and perhaps importantly, bathing attire can be worn.

Playing host to the continent’s great and good necessitated giving them an opportunity to relax in luxurious surroundings after a hard day’s spa treatments. Hence Baden Baden also boasts the most opulent casino in Europe, located in the Kurhaus. Designed to outdo the palace at Versailles, this oldest casino in Germany features crystal chandeliers, detailed portraits and other luxurious decorations. Marlene Dietrich once called it ‘the most beautiful casino in the world’. It is also the reputed setting for Dostoyevsky’s The Gambler.

The casino offers blackjack, poker and roulette, as well as slot machines. Not surprisingly, given the nature of the surroundings, men are only allowed to enter if they are wearing a jacket.

In a joint bid with a number of other spa towns in Europe, including Bath and Vichy, Baden Baden is aiming to achieve UNESCO World Heritage status. Without doubt it offers a slice of glamour and a glimpse of how Europe’s elite lived a century and a half ago. – Mark Arrol

It is a bit of a misnomer, the Black Forest, because it is neither black, even barely dark green, and not a lot of it is forest, at least compared to how it used to be. It’s a region of relatively low-lying, low-slung tree-covered mountains which gets a fair bit of snow in winter, and a fair bit of sun in summer. Its topography means that it has managed to avoid over-industrialisation, and to keep its crafts, costumes and traditions relatively intact, in part helped to do so by the tourist market.

It covers a mountainous part of Baden-Württenberg 200km long and 60km wide which runs close to the borders with France and Switzerland (and is therefore particularly attractive tourist destination for the Swiss and the French, too). The Romans were the first to refer to the region’s then dark and dense forest as ‘Silva Nigra’ (black forest), although deforestation, agriculture and mild urbanisation have thinned out the woods a lot since.

Famous for ham, for gateau, and for cuckoo clocks

The northern part, south of the spa resort of Baden-Baden, consists of high plateaus (usually between 800 and 1,000 metres), while the highest mountains are in the southern part, rising to the Feldberg at 1,493 metres. There are mineral spas and lakes regularly distributed at various levels, of which the most popular is the attractive-sounding Lake Titisee.

Famous for ham, for gateau, and for cuckoo clocks, it’s a region of striking scenery where the farmhouses are very handsomely maintained, villages are splendidly neat, old and clean, and traditional costumes are widely displayed. There’s a bit of skiing in winter, and lots of excellent driving, walking or hiking trails in the hills during spring and summer. Most trails are well supplied with places to rest and refresh, all in the name of good health. So what’s not to like? Well, some Germanophiles find it simply too popular, because the Black Forest is the British coach tour destination par excellence.

It is easy enough to avoid the crowds. Most tours schedule some of their journey along the Black Forest High Road (Schwarzwaldhochstrasse), which runs between Baden-Baden in the north and Freudenstadt in the south. There are magnificent views of the Black Forest valleys, the Rhine Valley and Alsace and the Vosges Mountains along the entire route.

But you can get equally good views on foot, for the region is criss-crossed by well-signposted trails that allow walkers to reach areas and vistas often inaccessible by car, including castle ruins and waterfalls. Of the long-distance hiking trails, the most celebrated is the Westweg, running the length of the forest from Pforzheim to Basel via Mummelsee, Hausach, Titisee and Feldbach. It covers 280km, and makes for a fine fortnight’s walk for a moderately fit person.

If you’d rather have your forest free of Brits, however, then consider the Bavarian Forest, which is almost as big, and in the same climactic zone, but this time over on Germany’s eastern border, next to the Czech Republic.

Black Forest Tourism.

For airline tickets to Black Forest gateways (ie Stuttgart, Freiburg, Strasbourg, Basel) go to www.flighthub.com