Baden-Baden was the glorious town in South-Western Germany that introduced me to naked bathing, and I would do it all over again given the chance! These incredible baths in Germany introduced me to a whole new world of relaxation. Coming from New Zealand I can’t say being naked in a sauna with a handful of strangers, men and women, has ever crossed my mind.

We have a few nude beaches in New Zealand but they’re usually spoken about in quiet giggles and really only frequented by the older generation. Nothing like what you get in Europe where women go topless at inner city beaches.

This was hands down one of the most beautiful public pools I have ever been to, and topping it off with a liberating nude experience was just *chefs kiss* the icing on the cake.

About Baden-Baden, Germany

Sitting on the North-Western border of the Black Forest, Baden-Baden sits close to France and is just over an hours drive from Stuttgart; the home of the Porsche. Making it an easy to get to destination if you’re travelling along the border and want a quaint German city to stop in.

The town of Baden-Baden is clean and pristine with amazing architecture and famous spas. Mansions are tucked away behind large gates but peek out behind rows of trees and forestry, the towns main centre looks cleaner than the Queens bathroom and the typical German beer is worth the walk in the 33 degree heat. Baden-Baden is notably one of the top cities for aristocratic Europeans to visit in Germany every year and it’s not difficult to see why.

Baden-Baden has been a popular city for the rich and famous for much longer than New Zealand has been a country. In 1847 Roman Baths were discovered in the city which dated back to AD210, these were once upon a time visited by various Roman rulers who would soak in the spas to cure their aches and pains. Obviously Panadol wasn’t quite in existence 1800 years ago so those who could afford it would travel far and wide for to relax in the thermal water.

There are two large spa buildings sitting just outside of the main square in Baden-Baden. Friedrichsbad is the spa that caters to the more traditional side of bathing and is purely nude only, but it has allocated days for when men and women are separated or to mix in the main swimming area.

Caracalla Spa is the one we visited which caters to everyone. One area of the complex serves as a normal everyday swimming area, but the upstairs saunas is where you can whip your kit off and enjoy some well earned freedom.

Finding Accommodation in Baden-Baden

Airbnb is one of the most popular ways to find accommodation in Baden-Baden. We stayed in a private room on the ground floor of a rather large and lovely villa in Baden-Baden. Our hosts were wonderful and provided us with everything we needed including bus passes for while we were travelling through the Black Forest (this came with the tourist tax charge).

If you’re wanting to stay somewhere with service like a hotel then check out Booking.com. The Booking.com link below will take you to all the great accommodation deals in Baden-Baden.

Baths in Germany: About Caracalla Spa

Powered by thermal water flowing down from Florentinerberg Hill, Caracalla Spa is one of two popular spas in Baden-Baden and probably the most beautiful nude spa in Germany. The Roman styled buildings are amazing landmarks on their own and tower over the neighbouring apartments and township.

Caracalla Spa has two distinctive areas; the lower main floor is for people who want to enjoy swimming and relaxation, whereas the upper floor is the ‘naked German spa’, where you can whip off your swimmers and enjoy the natural thermal waters in your birthday suit.

Use the below link to purchase yourself a day tour which includes shopping and entry to the beautiful Caracalla baths!

Main Floor (Bathing Clothes Allowed)

Water temperatures on the main floor range from 18°C to 38°C and covers over 900m²

The main area of Caracalla Spa includes a large indoor pool of 34°C that flows to an outdoor pool of 32°C . And in that pool is a smaller pool of 35°C (is this pool-inception?!) Both large pools are decorated with marble stone, and have several water features of powered jets, waterfalls and an even hotter whirlpool. The outdoor area has several reclining chairs and lounges for you to soak up the sun on if you feel yourself getting water logged.

Heading back inside there is a steam room with 43°C temperatures and 100% humidity with an infused fragrance to make the experience that little bit more special. The Brine Inhalation room at 38-40°C invites you to relax and breathe in the mineral infused air to help cleanse your airways.

The hot and cold water grotto is a great way to increase circulation and metabolism. Spending a few minutes in a warm pool then plunging into a cold pool or having a cold shower is meant to have many health benefits. You will find a few plunge pools and cold showers outside each of the saunas and warm pools so take advantage of the benefits!

Upper Sauna Floor

This is where your comfort zones are really broken down into a million pieces. It may seem daunting being butt naked in a swimming complex with 20-30 other people, but at the same time it kind of brought comfort in the fact that everyone was naked.

This upper sauna floor at Caracalla has 8 different saunas ranging in temperatures from 47°C to 95°C, which includes a short stroll outside to a ‘rustic’ log cabin heated by a wood fire. There is also a cold plunge pool, various types of cold showers and tipping buckets, and some of the steam rooms are infused with different scents to help with relaxation and breathing clarity.

The Caracalla Spa Experience

Let me make this clear when I say the Caracalla building itself is huge, Baden-Baden mean it when they call themselves a spa town, the public baths are like grand town halls…only bigger!

Caracalla Spa is a Roman styled building decorated with beautiful mosaics and pillars. Caracalla Spa is a short walk from the main town centre and can be enjoyed all year around, even when it’s snowing outside.

The price for enjoying the spa is pretty reasonable, as is worth it if you’re planning on spending a couple of hours there. We had a great time floating between the indoor and outdoor pools and chucking myself through the whirlpool outside. As much as Caracalla is meant to be a place of relaxation, I couldn’t sit, or float, in one place for more than 5 minutes because I wanted to experience as many of the pools and saunas as possible.

The main pool is the centre piece for the room its in, looking around there were several other doors that lead to different saunas, all of different temperatures and scents and all set within a different type of heating function. Even if you spend 2 minutes in each sauna they are definitely worth checking out.

Now lets get down to why you really visited this article… The naked bathing experience!

We originally came to Caracalla to enjoy a normal everyday swimming experience in a public pool, and were eagerly intrigued when we saw on the pamphlet that the upstairs sauna area is a clothing FREE, meaning nudity is the only condition of entry! (besides paying a little extra)

Walking through the separate doorway we were greeted with a large set of cupboards to put every article of clothing we had on in there, Paul and I both looked at each other then striped down to our birthday suit, took a deep breathe and continued on past the cupboards.

We walked out from behind the cupboards and there were naked people everywhere. I can’t explain how hard it was to keep my eyes up and looking ahead, not because I wanted to look at everyones naked bodies, but I was so hypersensitive about making sure I didn’t stare off into space but in the direction of someones junk.

There were several older couples relaxing on lounge suites, there were people our age and even younger milling around; chatting, laughing and jumping between different saunas. There was even a bar you can purchase drinks at if you feel so inclined to sit and enjoy a drink. And I can honestly say that not once during this whole naked bathing experience did I feel unsafe, or that anyone was glaring at my pasty white ass.

We were sitting a sauna and we could hear laughing, cheering and a smacking noise coming from the sauna next door, we stepped out and through a foggy window could see leaves and sticks flying everywhere within another sauna. The door then swings open and a group of 20-30 year old walk out laughing and some guy is wiping leaves off his shoulder and back. Turns out you can pay to get beaten with a branch in front of your friends for some sort of therapeutic purposes?

We surprisingly had one of the best times here, no one was creepy, the saunas were big enough that you didn’t have to sit directly next to a naked strangers, and most people were in their 30-40’s, so it wasn’t just a seedy old person naked community meeting.

Photos of Caracalla Spa

Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos inside the spa myself; firstly because there was strictly no photography allowed inside and I’m not going to argue with that rule in a nude bath, and secondly because I wanted to enjoy the experience and not be attached to my phone or worry about it getting stolen or water damaged.

But if you’d like to see almost every angle of the spa click here to see all the google images of Caracalla you would like. Or visit their website to check out all the information you need.

Other Spas in Europe Worth Experiencing

If naked bathing isn’t up your alley, or you aren’t going as far West as Baden-Baden, there are plenty of other famous spas around Europe to experience. I can’t guarantee that these spas offer a nude experience, but the facilities are worth checking out anyway, because the magic about European bath houses is that it’s not just one or two pools on offer. Most baths in Europe have a mix of pools at varying temperatures to cater to everyone’s needs. From small spa pools you can sit in and enjoy a beverage, or large pools to do laps in. And even cold plunge pools to quickly cool off before jumping back into a hot pool.

Rudas Baths, Budapest | Hungary

Rudas Baths is a fantastic option if you’re travelling through Budapest, the endless opportunities and pools on offer make walking through the building somewhat more exciting that actually swimming. Rudas doesn’t have a naked bathing experience on offer, but the rooftop bar where you can enjoy a beverage in the pool while overlooking the city makes up for the added clothing.

Széchenyi Bath, Budapest | Hungary

Another Budapest gem, Szechenyi bath caters to young and old, to the ones who want to relax and the ones who want to party. By day Szecheyi baths is a bathing complex where you can melt your worries away floating in historic baths, and by night you can be mixing pool water in your margarita cup and trying not to throw up after being chucked in the rapids.
Sparty (Spa-Party) is well known among Contiki tours and pub crawlers as being one of the best party experiences on offer in Budapest. So if you want a bit of excitement but are really frothing for a swim, check out Sparty for your next night out!