Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, commonly referred to as Bad Homburg, is a town just outside Frankfurt in Hesse, Germany.

Understand

Arguably, the main attraction in Bad Homburg is its Kurpark, a large park near the centre of the city within which are many mineral water fountains and monuments. The Kurpark roughly runs parallel to Louisenstraße, a long pedestrian mall lined with shops and a few nearby attractions such as the Landgrave Castle. One should consider walking through the Kurpark in one direction and along Louisenstraße in the other.

Get in

By train

Take the S-Bahn line S5, regional train to get to Bad Homburg or the subway U2 from Frankfurt to station „Gonzenheim“ and then the bus.

The RMV website has schedules. For 2-5 people travelling together on a day trip from Frankfurt, the RMV group day ticket (Gruppentageskarte) is more economical and more convenient that using single trip tickets.

By car

The town is north west of the A5 - A661 interchange.

See

Kurpark

Kaiser-Wilhelms-Bad in the Kurpark

Elisabethenbrunnen in the Kurpark

Kurpark (also called Bad Homburg Central Park) is a large park in the center of the city with mineral springs, the Kaiser-Wilhelm Bath, a small golf course, the Spielbank Casino, two Siamese pavilions, the Russian Chapel, Tennis courts, a big pond and a garden for blind people. There are occasional classical concerts near Wandel Hall at the eastern end of "Brunnenallee" (Avenue of Fountains).

Here is a list of attractions:

• 1 Thai-Sala in the park (Thai-Sala im Park), Paul-Ehrlich-Weg, Kurpark. On May 22, 1914, the first Thai-Sala ("Siamese Temple") was inaugurated in the presence of Prince Mahidol of Siam. 
• 2 Kaiser-Wilhelms-Bad, Brunnenallee, Kurpark. This palatial therapy house was built between 1887 and 1890. 
• 3 Kaiserbrunnen ("Der Sprudel"), Brunnenallee, Kurpark. This fountain is in a pit before the Kaiser-Wilhelms-Bad. The acidulous sodium chloride water is fizzy and used for both bathing and drinking. 
• 4 Spielbank Bad Homburg, Brunnenallee, Kurpark. The casino near the Kaiser-Wilhelms-Bad. 
• 5 Thai-Sala at the spring (Thai-Sala an der Quelle), Am Weinbergsweg, Kurpark. In 2007, King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit gifted a second Thai-Sala to Bad Homburg. 
• 6 Stahlbrunnen ("steel spring"). This spring is rich in low-carbonic iron and its water is used to treat anemia. 
• 7 Auguste-Viktoria-Brunnen, Brunnenallee, Kurpark. The fountain has a temple-style monument. Water from the fountain is used to treat gastroenterological disorders. 
• 8 Louisenbrunnen ("sulfur spring"), Brunnenallee, Kurpark. Only die-hards drink from the "sulfur spring" as the water's taste and smell make it undrinkable for most people. 
• 9 Landgrafenbrunnen, Brunnenallee, Kurpark. Fountain with a small art nouveau monument. The spring was discovered in 1899 and from 1903 onwards, its water was drunk as healing water to treat liver and gall bladder illnesses. 
• 10 Russian Chapel (All Hallows' Church). The church was built in 1896 to serve Russian spa guests who wanted an Orthodox church. 
• 11 Elisabethenbrunnen, eastern end of Brunnenallee, Kurpark. The statue of Hygeia, the Greek goddess of health, is seated inside a temple overlooking the fountain. 
• 12 Small fountain, Augustaallee & Am Elisabethenbrunnen. The water from this small, utilitarian fountain near the Elisabethenbrunnen has a heavy bitter saline taste that people might find undrinkable. 

Castles

Saalburg Main Gate

• 13 Landgrave Castle with White Tower. The White Tower (Weißer Turm) is the town's landmark. 
• 14 Roman Fort Saalburg (Take a bus from Bad Homburg, or take the "Taunusbahn" to station "Saalburg" and walk 45 minutes along the Limes to reach the fort.). near World Heritage Site Limes (border wall between the Roman Empire and free Germanic lands) (updated Feb 2016)
• Hunting Lodge. Gothic House (updated Feb 2016)

Parks

• Kurpark. A large park with a number of fountains and monuments. See a previous section in this article for a list of attractions in the Kurpark. 
• 15 Schlosspark (Castle Park). A park with a big pond, situated west of the Landgrave Castle. 
• 16 Kaiser-Wilhelm-Jubiläumspark. Inaugurated 1913 for the 25 year anniversary of the accession to the throne of emperor Wilhelm II. Cycling is allowed here unlike in the other parks. 
• 17 Kleiner Tannenwald, Between Mariannenweg & Leopoldsweg. Newly constituted park of the garden landscapes of the landgrave with quite a large pond. 
• 18 Hirschgarten and Forstgarten located in the city forest west of Dornholzhausen; large game reserve with deer.

Other Sites

• 19 Markplatz. This small square along Louisenstraße features an attractive half-timbered building. 
• 20 AltStadt, Rind'sche Stift-Straße. At the corner of Rathausstraße and Rind'sche Stift-Straße, there is a small Altstadt with half-timbered buildings. Further along Rind'sche Stift-Straße, you will find a residential area with older style architecture again including half-timbered houses. This residential area extends under the Ritter-von-Marx-Brücke. 
• 21 Ritter-von-Marx-Brücke. The western end of the bridge has 2 attractive towers called the Stumpfer Turm and the Rathausturm. The bridge also gives a rooftop view of the Altstadt below. 
• 22 Hessenpark (near Anspach). Open-Air Museum (updated Feb 2016)

Do

• 1 Taunus Therme (Taunus Thermal Baths), ☏ +49 6172-4064-0, fax: +49 6172-42003. 61352 Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe. A Day Spa/pool that offers swimming, sauna, massages, dining, barrier free (FKK) area, gift shop, therapeutic baths, and steam bath, much more in a romantic Japanese-style setting. €13-15 for basic 2 hour stay, €17-19 for four hours and €24-26 for day (adult). This pool is not geared for children, but they are welcome. Weekdays are typically quiet, but Friday and Saturday night is when the young couples come out. 

Buy

Bad Homburg has a shopping district along Louisenstraße, a pedestrian mall about 700 metres long.

Eat

• Kartoffelküche, Audenstraße 4, ☏ +49 6172 21500. 
• Kaiserliche Küchenmeisterei, Schulberg 6, ☏ +49 6172 9445130. 
• Klosterschänke, Herrngasse 1, ☏ +49 6172 25577. 
• Hirschgarten, Elisabethenschneise, ☏ +49 6172 997688. 
• Café Eiding (Reblaus), Schulberg 13, ☏ +49 6172 22855. 
• Café Klatsch, Louisenstraße 107, ☏ +49 6172 682255. 
• Trattoria Fantastico, Audenstraße 14, ☏ +49 6172 495217. 

Sleep

• Steigenberger Hotel, Kaiser-Friedrich-Promenade 69, ☏ +49 6172 1810. 
• Maritim im Kurhaus, Ludwigstr. 3, ☏ +49 6172 6600. 

Go next

• Frankfurt, Germany's financial capital.