Stuttgart Attractions

Venue: Schwaben Quellen Baths    When: Daily

Part of the big Erlebnis (experience) Center entertainment complex, the Schwaben Quellen Baths is Stuttgart's supermarket of steam.

The Swabian Springs baths offer a long list of dry and steam saunas, many perfumed with scents from herbs to birch. In a "massage grotto" customers can receive a range of massage treatments, or go for the complete Turkish hamam cycle, beginning with a sweatbath, continuing with a body scrub and massage at the hands of the Tallak or bathmaster, armed with his horsehair mitts and special soap, finishing with a relaxing hot tea in the Oriental relaxing room.

Connoisseurs of fantastic decoration will appreciate the "Temple of the Maya" fountain bath carved out of chalk, while fans of the fantastic tout court will want to check out the waterfall showers and the ice-cube fountain. Indeed, the whole atmosphere is multisensory, with scents and sounds integral components of many of the massage and relaxation programmes.

If it all gets a little claustrophobic, one section of the baths extends out of doors, with hot tubs and a warm pool for year-round use. Once the water-based fun and games are finished, the centre offers everything from a range of restaurants and bars to splashy musical-theatre productions.