You can get to know Bad Schwalbach through its specific spa and nature themes as well as its architectural history. The Moorbahn connects several named stops on a ride of about ten minutes; the Brunnenweg is a signposted circular walking route, and the Kneipp medicinal herb garden has twelve beds with more than 150 medicinal herbs. There are also historic buildings and a permanent exhibition on the history of the spa and town. This gives you various ways to shape your stay: a train ride, routes to fountains and mineral springs, herbs, or the history of the spa town.
Moorbahn, peat pits and Brunnenweg
Since 2001, the Moorbahn has once again been available as a tourist passenger service in Bad Schwalbach. The roughly ten-minute ride starts at “Moorbadehaus” and runs via the “Golfhaus,” “Schwalbenbrunnen” and “Waldsee” stops to its terminus at “Moorgruben.” The ride makes for a short activity in its own right; check the operator’s current running days before your trip.
Behind Waldsee lie nine peat pits. Two of them are accessible via about 60 metres of paths and wooden walkways made of Douglas fir. This offers a different kind of nature experience alongside the Moorbahn: instead of a ride between named stops, you can take a short, accessible route near the peat pits.
The signposted Brunnenweg is a suggested circular walking route that takes in Bad Schwalbach’s main fountains. Its yellow markers pass the mineral springs in the spa area; red arrows point to the fountains in the town. The markings therefore distinguish between two parts of the route: the yellow-marked path past the mineral springs and the red arrows to the fountains. If you are choosing between a ride and a circular walk, you can opt for a train ride of about ten minutes or a signposted route with a focus on fountains and springs.
Medicinal herbs and spa history
The Kneipp medicinal herb garden is in Stahlbrunnental, also known as Röthelbachtal. Twelve beds with more than 150 medicinal herbs are spread over 200 square metres. The garden’s size and number of beds give it a clearly defined scale, while the variety of herbs provides a focus of its own. Visitors interested in medicinal plants will find a different theme here from the Brunnenweg, which highlights Bad Schwalbach’s fountains and mineral springs.
The Alleesaal is a historic testament to the town’s spa history. The private hotelier Grebert had it built in 1820/21 in the Neoclassical style as the “Hotel de la Promenade.” The original name reflects the building’s intended use as a hotel at the time. The Martin Luther Church is also part of Bad Schwalbach’s architectural history: it is the town’s oldest listed monument, and the year 1471 is inscribed above the choir entrance. The permanent exhibition at the Kur-Stadt-Apothekenmuseum offers another perspective, focusing on the history of Bad Schwalbach’s spa and town. Thus, a building from the early 19th century, a historic monument with a year above the choir entrance, and an exhibition on spa and town history can all be found side by side.
Beyond Bad Schwalbach: Rheingau-Taunus district
The broader destination of Rheingau-Taunus district offers additional landscape and cultural themes. With the municipal areas of RĂĽdesheim am Rhein and Lorch, the district is part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its cultural landscape is shaped by steep river slopes, steep-slope and terraced vineyards, numerous castles, historic townscapes and the Rhine.
The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes also crosses the Rheingau-Taunus district: the section within the district is about 35 kilometres long, and the Limes has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2005. It runs for around 33 kilometres through the Rhein-Taunus Nature Park. These two lengths refer to different areas: the district and the nature park. The broader range of things to explore in the Rheingau-Taunus district also includes 14 Riesling loops. These circular routes are 4 to 8 kilometres long, run between Flörsheim am Main and Lorch am Rhein, and focus on Riesling, viticulture and the cultural landscape of the Rheingau.
Discover more destinations: Lorch, Kiedrich, RĂĽdesheim Am Rhein, Aarbergen, Walluf, HĂĽnstetten, Geisenheim, Eltville Am Rhein.
View the broader travel overview: Rheingau-Taunus district.
