Wiesbaden

In the 1st century AD the Romans built thermal baths here, a site then inhabited by a Germanic tribe, the Mattiaci. Modern Wiesbaden dates from the 19th century, when the dukes of Nassau and, later, the Prussian aristocracy commissioned the grand public buildings and parks that shape the city's profile today. Wiesbaden developed into a fashionable spa that attracted the rich and the famous. Their ornate villas on the Neroberg and turn-of-the-20th-century town houses are part of the city's flair.

For a one-hour ride through the city, board the little train THermine. The one-day ticket (€6.50) enables you to get on and off as often as you'd like to explore the sights. From mid-April to October it departs seven times daily (10-4:30) from Café Lumen (behind the Marktkirche) and stops at the Bowling Green, Greek Chapel, and Neroberg railway station. In winter, it operates only on weekends.