Baden-Baden

Of all the high-class resort towns I've seen, Baden-Baden is the easiest to enjoy in jeans with a picnic. Wrought-iron balconies on handsome 19th-century apartment buildings give Baden-Baden an elegant, almost Parisian feel. Along with conventioneers and rich Russians, this lush resort town attracts a middle-class crowd of European tourists in search of a slower pulse, including Germans enjoying the fruits of their generous health-care system. Stroll through its stylish streets and casino, and above all, soak in its famous baths.