Baden-Baden

Baden means "bath" or "bathe" in German. The Romans, those intrepid explorer/conquerers, spent a lot of time in the springs in this area. According to Wikipedia, Caracalla himself came up for a soak.It actually wasn't Baden-Baden until 1931. Before that it was just Baden. Baden-Baden is the short form of Baden in Baden, as Baden is in Baden which has actually been Baden-Wuerttemberg since 1952. (Which, yes, if you're keeping score here, makes the name whole Baden-Baden in Baden-Wuerttemberg. For further etymological enjoyment, Baden-Wuerttemberg is also known as Laendle which is Swabian for "small land." Land, that is, not name.) Calling this city Baden-Baden differentiates it from Baden bei Wein (Baden by Vienna) and Baden Switzerland. And yes, the baden in Baden-Baden still are in use to this day.
There is a funicular railroad that runs up Mount Merkur from which you can enjoy a spectacular view of Baden-Baden below.
On an interesting note (which will be proven a very bad pun), Wikipedia notes that "The anthem of Baden is called 'Badnerlied' (English: Song of the people of Baden) and consists of usually four or five traditional verses. However, over the years, many more verses have been added--there are collections with up to 591 verses of the anthem." (Suddenly "99 Bottles of Beer" doesn't seem quite so long, does it?)





Of course, when you're not taking train rides up the sides of mountains or singing the song of the people of Baden, you could take a walk through the Lichtentaler Allee, a historic park and arboretum and admire its plantings and footpaths.
A walk in the park after a spa visit? I guess my arm could be twisted into such a thing. (Just don't make me memorize all the verses to that song!)