Rumoured to house the most millionaires per capita in Germany, luxury, relaxation and tranquility seem to be the name of the game in Bad Homburg. With exquisite Baroque-influenced architecture and the huge sprawling Kurpark (spa garden) throughout the town, it couldn’t look more different than Frankfurt. It’s officially called Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, ‘before the Heights’, as it is located at the foot of the Taunus mountains, an extremely popular weekend walking spot for Frankfurters. For centuries Bad Homburg has been home to celebrity visitors, princes, kings and queens, writers and czars, all looking for a bit of relaxation and recuperation in its amazing natural springs, or looking to lose a fortune at the famous casino, as Dostoyevski famously did in 1867 and documented in his novel The Player.

Directions
From Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, take S-Bahn N°5 towards Friedrichsdorf and disembark at Bad Homburg approximately a half hour later. You will need to buy a one-way ticket (€6.10) or purchase a Zuschlag (supplement, €2) if you’ve already purchased a daily or weekly public transport pass. This includes your bus fare from the Bad Homburg station to the Kurhaus bus stop. All buses, located in a neat semi-circle outside the station, go to the Kurhaus. Otherwise, it's a just a short walk down Friedrichstraße.

Shopping, Eating, & Festivals
Shopping is easily accomplished on Louisenstraße, initially laid out by Count Friedrich II as the town’s main street at the end of the 17th century, which stretches through the centre of town as straight as a line. It is a pedestrian shopping zone with major department stores, bookstores, as well as exclusive clothes shops and boutiques for the upscale Bad Homburgers. Tuesdays and Fridays are market days, where fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers can be purchased all along the street, from the Kurhaus to the Marktplatz. Bad Homburg is also quite famous for its traditional summer lantern festival, when the city is illuminated by 10,000 lights sparkling over its citizens, who chow down on local Hessian specialities and drink beer and applewine voraciously. See our list of selected restaurants if you’d like to stop for a bite.