What's on in Baden-Baden, Germany through the year

Peak crowds — Christkindelsmarkt, Christmas holidays in Germany

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Christkindelsmarkt (26 Nov – 6 Jan)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — Easter holidays in Germany, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Busy — Easter holidays in Germany, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — Whitsun/Pentecost holidays in Germany, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Iffezheim spring meeting

  4–7 JunMajor festivalCrowded

  The first of the three race meetings at Iffezheim, twenty minutes out of town, with the thoroughbred sales alongside it. Smaller and easier to get into than the August week. Source ↗

Busy — Iffezheim spring meeting, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Iffezheim spring meeting (4–7 Jun)

Busy — Summer holidays in Germany, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Peak crowds — Grosse Woche racing, Summer holidays in Germany

• Festival

  Grosse Woche racing

  29 Aug – 6 SepMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Germany's biggest race meeting, five days at Iffezheim ending with the Grosser Preis von Baden. The spa hotels fill with people who came to dress up rather than to take the water. Source ↗

Busy — Grosse Woche racing, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Grosse Woche racing (29 Aug – 6 Sep)

Peak crowds — Sales & Racing Festival, Autumn holidays in Germany

• Nature

  Autumn in the Lichtentaler Allee

  8 Oct – 8 Nov · usuallyAutumn colour

  The two-kilometre park along the Oos turns through October, and the Black Forest slopes behind it a week or so later. It is the one time the promenade is worth the walk end to end.

• Festival

  Sales & Racing Festival

  16–18 OctMajor festivalCrowded

  Two race days in mid-October wrapped around the yearling auction, plus an Oktoberfest race day. The last busy weekend before the town settles into its winter cure season. Source ↗

Busy — Christkindelsmarkt, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Christkindelsmarkt

  26 Nov – 6 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Chalets fill the square in front of the Kurhaus and stay up past New Year, later than most German markets. Free to enter, and busiest on the weekend afternoons. Source ↗

Still on: Autumn in the Lichtentaler Allee (8 Oct – 8 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Christkindelsmarkt, Christmas holidays in Germany

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Christkindelsmarkt (26 Nov – 6 Jan)