Bad Dürrheim suits couples who want a small home with a garden near a brine spa on the Baar. Every home here has a garden and all sleep five or fewer. The town sits on a plateau between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb, though, so do not expect deep wooded valleys outside the door.
Bad Dürrheim is a spa town at 733 metres on the Baar, the plateau between the southern Black Forest and the Swabian Alb, near where the Danube and the Neckar rise. It calls itself the highest-lying brine spa in Europe and is the only place in Baden-Württemberg holding three spa titles at once. The two big draws are the Solemar, a brine bath with 13 pools, a sauna area and a Dead Sea salt grotto, and the Kurpark, with Kneipp water-treading basins, a herb garden, adventure golf and a breathing path. Guests get a town guest card from their first night. These homes are small, sleeping two to five, every one with a garden, and a few have a private pool or a sauna.
Town with the Fürstenberg palace park and the redeveloped source of the Danube, where the Brigach and Breg rivers meet.
Town with a railway station, about 8 minutes from Bad Dürrheim on the hourly line 600 bus.
A lake out among the farms on the Sole-Route cycle loop from Bad Dürrheim, a recommended stop for a break.
Fly to Zurich, about 64 km from Bad Dürrheim, or to Stuttgart. Public transport from Zurich airport takes around three and a half hours, so a hire car is the practical choice. Locally, bus 600 runs hourly to Villingen station in about 8 minutes, which helps for day trips by rail.
As a spa town, Bad Dürrheim does not depend on summer: the Solemar's saunas and salt grotto work in any weather. For cycling, save a clear day for the 56 km Sole-Route loop, which has views of the Black Forest and, when it is clear enough, the Alps.
It is the town's brine spa and health centre, about 13,500 square metres with 13 pools, a Black Forest-style sauna area and a Dead Sea salt grotto. Bad Dürrheim is the only brine spa in the Black Forest.
Yes. Overnight guests receive a Bad Dürrheim guest card from their first night, which gives inclusive services and discounts in town.
For fit riders, yes. The Sole-Route is a 56 km loop from the town, rated hard, with about 391 metres of climbing, passing Hochemmingen, Tuningen, Sunthausen and the Danube source at Donaueschingen.
Pick Bad Dürrheim for the spa: the Solemar and the Kurpark are both in town. Donaueschingen, with its palace park and the Danube source, lies on the Sole-Route bike loop if you want to see both.
Written by the TrustedVillas team. Last reviewed October 2026.
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