BADEN-BADEN, Germany — Remember, back in your childhood, those fairy tales set in the Black Forest featuring ogres, trolls, tiny gingerbread houses, and handsome princes and beautiful princesses? Such a fairy-tale setting still exists in Baden-Baden, right at the edge of the Black Forest, about an hour’s drive from Frankfurt and half that distance from France’s Alsace region.

In all fairness, though, it must be said that the traditional fairy tale has taken on a decidedly different twist: Ogres and trolls are no longer allowed within the town limits, gingerbread houses have been renovated into fashionable boutiques and intimate restaurants, and the handsome princes and beautiful princesses, far from imperiled, are pampered within an inch of their lives at some of the world’s best spas.

Baden-Baden has been a spa town since Roman times, when Emperor Caracalla came to soak in the natural spring waters in hopes of curing his rheumatism. Today, that original bath remains, one of 22 in the area, allowing Baden-Baden to challenge Bath in England and Vichy in France as Europe’s spa capital.

Fast forward a couple of thousand years to the 19th century, when everyone — Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Czar and Czarina of Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm I and Chancellor Bismarck — took their daily promenades along the tree-shaded Lichtentaler Allee, earning Baden-Baden the title “Summer Capital of Europe.”

Even today, it remains a popular gathering spot for a wide range of visitors — pampered Saudi princesses; European rock stars looking for a place to decompress; and battle-weary Americans hoping for a respite from cell phones, PCs and BlackBerrys.

The town is a blend of Greco-Roman, Regency and Georgian architecture with steep, cobbled streets leading up to a 15th-century castle. The Old Town has a multitude of attractions — most of which focus on the restorative powers of Baden-Baden’s most salable commodity, water.

There are some 50 fountains and water-themed displays, the tranquil Oos River, which flows from the center of town to the edge of the Black Forest, and the venerable Trinkhalle, or Pump Room, where visitors are encouraged to sample the clear water that bubbles up from underground springs.

But the best places to test Baden-Baden’s famous waters are its two ancient baths: the Caracalla and Friedrichsbad, the latter curiously billed as the Roman-Irish Baths. Both have ornate rotundas decorated with Roman statuary, under which visitors indulge themselves in hot and cold pools, thermal baths, and an assortment of treatments, from herbal wraps and massages to saunas and steams. (For modest Americans, not used to the European bathing culture, a word to the wise: Check before going. On certain days, the baths are coed, and bathing attire is generally considered an annoying encumbrance.)

Permissive behavior has always been more characteristic of spa life than city life, and scandalous reports out of 19th-century Baden-Baden indicated that “many women enjoy the attentions of a ‘spa shadow’ who isn’t their husband.” Today, women inquiring about a spa shadow will find they went the way of the bustle and the pompadour.

If early visitors to Baden-Baden spent their days lounging in baths and being luffaed (or whatever the 19th-century equivalent was), they wanted their nights to be equally invigorating. Thus, from 1821 to 1824, the Kurhaus was built; the opera was inaugurated in 1862, when Hector Berlioz himself conducted his opera Beatrice and Benedict, and a dashing Frenchman named Jacques Benazet opened a casino modeled after Empress Josephine’s favorite palace, Malmaison.

The Kurhaus (translated as “conversation house”) was the scene of glittering balls, and today, during summer, symphony concerts are held in its beautiful garden. Next door, the casino, spectacular in its neo-Baroque decor, continues to entice high rollers from across Europe to its high-stakes games of chemin de fer, roulette and baccarat (slot machines, which Baden-Badeners consider tacky, are hidden away in a basement level).

One can only hope that today’s gamblers are a bit luckier than one frequent 19th-century guest, Russian novelist Feodor Dostoevski, who wrote his novel The Gambler here after being forced to ante up his wedding ring to cover his losses — on his honeymoon, no less. (Should you suffer Dostoevski’s fate, however, rest assured: the casino will pay for your trip home, and you might even get to keep your wedding ring.)

Even if you’re not a gambler, take the afternoon tour of this sumptuous building, with its eclectic melange of French chandeliers, Persian carpets, Egyptian caryatids and Italian frescoes.

Another must-do is to join locals and visitors on their daily promenade along Lichtentaler Allee. In any season, the “Green Salon” on the Oos River, with its rare plants and towering trees, is the place to meet and greet whoever happens to be in town. The path meanders past the famous Brenner’s Park Hotel, up to the wrought-iron gates of a formal rose garden, and past stately mansions recalling the grandeur of centuries gone by. If you stay on it to the end, you’ll arrive at the medieval Lichtental Cloister, which still houses a nunnery.

Another spot worth a visit is the magnificent Festspielhaus, or Festival House. Opened in 1998, it is a shocking contrast to the neo-Baroque and neo-classical architecture of the rest of Baden-Baden. It is 21st-century in its design and acoustics, as well as the artists invited to perform here.

Should you desire to venture out of town for the day, you’ll have several choices. The most obvious is an excursion into the Black Forest, where you can walk well-marked trails and shop for cuckoo clocks in impossibly picturesque villages. Along the way, stop at beautiful (and often fog-shrouded) Lake Mummelsee, which must have been one very crowded lake. According to various legends, it was inhabited by a slimy green creature, the Teutonic version of the Loch Ness monster, along with 12 nymphs, who, if souvenir postcards are anatomically accurate, surely deserve their own calendar.

Also nearby is the Baden Wine Trail, where vineyards dot the mountains growing the grapes used in Germany’s famed riesling wines. You can stop for tastings at several wine villages along the route.

Mostly, though, you’ll probably be content to remain in Baden-Baden. Where else can you sip cappuccino at an outdoor cafe in the Old Town while listening to a concert of church bells? Or realize that “skyscrapers” refers to the lush green hills surrounding the town, and the loudest sounds are the clip-clop of carriages on cobbled streets or the gentle gurgling of the river Oos? And then there are those 22 spas, just waiting to pamper you to your heart’s content.If you go . . .

WHERE TO STAY: Brenner’s Park Hotel & Spa. One of Europe’s grand hotels with more than a century of history, the hotel is a destination in itself. It has 100 beautifully decorated rooms and suites; the one-Michelin-star Park Restaurant; the Wintergarten, which overlooks the park and Lichtentaler Allee, for more casual dining; and the Oleander Bar for a pre- or post-dinner cocktail. The spa is world-renowned, and if you really want to splurge, book the Spa Suite, a private retreat that has the Zen-like ambience of the Far East and comes equipped with a spa butler. The Spa Suite can be booked for a half-day or a full day. Rates range from roughly $360 to $1,950 a night, depending on the fluctuation of the euro. There are a number of excellent packages, ranging from the Brenner’s Beauty Break to the Art for Connoisseurs Package; (866) 435-9277, www.brenners.com.

LEARN MORE: German National Tourist Office, (800) 651-7010 or www.cometogermany.com