Despite its heavy-industry profile, Stuttgart has a surprisingly small-town feel. Not a skyscraper or smokestack in sight. More than half of the city's acreage is green, and there are no fewer than 19 mineral springs that daily spout some 22 million liters of crystalline mineral water. No wonder they fill swimming pools and fountains with it. Since some are attributed with healing properties, there is a booming local spa industry. The Leuze and Bad Cannstatt mineral baths offer every conceivable high-tech water adventure, from waterfalls and hydrojets to chlorine-free cold and warm bathing pools. The Berg mineral baths offer a more tranquil 1950s feel, complete with rubber bathing caps. VitaParc serves up a smorgasbord of wellness treatments and internationally themed baths, including the lavish Swabian Springs. Hint: In Germany, the timid should check bathing suit and mixed bathing policies.—by Lydia Itoi
Contact
Leuze Mineral Baths, Am Leuzebad 2-6, tel. + 49/0711/216 4210; open daily; "textile-free" bathing Wed.-Sat. 9 -11pm;
Bad Cannstatt, Sulzerrainstrasse 2, tel. +49/0711/216 9241;
Berg Mineral Baths, Am Schwanenplatz 9, tel. + 49/0711/923 6516;
VitaParc in the Si Centre, (Plieningerstrasse 100, tel. +49/0711/725 253
