Downtown Baden is located on the left bank of the river Limmat in its eponymous valley.

Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space in the municipality increased by 4 ha (9.9 acres) and is now about 3.18% of the total area.

[12] Hippocrates had counseled against the use of water from mineral springs,[13] but by the time of Vitruvius,[14] Pliny,[15] and Galen they were being selectively employed for certain ailments.

[note 1] This Roman vicus was to the north of the Baden gorge on the Haselfeld, founded to support the legionary camp at Vindonissa.

There was a pool complex on the left bank of the Limmat fed by a system of springs with 47 °C (117 °F) water.

Reginus's pottery workshop and Gemellianus's bronze works flourished during the second half of the 2nd century.

[11] The pools were fortified and a large number of coins stamped with references to the hot springs show it continued to be settled and frequented into late antiquity, but expansion of the settlement of Haselfeld came to an end.

[11] A medieval necropolis in Kappelerhof has been dated as far back as the 7th century and a local lord fortifying the Stein by the 10th.

[7] Around that time, its land was held by the Lenzburgs, some of whom styled themselves as the "Counts of Baden" in the 12th century and erected a castle.

[20] Around 1230, they founded the medieval city of Baden,[20] holding markets and erecting a bridge across the river in 1242.

[7] Upon the death of the childless Hartman IV in 1264, his lands were seized by Rudolf von Habsburg by right of his wife Gertrude's claim.

Stein Castle was held by Habsburg bailiffs and maintained the administration and archives for their surrounding territory.

Under the Confederation, their bailiff held a castle on the right bank of the Limmat, controlling access to the bridge.

[7] In 1714, the treaties of Rastatt and Baden ended hostilities between France and the Habsburgs, the last theater of the War of the Spanish Succession.

[11] Another Treaty of Baden ended the Toggenburg War among the Protestant and Catholic Swiss cantons in 1718.

[6] They were frequented by Goethe, Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, and particularly often by Hermann Hesse, who visited the town annually over almost thirty years.

[citation needed] The SNB connecting Zürich to Baden was Switzerland's first railway, opening in 1847.

Prior to the First World War, foreign visitors were few in number, but the summer tourist season was thought to swell the town.

[36] In the 19th and 20th century Baden became an industrial town, main seat of the former Brown Boveri Company.

Most industrial facilities have moved, but Baden is still the seat of many of the engineering services of ABB and several branches of GE's Power business which was acquired from Alstom in 2015.

The former industrial quarter to the north of the city is now being redeveloped into offices, shopping and leisure facilities.

[39] The old town, the Tagsatzung room in the city hall, the 1847 railway station and the building of the Stiftung Langmatt are listed as heritage sites of national significance.

The industrial sites include the ABB Schweiz archive along with the former offices of Brown Boveri Company as well as the regional former utilities plant on Haselstrasse 15.

These include; Bernerhaus at Weite Gasse 13, Haus Zum Schwert on Schwertstrasse or Oelrainstrasse 29, the Hotel Verenahof, the Hotel Zum wilden Mann, the spa-theater with a glass foyer at Parkstrasse 20, the Restaurant Paradies on Cordulaplatz, Villa Boveri (since 1943 Clubhaus BBC/ABB) and the Villa Langmatt (now Museum Langmatt, an art museum[41][42]) at Römerstrasse 30.

2 km (1.2 mi) south of Baden, on a distinct peninsula of the Limmat, is the Cistercian Wettingen Abbey (1227–1841), with old painted glass in the cloisters and early 17th century carved stalls in the choir of the church.

8 km (5 mi) west of Baden is the small town of Brugg (9,500 inhabitants) in a fine position on the Aare, and close to the remains of the Roman colony of Vindonissa (today Windisch), as well as to the monastery (founded 1310) of Königsfelden, formerly the burial-place of the early Habsburgs (the castle of Habsburg is but a short way off), still retaining much fine medieval painted glass.

The Volksschule Baden, the municipal public primary and secondary school, serves levels Kindergarten through Sekundarstufe I.

The Realschule has the lowest level of academic difficulty and typically leads to an apprenticeship or vocational school.

There were 108 students attending the Realschule in the municipality, 254 in the Sekundarschule and 420 at the Bezirksschule, with the remainder in apprenticeships or other job training.

They play their home games at the Esp Stadium in Fislisbach, a short distance from Baden.