Weekend in Lindau

I'm planning on going to Lindau this weekend, I've heard it's beautiful.

Does anyone have any suggestions or links of things to do in or around Lindau?

Thanks in advance!

Er...swim?

Drive around the lake- there's loads of nice places. Top of the mountain in Bregenz is nice too - also buy your petrol in Austria - lots cheaper. And, errr, that's it. There's a nice little town near Lindau, name escapes me, Wasserburg perhaps? Worth checking out too.

http://www.bodenseeferien.de/presse/index...0910150112.data

you can find everything here if you read a little german

I worked in Friendrichshafen before and there's loads to do including swimming of course. Didn't go to Lindau that much but remember lots of pituresque restaurants at the side of the lake there. There's always boat trips of course . ...

I know a guy who drives a boat/ferry on the Bodensee, I`ll tell him you`re coming. Just go to any ferry driver and say Hi it`s me I`m from America, you`ll have a jolly fine day out at no expense.

There are boats which go along from village to village along the lake (I remember then letting me take my bike on one which was handy).
Cycle round part of the Bodensee.
Go to Bregenz and look at the big stage in the lake.
Go to Bregenz and cycle across Austria at its narrowest point.
Hire a rowing boat.
If it´s raining the Zeppelinmuseum in Friedrichshafen is ok.
There´s a cable car up the Pfänder (behind Bregenz) and I think there is some wildlife park up there.

Don´t expect any nightlife. I lived in Friedrichshafen for a few years and the social highlight was a monthly "Achtzigerparty"...
Maybe Lindau is better.

Have fun,
Bron

Meersburg. Very beautiful and a priority.

Lindau is also very attractive. A suggested itinerary would be: A look around Lindau on the first morning, a cycle ride along the lake in the afternoon. You can get the train back once you've had enough. On the second day, visit Meersburg, perhaps detouring to Kloster Birnau on the way. Or take a ferry ride across to Konstanz and have a look-see around the town.

Any spare time can be spent eating ice cream etc; it's a nice area to unwind. Personally, I wouldn't bother about Bregenz.


Meersburg

If you like flowers, take a ferry over to Insel Mainau -- just gorgeous and considered one of the top tourist destinations am Bodensee. May be pretty crowded on a weekend though. You can definitely get a ferry over there from Meersburg, not sure if they run direct from Lindau itself. I agree that Meersburg is also worth a visit; there is a nice cafe inside the castle if the weather isn't too great. You can go there without paying the castle entrance fee.

Actually, you should definitely take a boat ride on the lake at some point -- info from the BSB.

If the weather is clear and you want a view over the lake, check out the Gehrenbergturm in Markdorf. Minutes from my in-laws and I think about the highest point on the German side of the lake.

I'm sure it's a bit late now, but I recommend biking around it. It's a beautiful trip.

...takes several days though.

Anyone know of a good, cheap and cheerful place to stay around here, that is family friendly?

I'm thinking of surprising my husband for his birthday.

Thanks in advance.

@mulah: I assume that your husband is not on TT, otherwise it wont be much of a surprise!

No, he's not (that I know of. . . ), but thanks for the thought.

I generally don't hold with all the "Teuro" stuff but after the Euro came in I noticed all the pensions in Lindau seemed to get a lot dearer.
But Bavaria's only international seaport is well worth a visit for a chill out weekend.

The town is nice for a wander and there's a couple of museums. But we mostly spent time eating ice cream and drinking cocktails on the terrace of the station cafe overlooking the harbour. Go for one "gut bürgerlich" meal, we liked the Goldener Lamm Hotel for that.

You really should go more towards the summer though, when the ferries are operating.
Have a ride for just a few Euros, get a beer from the bar and sit on the open deck watching the Alps and world go by.
One of my best experiences in Germany, EVER.

Bodensee is a big area; choose which town you want to stay in and then take it from there.

Good thinking about the ferries - hadn't thought about that.

Just off to search for other weekend suggestions, thanks for your replies

Konstanz is a good base because you can dump the car and take the ferries and trains everywhere very easily. There are some ferries in winter, but the summer timetable is between April 1 and October 21.

Bodenseeschifffahrt

Yes , it is called Wasserburg. It is very near to Lindau. A small beautiful lake side town.

http://www.wasserburg-bodensee.de/

Hi.
I've been living in Lindau for the last ten years, so I hope that I'm well qualified to make a few suggestions! First of all, Lindau has a (recently improved) website, in German and English, which is worth looking at: http://lindau.icserver3.de/index.php. It's worth planning a trip to coincide with some of the big events on the Lindau calendar (eg. Fasnachts parade - on Faschings Sunday, Kinderfest - the last Wednesday before the kids break up for the summer holidays, the "Rund Um" round-the-lake sailing race in early June, or the Jahrmarkt in early November) as that's when you will really see the spirit of Lindau come alive.

There are some good and friendly hotels (Alte Post - on the island, with great food; Lindenhof Hotel - in the 'posh' suburb of Bad Schachen, but run by a really friendly young guy who is also a bit of a whiz in the kitchen; and the Rehberg Hotel which is just across on the 'mainland' and around the corner from the main bus exchange which is handy if you want to explore without a car). The youth hostel in Lindau is also fairly new and would be a good option if you want to stay here on a tight budget. Just in case anyone is reading this who is interested in camping near here, the "Gitzenweiler Hof" site, just outside of Lindau has been voted the second best in the whole of Germany. There's also another good site right on the lake, near the border to Austria ("Park Camping").

As for things to do, if you are here in the summer (mid-May to mid-September) then the various Strandbads and Freibads around the lake are open (Lindau has four alone). There are also the various ferry trips, as others have already mentioned (Insel Mainau included), and this summer there will be occasional trips available with the high-speed catamaran, which until now has just operated between Friedrichshafen and Konstanz. In July and August there is the open-air opera on the Seebuhne at Bregenz which is world famous. The productions are the same for two years, to cover the costs of the stage sets (which are worth a visit in themselves). This year (and in 2008) the opera will be Tosca and even if you aren't an opera buff, the settling alone makes for a remarkable evening.

On Lindau island there are free guided tours around the town, or you can just have a wander around by yourself. The tourist office is just off the harbour, opposite the station and you can pick up free maps and leaflets from there. There's also bike hire available from several places which makes it easy to explore the lakeside.

If you visit in the winter, there's an open-air ice-rink, right next to the lake, which can help to burn off a few calories (!) and there's ski-ing within easy reach (Vorarlberg in Austria has loads of good resorts within a 45 min drive), in addition there are some scenic langlauf courses at Schiedegg. If you fancy a bit of pampering and indulgence, there are thermal baths along the lake (Meersburg and Uberlingen) plus the Heilbad at St Margrethen (25 mins drive away just over the Swiss border).

If you are into a bit of retail therapy, there are factory outlets nearby (eg. Wolford tights and Wolff underwear in Bregenz, and Bahlsen biscuits in Lindau itself), plus good shopping in nearby Ravensburg, Bregenz, Dornbirn and Friedrichshafen. There are also a fair few vineyards, orchards and cheese-makers in the area, which provide visitors (and locals!) with plenty of culinary treats to take home with them.

I hope that I haven't gone on too much, but it's such a nice place to stay and I'm sure that it would appeal to most age-groups. It's converted me (and I was living in London before I came here!). Have a good holiday!

PS. I forgot to mention that you can take a scenic plane ride (in a light aircraft) from Lindau airfield, which is a real experience. There are zeppelin flights and helicopter flights available from Friedrichshafen airport too, although I believe there's quite a waiting list for the zeppelin rides.

I see you already got great tips from many people . I just would like to add some thoughts:

If you wanna have dinner at a nice little brewery overlooking the lake, then go to Gasthaus/Brauerei Max&Moritz:

http://www.maxmoritz-bier.de/

It will be on your way from Lindau to many other beautiful places around the lake such as Meersburg (as mentioned by another poster above).

Also on your way is Friedrichshafen. Yes, the city is not worth looking at at all BUT you will have the best view over the lake from the city's promenade. Walk along the cafes and small shops and you will find a beautiful scenery. There is also a small tower-thing you can climb up to overlook the lake from a bit above.
When you pass by the yacht harbor, walking in the direction of Konstanz on the promenade (just about 500m or so) you will find a nice little semi-island to chill-out and watch the thousands of boats on the lake.

And in case of bad weather, a short visit of the Zeppelin museum might be interesting.

http://www.friedrichshafen.de/start2.phtml

Also from Friedrichshafen, you can take the ferry across the lake to the Swiss side.

You like wine and wanna try some from the lake constance region? Go to Hagnau or Meersburg to try and shop till you drop:

http://www.wv-hagnau.de/index.php?id=7&lang=de

http://www.bodenseewein.de/html/winzer.html

Hungry again and wanna spend a decent amount of money for the best fish around?

The restaurant Traube am See lies directly on your way from Friedrichshafen to the 'wineyards'.

http://www.traubeamsee.de/index_d.htm

I wish you a lovely stay.

And if you decide to go back there again in summertime, go and watch an opera on the huge stage of the Bregenzer Festspiele, which is standing in the lake and the audience can enjoy the sunset while seeing a beautiful play. A must-go for everyone during play season!

http://www.bregenzerfestspiele.com/

Enjoy.

CaBe

There is indeed lots to do down there.

jimbo is right, the village with the old beautiful church on the peninsula is called Wasserburg. Rent a bike. Its beautiful to go for a bikeride along the lake.
If you drive make sure you don't drive the B31 but all the other small roads. Quite scenic.

The Bregenz mountain is called Pfänder. Little zoo there on the top with beautiful views. You can drive up there or walk from Bregenz or the cable car.
In winter it's also fun to go there sleighing.

in Wasserburg there is a fruit farm which make there own very delicious Schnaps of all sorts of fruit. It's selfmade and delicious! The people are very very freindly and sometimes even open on a Sunday. I little bit of German though would help as there english isn't that good. It's called Family Hanser, in der "Schwand" (=address).

Also check out www.bodensee-travel.de

There is always lots of countryside festivals in a tent or a openair n the fields. In the evening they ave huge rock bands which are really good and drinks are very very cheap (whiskey coke for 3 €) Check out the ads along the street. every fest with a band playing that is not Musikverein is quite worth seeing as for somebody who doesn't know it it's an experience I think. if the "Musikverein" is playing it's also nice but it's way more traditional.

alspo be aware if you order beer.
Helles is called Bier or Export. If yu order Helles you will get Weissbier.
If you want to order Weissbier you will have to order Weizen.
Have a taste of Meckatzer Löwenbräu. Lovely brew!
Down there you mainly drink Pils anyway.

great thread

I'm bringing my young family to Lindau for a week at the end of June...Eurocamping at Germany's No. 2 Campsite no less :-)

Woo Hoo!