Things to do in Friedrichshafen
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Friedrichshafen
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months, with blossom and the Bodenseefestival in May, swimming from June, and harvest and dahlias in September.
Peak summer, with Seehasenfest in July and Kulturufer into August, but the highest prices, crowds and storm risk.
Zeppelin flights resume and AERO fills hotels, tulips start on Mainau, and the lake is still cold.
Autumn colour and the last Zeppelin weeks, with Fakuma spiking hotel rates and the lake season winding down.
Worst window for a first trip, short and grey, softened by the Christmas market from late November and Fasnet in February.
What's on
- Seehasenfest mid-July
The town's great folk festival on the promenade, with fireworks over the lake.
- Kulturufer late July to early August
About ten days of open air theatre, music and street performance along the cultural shore.
- Bodenseefestival May
A cross border classical and arts festival across the lake towns, with the Graf-Zeppelin-Haus a core venue.
- AERO Friedrichshafen April
Europe's leading general aviation show, a thrill for aviation fans and a hotel price warning for others.
- Interboot September
The international water sports fair, when the harbour fills with boats.
- Bodensee-Weihnacht late November to December
The lakeside Christmas market on the promenade.
- Häfler Fasnet February
Swabian Alemannic carnival with handmade wooden masks, peaking with the big parade.
Best things to do in Friedrichshafen
Zeppelin Museum
The world's largest airship collection, with a walk through section of the Hindenburg inside the old harbour station.
Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen
A century of Dornier aircraft and space exhibits by the airport, with planes you can walk through outside.
Uferpromenade Friedrichshafen
The longest promenade on the German lake shore, made for sunset walks with the Alps across the water.
Aussichtsturm Moleturm Friedrichshafen
A free tower at the end of the harbour mole with the definitive view over town, lake and Alps.
Schlosskirche Friedrichshafen
The twin towered Baroque palace church that is the town's landmark, best combined with a concert.
Schulmuseum Friedrichshafen
Period classrooms across two centuries of schooling, in a small museum visitors rate above the big ones.
Pfahlbaumuseum Unteruhldingen
Reconstructed Stone and Bronze Age lake villages on stilts, walked on boardwalks over the water.
Haldenbergkapelle
A small chapel hill above Ailingen with the local's panorama over town, lake and Alps at sunset.
Where to stay in Friedrichshafen
Uferpromenade, Hafen and Stadt centre
first trip, couples, car free stays
Walk to the museums, boats, stations and promenade restaurants, with the lake sunset as the evening.
Fischbach and the western shore villages
food led trips, repeat visitors, families
Quieter village districts with two of the best hotel tables, a short shore train or bike ride from the centre.
Schnetzenhausen
wellness and celebration stays
A village setting built around one destination spa hotel, about ten minutes from the lake by car.
Think twice about
- Airport and Messe sprawl, Allmannsweiler
Not unsafe, just industrial estates, exhibition halls and car parks that are dead in the evening with nothing to walk to.
- B31 arterial and eastern industrial shore strips
Not unsafe, just big road and big box strips that are miserable as a base without a car.
Best restaurants in Friedrichshafen
Die Speiserei im Maier
Seasonal, largely organic set menus in Fischbach, the acclaimed kitchen that leads this town.
Lukullum
Modern Swabian cooking in a stylish, energetic dining room, with a much loved sky bar attached.
s'Wirtshaus am See
Traditional Swabian classics and lake fish in a big beer garden directly on the promenade.
Bella Vista
The town's reliable Italian with a lake terrace, the crowd pleaser for mixed groups and families.
Bangkok am See
A long running Thai kitchen at the harbour end of the promenade, a welcome change from Swabian classics.
Tandoori Palace
Indian and Pakistani cooking with a strong vegetarian offer and a genuine local following.
Zum Klosterwirt
Traditional German inn cooking, the like for like alternative when the big promenade Wirtshaus is full.
I Trulli Ristorante Pizzeria
Puglian inflected Italian and proper pizza away from the front, chosen by locals for the food.
Outdoor things to do in Friedrichshafen
Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei
A gentle sightseeing flight in a modern Zeppelin NT over the town, the lake and the orchard hinterland.
Insel Mainau
A 45 hectare flower island of tulips, roses and palms, with a butterfly house and a Baroque palace.
Pfänderbahn
The cable car up Bregenz's Pfänder for the three country lake panorama, an alpine wildlife park and ridge walks.
Golfclub Bodensee Weißensberg
A Robert Trent Jones Sr. championship course in orchard country a few kilometres from the lake.
Strandbad Friedrichshafen
The municipal lake lido with lawns and jetties, where the town spends its summer afternoons swimming.
Bootsvermietung Strandbad Friedrichshafen
SUP, pedal boats and licence free motorboats rented at the lido, best in the last light of the day.
Meersburg
A steep, vine covered castle town reached by a flat shore cycle ride or a lake boat from Friedrichshafen.
Lindau
A historic island old town in Bavaria with a lighthouse harbour, reached by cycle path, boat or shore train.
Best hotels in Friedrichshafen
PLAZA Hotel Buchhorner Hof
The historic promenade hotel with lake view rooms, a praised breakfast and a small spa in the centre.
SEEhotel Friedrichshafen
A modern, efficient hotel between Stadt station and the shore, with lake views from its upper floors.
Hotel City Krone
A central four star two minutes from the lake, with a 500 square metre wellness area and indoor pool.
Hotel Maier
A small family run hotel in Fischbach whose restaurant is the best table in Friedrichshafen.
Hotel Knoblauch
A family run four star with indoor and outdoor pools, a short drive from the lake and centre.
Ringhotel Krone
The town's highest rated wellness hotel, with pools, saunas and half board menus in a village setting.
Hotel ibis Friedrichshafen Airport Messe
A clean, reliable budget chain hotel by the airport, best for late arrivals and early flights.
Holiday Inn Express Friedrichshafen
A quiet budget hotel in the airport area whose included breakfast its reviewers emphasise.
Is Friedrichshafen expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €140 a person |
| Splurge | €320 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei: months ahead
- Insel Mainau: a few days ahead
- Golfclub Bodensee Weißensberg: weeks ahead
- Bootsvermietung Strandbad Friedrichshafen: a few days ahead
- Rheinfall: a few days ahead
- Die Speiserei im Maier: weeks ahead
- Lukullum: a few days ahead
- s'Wirtshaus am See: a few days ahead
- Book the Zeppelin NT flight weeks to months ahead for summer and hold a weather fallback day.
- Book Die Speiserei im Maier and weekend Lukullum and Wirtshaus tables days to weeks ahead.
- Check the Messe calendar before fixing dates, as AERO, Interboot and Fakuma fill the town and spike room rates.
- Buy Mainau tickets online for the lower price and to skip the ticket queue.
Is Friedrichshafen safe?
- Lake Constance storms build fast, so heed the orange storm warning lights and rental operators' instructions.
- Supervise children at the Strandbad and do not swim out after drinking.
- Carry ID for Austria and Switzerland days, and a card or Swiss francs for Swiss spending.
- Emergency number is 112 in Germany and Austria.
Friedrichshafen travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Front row promenade cafes charge for the sunset, so eat at the picks and drink at the front instead.
- Do not rush the Zeppelin and Dornier museums into one short day, as each deserves two unhurried hours.
- Avoid Mainau at midday in peak bloom without an online ticket, and go early on a weekday instead.
- The Schloss is private, so do not build a plan around palace interiors.
Getting around Friedrichshafen: public transport and more
- Walk the centre, harbour and promenade, which sit within about a kilometre of Stadt and Hafen stations.
- Use the shore railway for Fischbach, Meersburg direction towns, Lindau and Bregenz, and the Katamaran for Konstanz.
- Ask your hotel for the Echt Bodensee Card, which the official guide says gives free regional buses and trains to guests.
- Cycle the flat, signed Bodensee Radweg, and add a bike ticket for trains and boats when you combine them.
Who Friedrichshafen suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Friedrichshafen your trip
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