Lindau Information

In 2013, my partner and I were going from Friedrichshafen to Immenstadt, and we had a change of trains at Lindau. I had been to Lindau for short visits about a half dozen times, and I thought it was beautiful and she might like it, so instead of just changing trains in the station, I decided to wait an hour for the next one and let her see Lindau. We walked out of the station and onto the edge of the harbor, and it was love at first sight for her.

Four years later, when I was planning our next trip, she insisted that we spend a few nights in Lindau. We spent four nights, so three complete days. The first day we just walked around town, enjoying the sights, and we had lunch next to the jetty. Next day we took a boat across Bodensee to Rohrshach, Switzerland, then came around the end of the lake by train, stopping in Bregenz, Austria, and taking the cable car up to the Pfänder for a great view of the lake.

In short, the whole area is beautiful, and it's a great place to spend a few days.

There are a number of very expensive hotels right on the harbor, some with a view of the harbor from your balcony, but if you stay on the back side of the island, you can get some better deals. You can still visit the harbor; you just have to walk a few blocks. We stayed at Hotel Möve (seagull); we had a nice quiet room at the back of the hotel with our own shaded balcony. It was a short walk from the harbor, but there was also a bus stop nearby that would take us to the Bahnhof next to the harbor.

Lindau is lovely, I don't have much to add, except that it is both very pleasant and more convenient to take the boat from Lindau to Rorschach for onwards travel to Colmar, than to take the train around the lake via Bregenz.

First, be sure about Colmar, the scenic center of France-- at least 3 days one day each for Colmar, Strasbourg, and Route de Vin Alsace. TVG train to Paris from Strasbourg but stay in Colmar.

We prefer Meersburg to Lindau, but can't really object to Lindau. Good day trip: ferry to Mainau Insl. maybe only from Meersburg.

Lindau isn't along the rail route between Salzburg and Colmar. Without looking at DB, I'm guessing it's a far detour.

But it really is a gorgeous little place. I can't remember the name of the restaurant where I ate (this was back in 2006), but the view of the harbor, over the Bodensee and to the distant Alps, on a clear day, is one of the most stunning in Europe. Especially if the mountains are snow-capped, which may or may not be the case in October.

Not really applicable to your trip, but Lindau also has one of the best small town Christmas markets I've visited.

I know I'm not exactly answering your question, but .... nearby in Friedrichhafen is really interesting museum about zeppelins (think Hindenburg disaster). Further up the lake is Mainau Island, a beautiful botanical garden. Have a great trip.

Without looking at DB, I'm guessing it's a far detour.

While that is true in terms of travel time there is not much difference in terms of distance. It's a rather short detour from the station of Buchs (where the direct train transits from Switzerland into Liechtenstein and Austria) and an even shorter for the Lindau - Salzburg leg. It's a 10 min S-Bahn ride from Lindau to Bregenz, where you can catch the direct ÖBB RailJet to Salzburg.

There are also connections by boat across the lake from Rorschach to Lindau and from Romanshorn or Konstanz to Friedrichshafen with connections to the train to Lindau.

more convenient to take the boat from Lindau to Rorschach for onwards
travel to Colmar, than to take the train around the lake via Bregenz.

We weren't going on to Colmar, it was just a day trip while we were staying in Lindau. We were interested in seeing Bregenz and specifically in taking the Pfänderbahn, so took the train from Rohrschach back to Lindau.

In Patti's case, leaving Lindau, I would take the train to Friedrichhafen, from where there is a direct German IRE 2 hours to Basel (and connections through France to Colmar) via Überlingen and Schaffhausen.