Lake Constance Germany

About Lake of Constance: I fully agree it's a must-see! What's important to know? The German shore is rather undulating, the Swiss one is spectacular - to look at from the German side. So make sure you reside on the German shore, it's a breathtaking view at day and night. I recommend you center around your Friedrichshafen hub. All the beautiful sights (Lindau, Meersburg, Mainau, Constance, Birnau, Bregenz) are within an hours reach. Friedrichshafen's airport is served by Lufthansa, InterSky and Ryanair (from London) - among others. It's train station is well connected with the Stuttgart and Munich areas. It's got a beautiful boardwalk around its harbor and it's also a main hub for all the scheduled boats and ferrys. From the bay of Friedrichshafen the lake is 14km wide (the Strait of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa is exactly that size, too). Also check www.friedrichshafen.de. As to hotels: A picturesque, old but very well located one is the Buchhorner Hof. (to be continued)

Personally I recommend the Seehotel Friedrichshafen (http://www.friedrichshafen.ws/defaultz_v2.asp?lang=1&id=27&bg=66CC33) for its excellent location (right on the boardwalk, most rooms with stunning view, train station around the corner). Make sure you have dinner at the Lukullum Restaurant, only 5mins walk from that hotel! They serve local fish from the lake as well as many regional (i.e. Swiss, German and Austrian) specialties in one beautifully designed restaurant.

Check out Lindau, a gorgeous little resort town on an island just off the lakeshore. You will be one of the few American tourists in sight. Sorry, I don't know of any places to stay. I've also heard Ludwigshaffen is really nice, but I have never been there.

ACK! Forgive my mistake with "Ludwigshaffen"... wrong German king...

There is a Ludwigshafen as well at Lake of Constance. It's a really small town, quite nice... but compared to all the other sites I wouldn't consider it as a must-see... a nice-to-see maybe... ;-)

We go to Lake Constance every June. We have stayed at two very nice but not cheap hotels; not sure if there are any cheap ones there! The Goldenes Rad is almost on the lake but getting more expensive every year, maybe 125 euro for a double. Parking is extra. But gourmet breakfast and super convenient location.

This year we are staying at the City Krone. Again not cheap, but close to the Lake in the pedestrian zone, and parking is included. I think we are paying about 125 euro for a junior suite, breakfast included, and free internet access.

We went to Mainau last summer; be sure to go, as it is beautiful beyond description. The butterfly house alone is worth the trip.

One year we took an all day boat trip to Stein am Rhein, the beginning of the Rhine river. Was lovely but long, just a beautiful day on the Lake.

Lake Constance is a must see. My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Meersburg. Beautiful old city with a castle and royal palace, right next to the Flower Island. The view from the Palace gardens is amzaing. Our first night there, the had a orchestral concert at sunset in the alstadt as we overlooked it from the castle gardens. So you must see Meersburg, the Flower Island(cant remember the name but it is right next to Meersburg, Lindau is only a stone throw away. ALso the beginning of the Rhine Falls is just over the Swiss Border. Austria is only about an Hour drive from their. So much to see so little time.

The small town of Meersburg has one of most charming hotels, the Gasthof zum Baren:
http://www.baeren-meersburg.de/
The town has 2 castles and is on the side of a hill with good views across to Switzerland. It's also where you catch the car ferry over to the city of Konstanz.
At the eastern end of the lake by the Austrian border is Lindau, also a great place to stay, but larger and hotel prices are a bit higher.
The 'flower island', Mainau, is best visited in spring & summer, but the pilgrimage church in Birnau is definitely worth a visit.

I agree with most of the posters here. But if you look at all the pros and cons Friedrichshafen (frederic's harbor) in my opinion is the better base for this area as e.g. Constance and the flower island can be accessed by high speed boat, the Swiss Alpine side can be accessed by hourly ferry boat service, the Austrian side is only a few miles away... Do do a day trip to Sankt Gallen (Switzerland) and Mount Säntis!! Watch it on Google Earth in 3d-mode and you know why... cable car to Mt. Säntis is pricey but worth it.

I agree with the one poster,that I would stay in Lindau. I was in Constance for a week, but stayed at a friend apartment in town and it was the best part of our Germany trip. The next time we go back to Germany we will be spending another few days in Constance, I never heard of it untill we went to Germany, it was great, the food was great, the people were great, and i thought there was alot of things to do and see in the area but if you just want to chill out, you can do that too!! I just remember the nights in a bar that used to be a church hanging and having a great time with the locals...Enjoy Constance!!