Discover Friedrichshafen
Accommodation in Friedrichshafen
Friedrichshafen can be explored through a range of very different highlights: the history of aviation and space travel, the history of education, and paths along the lakeside promenade. The Dornier Museum brings 100 years of aviation and space history to life; the Friedrichshafen section of the Lake Constance Trail runs along the lakeside promenade. When looking for a holiday apartment, it helps to first decide what kind of trip you want: should museums and guided tours take centre stage, or would you like to include routes and seasonal experiences?
Two museums, two perspectives
The Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen brings 100 years of aviation and space history to life. A guided tour introduces the development of aviation and the pioneering achievements of engineer Claude Dornier. The Friedrichshafen School Museum presents the history of education in Germany across three floors, starting in the Middle Ages. These are two distinct fields of knowledge: technological developments in aviation and space travel, and the history of schooling. If culture is your main focus, you can choose which perspective you would like to shape your trip most.
Lakeside promenade and themed trails
Along its Friedrichshafen section, the Lake Constance Trail follows the lakeside promenade, from the mouth of the Rotach to the Castle Church. Its 20 information boards explain weather phenomena and local history, as well as bird migration, exotic plants in the city garden and the feathered companions you encounter every day in the city. The trail thus connects a range of nature and urban topics through a series of stops.
The 14-kilometre Zeppelin Trail offers a different way to explore the area. In Friedrichshafen, it runs from the former Grenzhof brickworks via Manzell and the city centre, with its lakeside promenade, Zeppelin shipyard site and Zeppelin Village, to the airport. For the Lake Constance Trail, the promenade section and the information boards provide concrete points of reference; for the Zeppelin Trail, these are its length and the sequence of places along the way. You can take these differences into account when planning your days and choosing where to stay.
Festivals, boat trips and history
The Seehasenfest is a children’s and local heritage festival. Its programme, which has changed little since the festival was founded in 1949, includes sporting competitions, a parade and a fairground, among other things.
The Seeschwalbe is a nostalgic mahogany wooden boat. In good weather, sightseeing cruises are offered from April to September along the lakeside promenade and past the Castle Pier and Castle Church. Check current availability before your trip. A guided tour about the history of the Castle Church explains that it was built from the former Hofen Monastery between 1695 and 1702. A bookable option is available for groups; check the booking details as you plan.
The wider region: Bodenseekreis
If you are planning to explore beyond Friedrichshafen, you can also consider the wider Bodenseekreis travel destination. The Bodenseekreis stretches along almost the entire northern shore of Lake Constance in Baden-Württemberg and extends into the Upper Swabian hill country and, in the east, the West Allgäu hill country. It has 57.7 kilometres of Lake Constance shoreline. Its landscape is shaped by the lake and the adjoining hills, with fruit orchards, vineyards, meadows and forests.
The Bodenseekreis also offers its own nature and culture highlights. Eriskircher Ried is the largest and most valuable nature reserve on the German shore of the Upper Lake and offers opportunities to experience local nature. The Unteruhldingen stilt houses are Germany’s oldest archaeological open-air museum; the visitor route includes the ARCHAEORAMA multimedia show, featuring a virtual dive to the stilt houses in Lake Constance. These regional attractions broaden the picture beyond Friedrichshafen’s museums and trails, without implying that they are the same as the city’s offerings.
Choose a holiday apartment to suit your travel plans
If you want Friedrichshafen’s museums, lakeside promenade and the routes described here to be your main focus, start your search for a holiday apartment in Friedrichshafen. If you would also like to consider nature and culture destinations elsewhere in the wider Bodenseekreis, take this broader regional perspective into account when choosing. This way, you can tailor your search to the mix of history, trails and nature you want, rather than using just one experience as your only guide.
Discover more destinations
Discover more destinations: Ailingen, Hagnau am Bodensee, Deggenhausertal, Immenstaad am Bodensee, Sipplingen, Salem, Neukirch, Roggenbeuren.
Go to the wider travel overview: Lake Constance.
