Tettnang: Hop Trail, Castle and Hop Culture
Accommodation in Tettnang
Hop gardens, insights into the history of hop growing and a castle with guided tours give Tettnang a distinctive character. You can explore the town in different ways: on foot along the hop trail, on a tour of rooms in the New Palace or on a longer cycle ride. In 2010, Tettnang hops were recognised by the European Commission as a protected geographical indication (PGI)—an interesting starting point for a visit that also explores regional agriculture.
Discover hop growing on foot
The approximately eight-kilometre Hop Trail is a circular route between Tettnang town centre and Siggenweiler. Its eleven stops cover the history of hop growing in Tettnang and changes in agriculture. The walk therefore takes you not only through the landscape but also explains the importance of hops to Tettnang and the region. At the highest point near Dieglisweiler, you can learn which factors influence the flowering of Tettnang hops; from there, the view extends to the Alps and Lake Constance.
Along the way, hop gardens, orchards, hamlets and isolated farms shape the cultivated landscape. Three rest and viewpoint areas provide places to pause. You can also see the Wolf WSZ550 hop-picking machine up close and learn more about the picking process. Those particularly interested in agriculture and how it has changed will therefore find more on the circular route than just views of the growing areas.
The Hop Trail is suitable for outings with a pushchair. For families with toddlers, the paved alternative route via Bernau is recommended instead of the nature trail over Brünnensweiler Höhe. This specific route choice is useful when planning your day: if you are travelling with small children, you can follow the recommendation without having to compare the circular route with other tours.
A longer cycling loop
For an active day out, there is the signposted Tettnang Hop Loop: a moderately difficult 34-kilometre circular cycle route. It runs from the Lake Constance Cycle Path up to the hills behind Tettnang. Suggested starting points are Tettnang, Eriskirch, Langenargen or Kressbronn on Lake Constance. You can consider this as a cycling option in its own right; its moderate difficulty rating and total distance are useful details for planning.
Palace rooms and local history
From April to October, specialists lead tours through the stairwell cabinets and the residential and reception rooms on the piano nobile of the New Palace every hour on the hour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday. Themed tours of the New Palace and the town of Tettnang cover different aspects of aristocratic and bourgeois life. If you are interested in the town’s history and the social worlds of its residents, you can make these tours the focus of your visit.
Along with the New Palace, the Gatehouse Castle is also one of Tettnang’s landmarks. The roof structures of the Gatehouse Castle and the gate tower date from the 16th century; the Holy Cross Chapel was added in 1578. The rooms on the second and third upper floors of the Gatehouse Castle are richly painted. The Hop Trail and the history of the castles offer different perspectives on your stay: one takes you through a cultivated landscape shaped by agriculture, the other into Tettnang’s architectural and social history.
If you would like to base your holiday apartment search on these experiences, first consider whether guided castle visits, the Hop Trail or the longer cycle ride will be the main focus of your trip. In addition to Tettnang, the Hop Loop lists three other possible starting points—Eriskirch, Langenargen and Kressbronn on Lake Constance—which you can take into account when planning your trip.
More destinations: Kressbronn on Lake Constance, Meckenbeuren, Langenargen, Salem, Friedrichshafen, Eriskirch, Heiligenberg, Bodman-Ludwigshafen.
Go to the main travel overview: Lake Constance.
