Sights in Lake Constance
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
Affenberg Salem
No zoo-like cages, no circus antics, just happy Barbary macaques free to roam in a near-to-natural habitat is the concept behind the conservation-oriented Affenberg Salem. Trails interweave the 20-hectare woodlands, where you can feed tail-less monkeys one piece of special popcorn at a time, observe their behaviour (you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours…) and get primate close-ups at hourly feedings. The park is also home to storks; listen for bill clattering and look out for their nests near the entrance.
reviewed
-
Marienschlucht
Well worth the 15km trek north of Konstanz, Marienschlucht is a deep ravine wedged between the villages of Bodman and Wallhausen. A wooden staircase zigzags up through the chasm, past a babbling stream and 30m-high cliffs thick with lichen and ferns. The top rewards with snapshot views of Lake Constance through the beech trees. Bear left to follow the trail along the ridge and back down to Wallhausen. There are picnic areas and a kiosk en route, as well as pebbly bays for refreshing dips in the lake.
reviewed
-
Schloss Salem
Founded as a Cistercian monastery in 1134, the immense estate known as Schloss Salem was once the largest and richest of its kind in southern Germany. The Grand Duchy of Baden sold out to the state recently, but you can still picture the royals swanning around the hedge maze, gardens and extravagant rococo apartments dripping with stucco. The west wing shelters an elite boarding school, briefly attended by Prince Philip (Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II).
reviewed
-
Pfahlbauten
Be catapulted back to the neolithic age and the Bronze Age at the Pfahlbauten, carefully reconstructed pile dwellings based on the findings of local excavations. The 45-minute tours of the lakefront complex take in stilt dwellings that give an insight into the lives of farmers, fishermen and craftsmen. Kids love the hands-on activities from axe making to starting fires using flints.
reviewed
-
Birnau Pilgrimage Church
The exuberant, powder-pink Birnau pilgrimage church is one of Lake Constance's architectural highlights. It was built by the rococo master Peter Thumb of Vorarlberg in 1746. When you walk in, the decor is so intricate and profuse you don't know where to look first. At some point your gaze will be drawn to the ceiling, where Gottfried Bernhard Göz worked his usual fresco magic.
reviewed
-
Mainau
Jutting out over the Lake Constance and bursting with flowers, the lusciously green islet of Mainau is a 45-hectare Mediterranean garden dreamed up by the Bernadotte family, relatives of the royal house of Sweden.
reviewed