France’s Napoleon III grew up at this handsome, powder-puff-pink mansion with beautiful grounds on Lake Constance. The little chateau dates to the 16th century but was given a total makeover in the 18th century by Hortense de Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepdaughter. The interior remains intact, and the lake-facing park, laid out in the formal French style, is a delight to wander in spring and summer.
Schloss Arenenberg
Northeastern Switzerland
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
![SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 01: Library of the monastery St. Gallen, Switzerland. 2000 hand writings, 1635 incunable and almost 100.000 books. The library was built between 1758 and 1767 und richly decorated. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images) [St. Gallen, Schweiz: Ehemaliges Benediktiner-Kloster. Stiftsbibliothek mit 2000 Handschriften, 1635 Wiegen- und Fruehdrucken (Inkunabeln) und schliesslich 100.000 Buechern, 1758-1767 erbaut und kunstvoll ausgestattet. Stift St. Gallen: 612 Zelle des hl. Gallus, eines Gefaehrten Columbans, 719 wird durch den hl. Otmar das Kloster errichtet, das 747 die Regel Benedikts annimmt, 1805 saekularisiert.]
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Abbeys, Architecture, Books, Interiors, Libraries, Photo tgg06/01](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/2023-06/StiftsbibliothekStGallen.jpeg?auto=format&fit=crop&ar=1:1&q=75&w=1200)
22.71 MILES
If the greatest masterpieces on earth are wrought for the glory of God, St Gallen’s Stiftsbibliothek (Abbey Library), is like a living prayer. Religious…
20.81 MILES
Ensnared in wispy spray, the thunderous Rheinfall might not give Niagara much competition in height (23m), width (150m) or even flow of water (700 cu…
19.93 MILES
Completed in 1103, Schaffhausen’s cathedral is a rare, largely intact specimen of the Romanesque style in Switzerland. It opens to a beautifully simple…
19.77 MILES
Steps lead up through terraced vineyards to this fine specimen of a 16th-century fortress. The unusual circular battlements were built with forced labour…
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Near the eastern end of Friedrichshafen’s lake-front promenade is the Zeppelin Museum, housed in the Bauhaus-style former Hafenbahnhof (harbour station),…
5.35 MILES
Crowned by a filigreed spire and looking proudly back on 1000 years of history, the sandstone Münster was the church of the Diocese of Konstanz until 1821…
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Awarded Unesco World Heritage status in 2011, the Pfahlbauten represent one of 11 prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. Based on the findings of…
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Often hailed as Switzerland’s most beautiful town square (no mean feat!), the elongated Rathausplatz often elicits little gasps of wonder because it's so…
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In AD 724 a missionary named Pirmin founded a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau, a 4.5km-by-1.5km island (Lake Constance’s largest) about 11km west of…
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Crowned by a filigreed spire and looking proudly back on 1000 years of history, the sandstone Münster was the church of the Diocese of Konstanz until 1821…