Germany Guide
Baden-Württemberg
The Bodensee
As a giant body of water with a balmy dry climate, the Bodensee, or Lake Constance, has long been Germany's Riviera. It hugs the country's southwest border with Austria and Switzerland and to the south the Alps rear up, creating a fine backdrop. Most German towns along the lake are on the north shore and include the Bavarian town of Lindau, the transport hub of Friedrichshafen and the archetypal medieval lakeside settlement Meersburg. The upbeat city of Konstanz on its southern shore is the most cosmopolitan place on the lake, and is easily the best base with regular ferry services across the lake and to nearby islands making for easy, rewarding day-trips. Given the good weather, the Bodensee region is known above all for outdoor activities, particularly hiking and cycling on lakeside trails that connect its small towns, vineyards, orchards and beaches. Watersports are also popular, but most visitors simply sunbathe, swim and mess around in the water, which averages a pleasant 20°C in the summer providing a respite from the humidity. Summer is the most popular holiday season, but such popularity brings congested roads and booked-up hotels, making spring perhaps a better time to visit, when fruit trees blossom, while autumn is the prime time for those interested in the wine harvest.
Getting around
With a circumference of 273km the Bodensee is a respectable body of water that can produce truly sea-like conditions – waves pound the shores during poor weather and shipwrecks litter the lake bed. However these days, travelling around the Bodensee has become safe and most visits to the region will involve catching a ferry or two – indeed should, as sailing the lake is part of the experience.
The lake's lifeline service is the car ferry between Konstanz and Meersburg, a fifteen-minute crossing, 24 hours a day (hourly midnight–5am; every 15min 5.30am–9pm; every 30min 9pm– midnight; car with driver €7.20; 
07531/80 30, 
www.sw.konstanz.de ). Another useful service is the fifty-minute crossing on Der Katamaran between Konstanz and Friedrichshafen (hourly 5am–6pm or later; €9.50 one-way; 07541/971 09 00, www.der-katamaran.de ). Otherwise the network of services between lakeside towns is organized by a number of companies, particularly BSB ( www.bsb-online.com ) and OBB ( www.bodenseeschiffahrt.de ).
Thankfully things are simplified by Euregio Bodensee, a regional public transport system of ferries, buses and trains in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Various day-tickets ( www.euregiokarte.com ) are offered for a network that's divided into zones: a €27 day-pass gives you a run of the entire system and is sold at tourist offices, train stations and ferry terminals. Use of the network is also included in the price of the main Bodensee Erlebniskarte, which provides admission or substantial discounts to a range of regional attractions. It's available from tourist and ferry offices between April and October and costs €69 for three days, €89 for seven, €119 for fourteen; prices roughly halve without public transport included.
The 268km-long Bodensee-Radweg ( www.bodensee-radweg.com ) is a network of cycle paths around the lake; bikes are allowed on most ferries and trains – allowing for adaptable itineraries if the weather turns or you get tired.