Burg on the Sea

Driving from Friedrichshafen towards Konstanz we found along the way what I would consider to be the most beautiful village in this trip. Not only that the little over 25 kilometres drive that separate both places is one of the best, crossing through many vineyards and apple plantations, with their respective mansions and cellar houses overlooking the lake down below, but the village of Meersburg came out of sudden unaware to us this place was existing.

It is maybe for this reason that we ended our trip in Konstanz a bit rushing as we spent quite a good time in Meersburg also having lunch in there. So great food for such great prices! Incredible. Really don’t go for a pizza, as you might be thinking after you see how good they look and how little they cost, but instead go for something more traditional and local; take your chance while you are here.

The village is also one of the main ports in the north of the lake. The ferry crossing to Konstanz saves a long way driving around the northernmost area of the lake to just come back down. Don’t take me wrong, if you have the time you should definitely drive all the way, otherwise in just 10 minutes you will be at the other side.

Get your car parked down by the port area. It’s the best as from here you can head upwards to the old town. There are not any other car park within the old village, only on the upper newer town, but this means you will need to walk much longer on quite a steep road. It’s just few streets. Basically 2 “main” ones circling the town, and the castle on a hill; the most visible landmark.

For more information about Meersburg visit Wikipedia and site. Germany’s currency is the Euro (EUR). Please note that any price reference is true as from when this guide was created, therefore check prices in advance as with the time they change.

What to see and do in Meersburg

• There is not much to really be described here as individual sights. The best and only way to explore and enjoy the village is just by walking around. There is no way you will get lost, and you will get to see the many typical houses from this region of Germany, with their colourful wooden stripes. The castle is the most visible landmark where you can get inside and have fantastic vies from the tower over the lake and village down below.

Transports

As the same I wrote for Friedrichshafen, I will keep adding the same information for all the cities I visited around the lake as it applies for all of them. Reaching the lake overland from any of the three countries the lake is shared with is pretty much simple and quick if you depend on a car. Driving around the lake is the best and easiest way to explore every city with the chance of stopping wherever you like and enjoy the great views from the many viewing points along the way. Fortunately if you cannot count on having a car, there is an efficient rail network running along most of the lake connecting the most important cities.

The nearest airport is Friedrichshafen, although extremely limited flights are available to/from here. Other much bigger airports connecting with the principal cities in Europe are located around 2 hours drive from the lake and are Memmingen and Stuttgart in Germany, and Zurich in Switzerland, which was the airport we used in this occasion.

Within each of the cities along the lake there is absolutely no need for any public transportation. All of them are so small that doesn’t require too much time to walk from one end to the other.

Accommodation

There is a good choice of guest houses all across this area although prices are somehow a bit higher that what we expected. A general rule we follow, a good point to start your search is by checking some of our preferred affiliate hotel search engines such as Hotels.com, Booking.com, Expedia, Otel.com, Agoda, Opodo, Ebookers or LateRooms.

We decided to get our hotel at Friedrichshafen because it was the city with the best selection, and also the largest, facilitating the choice of restaurants and bars specially if you plan to go out in the night, although bear in mind it is not located in the city centre but some kilometres to the north after the airport. It was also the most convenient in location having in mind our busy agenda. We stayed at the Hotel Restaurant Krone, simple but really nice. Great value for money with a great included breakfast.

Photo Gallery

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