Friedrichshafen Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Friedrichshafen is located on the north shore of Lake Constance (the Bodensee) in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Stroll and eat along the lake, visit the famous Zeppelin Museum, or take a day trip to Neuschwanstein—the inspiration for Disney’s Cinderella castle.
Friedrichshafen is located on the northern side of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in the South of Germanys state Baden-Württemberg. The city with its 58,000 people borders with Switzerland and Austria. Friedrichshafen is best know for being the home of the first zeppelin, and is still home of many aviation businesses.
Where to stay in Friedrichshafen?
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In addition, check out our selection of hand-selected and quality Friedrichshafen vacation rentals and holiday apartments.
There are numerous things you can do from Friedrichshafen. Enjoy its location near beautiful Lake Constance (Bodensee), go on a boat tour, stroll along the lake, have a good dinner with lake view, visit cultural attractions (e.g., the Zeppelin Museum.)
Maps and Driving Directions to Friedrichshafen
The city on the lake is conveniently located 2 hours from both Stuttgart International Airport and the Franz Josef Strauss Airport in Munich, but can also be reached by train or public transportation.
Travel Insider Tips for Friedrichshafen
Friedrichshafen is at the Bodensee (Lake Constance), and that is where the Zeppelin was built, and still can be seen flying. You actually can book flights. More info: http://zeppelintours.com/#/friedrichshafen-info/4523120778
Shared by Ilona Yagyagan, Oct 2009
I love Friedrichshafen. My cousin lives there. I am always looking forward to visit her when I travel to Germany. Be sure you eat a "Bodenseefelchen" ( fish from the Bodensee) and drink a glass of Weissherbst.....now I am homesick!! :-)
Shared by Ilona Yagyagan, May 2011
I love this lake! it is always beautiful there. u really should go there to the seenachtsfest
. It is a really big fest at the lake with music, food and fireworks! There is so much stuff to do there: island mainau, friedrichshafen(city), meersburg(city),...everything's so beautiful there!...and there is also a hochseilgarten
which is a climbing garden up in the trees at least 10 meters high! but it's great!
Shared by Natalie Bebion, Oct 2009
...was there many years ago and it was beautiful then.
Shared by Hermine Koeniger Pelligra, Oct 2009
The Zepplin Museum really a worthwhile stop to make while in Germany. I loved the town,, the waterfront and pier. I can still remember the church bells from the chapel next door to my hotel room.
Shared by William Metzgar, May 2011
We've walked by it on all 3 trips to the city, but haven't ventured past the gift shop. Too much to see on the waterfront. That's a great place to stay for a weekend exploring the Bodensee.
Shared by Beth Ann Myers, May 2011
I went to the zeppelin museum last year.very cool!
Shared by Sandra Wilson, Oct 2009
I actually live very close by there as well and been in Friedrichshafen many times however I never went to the museum I can not wait to go home again soon.
Shared by Sibylle Lee, Oct 2009
The Zepplin Museum was very interesting. My husband really wanted to see it so we took a weekend trip. The town is Georgeous! My only advice is, if you visit during the summer or any warm weather time and are staying in a local hotel, make sure you include a parking spot because parking is really hard to find!
Shared by Tamberly Jones Klemmer, May 2011
The Bodensee region is fabulous no matter where you go. I am going there for a week next spring and am very excited about it. My plans are to travel all around the lake which borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Friedrichshafen is a great city. The Fishmarket is something I really enjoyed. I can't remember if they have it every weekend or if this was a special event. Been so long.
Shared by Isabella Hensley, Oct 2009
Friedrichshafen (Baden Württemberg) - view from the lookout tower
[ source: Flickr]
Popular Points of Interest in and near Friedrichshafen
Zeppelin Museum
[ source: Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen ]
The Zeppelin Museum chronicles the history of the Zeppelin airships in the city where they were born. The museum, housed inside the former Hafenbahnhof (Harbor Train Station), opened in 1996. The centerpiece of the museum is a reconstruction of a 33-m section of the LZ 129 Hindenburg, created by Zeppelin GmbH. The lower level (B-Deck) of the reconstruction includes restrooms and the smoking parlor (not accessible by visitors). The upper level (A-Deck) includes the lounge, writing room, promenade, and some passenger rooms. Airship artifacts on display include an engine gondola of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin and the frontmost portion of the bow of the LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin. Items salvaged from the fire at Lakehurst are also on display. The top floor of the museum displays artwork not related to Zeppelin history, including paintings by Otto Dix.
Hours: May - October: Tuesday - Sunday 9am - 5pm. November - April: Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 5pm.
Admission: Adults 7.50 €, Concessions 6.50 €, Children 6-17 years 3 €.
Dornier Museum
[ source: Museum website ]
Claude Dornier was a German airplane builder and founder of Dornier GmbH. His legacy remains in the few aircraft named after him, including the Dornier Do 18 and the 12-engine Dornier Do X flying boat, for decades the world's largest and most powerful airplane. Friedrichshafen is where the Dornier company was born. The Museum’s physical proximity to the Friedrichshafen Airport brings home to every visitor the real-life connections between the launch of aviation and air traffic today.
Experience the history of aviation and aeronautics from your own individual perspective. Find out more about the political, economic and social contexts. Discover Dornier’s major innovations in the fields of environmental, defence and medical engineering. Numerous historical aircraft can be viewed up close. Parts of an original space lab and a walk-through solar system enable visitors to nearly reach the stars.
Hours: May - October: Daily from 9am - 5pm. November - April: 10.am - 5pm (closed Mondays).
Admission: Adults 9 €, Concessions 7.50 €, Children up to 12 years 4.50 €. Combination tickets with the Xepplin Museum are available.
Related Sites
We collected some useful links related to Friedrichshafen. If you know a few more sites not listed here, or also know some insider tips or point of interests for this destination? Please share and submit your Germany travel tip. If approved it will be shown on this page!
- Homepage of Friedrichshafen: Friedrichshafen (official home page)
- Wikipedia: Friedrichshafen
More about the History of Friedrichshafen
Town of the Zeppelin airship
Since it's maiden flight around Friedrichshafen in 1900, the name of the birthplace of this flying giant
has been made known around the world and numerous people have become excited followers of this era which was revived almost 100 years later.
1997 was the year when Friedrichshafen started building the zeppelins again.The principle of a supporting interior structure which was designed by Graf Ferdinand vom Zeppelin was taken up by the state-of-the-art airships. Zeppelin NT (new technology has a length of 75 meters and is therefore the largest flying airship in the world. Since it's official authorization in 2001 round-trips are offered on a regular basis. Meanwhile, the third Zeppelin has already flown it's first few flights.
Thanks to Zeppelin Museum, the city has now created the most significant exhibit regarding the history of aviation. The exhibition area is over 4000 square meters and a reconstructed piece of exact size of the legendary airship LZ 129 Hindenburg can be viewed. Today, Friedrichshafen and Zeppelin are unseparable names.
A good historic overview with lots of details can be found at the town of Friedrichshafen web site.
[ source: friedrichshafen.de ]
What makes this Live Like a German Friedrichshafen Travel Guide special...
This Friedrichshafen travel guide provides you with an overview of Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen pictures, and a local travel guide that suggests many special trips, unique activities, and vacation ideas, that you can't find in a typical Germany travel guide.
Some of this information is compiled from popular and well-known sources (e.g., such as Wikipedia, Wikitravel, and great pictures from Flickr). However, what makes this Germany travel guide special is that most of the travel suggestions and insider tips are provided by local residents, property owners, and our readers, who share and submit their travel tips with us. All submissions are then editorially reviewed to ensure high quality. All this information is logically organized within this destination guide to make it easy for you to find things quickly.
In addition, the Friedrichshafen destination guide features restaurant recommendations, restaurant reviews, where to go for grocery shopping, sports activities, getting around, cultural events and highlights, entertainment, and health related information - so you are informed for your travel to Germany, and you can learn about all the cool things you can do during your Germany vacation!
