Lindau on Lake Constance

Historic old town, Mediterranean ambience and a top-class cultural programme: the island town of Lindau is an internationally renowned and popular holiday destination. Whether strolling through the romantic, winding alleyways of the island, spending a relaxing day by the water or visiting the new Hundertwasser Art Forum: There is now plenty for guests of all ages to experience all year round, as the range of cultural and leisure activities on offer has also been significantly expanded in the winter months. Events such as the town festival, wine festivals such as ‘Komm & See’ and the ‘Rund Um’ sailing regatta in summer, as well as the funfair and harbour Christmas in winter, attract thousands of visitors every year. Germany’s southernmost and Bavaria’s only lighthouse, together with the Bavarian Lion, also forms a striking, historic ensemble at Lindau harbour.

Promenade and narrow alleyways

With an area of around 70 hectares, Lindau Island is the second largest island in Lake Constance. Its shape is reminiscent of a lime leaf and thus of the tree that gave the town its name: in 882, a monk first mentioned the ‘island on which lime trees grow’ in a document. The small settlement with fishermen’s houses and an aristocratic convent became a prosperous town. The spacious promenade Maximilianstrasse is lined with magnificent patrician houses, the surrounding narrow streets are lined with centuries-old houses and traditional hotels on the harbour promenade welcome their guests with an impressive view of the Austrian and Swiss Alps. Thanks to its central location in the border triangle of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Lindau is also well connected to international transport routes, including the Eurocity line from Munich to Zurich.

Historic buildings and southern charm

The 36 metre high lighthouse, the elaborately decorated Old Town Hall, the baroque ‘Haus zum Cavazzen’, the 1,000 year old St Peter’s Church or the fortified Powder Tower as part of the city walls: there are historical sights to discover on almost every corner, and the tour guides can tell many amusing anecdotes. But there is also a breath of fresh air in the medieval town. The southern flair of Lindau Island transports visitors to Mediterranean climes. Small galleries and individual shops invite you to stroll and shop, and guests can relax and feast in the numerous cafés. The 2021 garden show has created a new, attractive leisure area on the rear island with playgrounds, a skate Park, spacious lawns and, last but not least, the wide steps to the lake, which make the already popular place for a sundowner even more attractive.

Modern conference centre Inselhalle

In addition to the high quality of leisure activities, Lindau also has a lot to offer as a place to work and live: internationally active companies with innovative concepts, a wide range of accommodation options in hotels, holiday flats and excellent campsites. For conferences and congresses, the modern Inselhalle with its special location directly on the lake and at the gates of the historic old town is an ideal place to exchange ideas, develop ideas and network. It is precisely for this reason that Nobel Prize winners and the most promising young scientists from all over the world have been coming together in Lindau every year since 1951 to promote interdisciplinary exchange, share knowledge and inspiration and support the next generation of researchers.

New ‘Hundertwasser Forum’ and reopening oft he ‘Cavazzen’

Art and culture enthusiasts can look forward to the addition of two new long-term facilities that will be open all year round in 2025: After intensive renovation work, the town museum will reopen in the beautiful baroque building of the ‘Haus zum Cavazzen’ and Lindau will get a ‘Hundertwasser Art Forum’, which will open in the former art museum at the Inselbahnhof with works by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

‘The Right to Dream’ is the title of the opening exhibition from 15th March 2025 to 11 January 2026, which promises colourful worlds of colour, expressiveness and creativity. In addition to watercolours and paintings, Japanese woodblock prints and screen prints will also be on display. The Hundertwasser exhibition is being created in close collaboration with the non-profit Hundertwasser Private Foundation Vienna and was inspired by the highly successful exhibition in Lindau in 2019.

After a six-year renovation break, the ‘Cavazzen’, Lindau’s city museum, will also reopen. The most beautiful building on Lindau’s market square will be filled with life again from 18 May and will be as much a meeting place as a museum. There will be a cosy café on the ground floor and a party and concert room in the vaulted cellar.

Information at a glance

‘Friedensreich Hundertwasser – The right to dream’

Art Museum at the Inselbahnhof, Maximilianstr. 52, 88131 Lindau (B)

15th March 2025 to 11th January 2026, daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

kulturamt@lindau.de / www.kultur-lindau.de

‘House to the Cavazzen’

Market square 6, 88131 Lindau, 88131 Lindau (B)

From 18th May 2025, daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Swimming, paddling and boating

In summer, guests can sunbathe and swim in lidos such as the Lindenhofbad, the Lindau thermal baths with their outdoor areas or the particularly exclusive Art Nouveau pool at the Hotel Bad Schachen. Canoes, kayaks, pedal boats and stand-up paddle boards can be hired at various locations. And if you want to go a little further out, you can hire a motorboat or sailing boat to enjoy the tranquillity and vastness of Lake Constance on a private tour. The Alpine panorama can also be admired on board the White Fleet excursion boats, which operate scheduled services between the three countries from April to October and special trips in winter, for example during the harbour Christmas.

On foot or by bike from the lake to the mountains

Visitors can relax, picnic, stroll, walk and jog in Lindau’s gardens and parks. The Lindenhofpark along the Bavarian Riviera, a stretch of shoreline lined with imposing villas, is particularly fascinating with its vastness, huge old trees and one of the most beautiful views of Lindau Island. There is also plenty to discover in the area around Lindau, which is characterised by apple orchards, meadow orchards and vineyards – for example on a cycling or hiking tour, including in the surrounding mountains. The Pfänder offers a view of Lindau and the entire region. You can take a break with the wine and fruit growers, who serve delicious home-grown produce in their farm shops and seasonally open ‘Rädlewirtschaften’.

Event highlights

As soon as it gets warmer outside and the days get longer, there’s plenty going on in Lindau again. The ‘Rund Um’, the long-distance night regatta around Lake Constance, attracts numerous sailors to the mass start in Lindau harbour on 19th June 2025. At the ‘Komm & See’ winegrowers’ festival on 4th and 5th July 2025, people will move from one winegrower to the next, sit together among the vines and take in a whole lot of the Lake Constance lifestyle. The children’s festival on 30th July 2025 is a firmly rooted tradition for the people of Lindau and puts the whole town in a festive mood. And from 5th September to 7th September, it’s ‘O’zapft’ at the Lindau Oktoberfest.