Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [403]
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Eating & Drinking
Inviting wine taverns cluster on Unterstadt-strasse. The lakefront Seepromenade has wall-to-wall pizzerias, gelatarias and restaurants with alfresco seating.
Winzerverein Meersburg ( 807 164; Unter-stadtstrasse 11; light bites €3-6; 10am-9pm Apr-Oct) Popping corks since 1884, the beamed tasting rooms and terrace of Meersburg’s Winzerverein (wine cooperative) buzz with locals quaffing Pinot noirs and nibbling antipasti.
Weinhaus Hanser ( 7717; Unterstadtstrasse 28; Flammkuchen €7-8; closed Nov-Easter) Exposed redbrick and barrel tables create a cosy vibe at this 500-year-old Torkel (wine press), where you can taste five local wines for €5.80 or chomp pizza-like Flammkuchen.
Gasthof zum Bären ( 432 20; www.baeren-meersburg.de, in German; Marktplatz 11; mains €9-17.50 closed Dec-Feb & Mon) Antler lights, wood beams and a tiled oven set the scene in this rustic restaurant, popular for regional dishes like whitefish in grapefruit sauce.
Winzerstube zum Becher ( 9009; Höllgasse 4; mains €10.50-25.80; closed Mon) Vines drape the facade of this wood-panelled bolt-hole, run by the same family since 1884. Home-grown Pinot noirs accompany Lake Constance classics such as whitefish in almond-butter sauce. The terrace affords Altes Schloss views.
Aurichs ( 445 9855; Steigstrasse 28; mains €16.50-32; 5-11pm Tue-Sat, 11.30am-11pm Sun) Christian Aurich has won foodies’ hearts at this contemporary, art-filled restaurant, where he puts a Mediterranean spin on regional flavours. Starters such as sesame-crusted tuna carpaccio are followed by mains like beautifully tender Bodensee lamb with rosehip jus, and fruity desserts like blackberry panna cotta. The wine list and service are excellent, as are the lake views from the cliff-hanger of a terrace.
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Getting There & Away
For details on the many ferry options from here, Click here.
Meersburg, which lacks a train station, is 18km west of Friedrichshafen.
From Monday to Friday, seven times a day, express bus 7394 makes the trip to Konstanz (€3, 45 minutes) and Friedrichshafen (€2.95, 26 minutes). Bus 7373 connects Meersburg with Ravensburg (€5, 40 minutes, four daily Monday to Friday, two Saturday). Meersburg’s main bus stop is next to the church.
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Getting Around
The best and only way to get around Meersburg is on foot. Even the large pay parking lot near the car-ferry port (€1.20 per hour) is often full in high season. You might find free parking north of the old town along Daisendorfer Strasse.
Hire bikes at Hermann Dreher ( 5176; Stadtgraben 5; per day €4.50; rental 9am-noon), down the alley next to the tourist office.
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AROUND MEERSBURG
Pfahlbauten
Be catapulted back to the neolithic age and the Bronze Age at the Pfahlbauten ( 07556-8543; www.pfahlbauten.de; Strandpromenade 6, Unteruhldingen; adult/6-15yr/concession €7/4.50/5; 9am-7pm Apr-Sep, 9am-5pm Oct, 9am-5pm Sat & Sun Nov & 1-14 Mar, 9am-6pm 15-31 Mar, 11am & 2.30pm Mon-Fri Dec-Feb), carefully reconstructed pile dwellings based on the findings of local excavations. The 45-minute tours of the lakefront complex take in stilt dwellings that give an insight into the lives of farmers, fishermen and craftsmen. Kids love the hands-on activities from axe making to starting fires using flints.
The Pfahlbauten are on the B31, which skirts the northern shore of the lake. The Bodensee–Gürtelbahn train serves Uhldingen-Mühlhofen, a 30-minute walk from the Pfahlbauten, hourly.
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Birnau
Sitting on a bluff overlooking the lake and surrounded by vineyards, the exuberant, powder-pink Birnau pilgrimage church (admission free) is one of Lake Constance’s architectural highlights. It was built