Discover Lake Constance: Guided Bike Tour

Welcome to Überlingen!

You will be able to check in at the Parkhotel St. Leonhard, located above Überlingen, from 3 pm onwards. But please try to arrive before 3.45 pm. The hotel boasts spectacular views of Lake Constance, giving you a wonderful introduction to the area on the first day of your tour. Take in its grandeur, as over the coming week you will be cycling around this great lake and soaking up its stories and culture. 

You will meet your guide in the lobby at 4 pm and travel as a group to Überlingen where you will be given a guided tour of this mediaeval city. Its historic features such as the city gate and walls, which were carved out of the surrounding rock, have been wonderfully preserved. At the town’s centre is Hofstatt Square, home to the town hall and not far from the Gothic St Nicholas Cathedral, featuring incredible works by woodcarver Jörg Zürn, who made the  sacrament house and the grand high altar.

In the evening, you’ll have dinner with your group back at the hotel. It also has an indoor swimming pool and could be a great option to extend your trip either before or after your tour. If the weather is nice, dinner is served on the patio with views overlooking the city. 

Today’s route: Rokoko and Prälatenweg

After breakfast at the hotel, your bikes will be waiting for you just next to the hotel ready for our departure. Our first route starts with an easy descent before a stretch of undulating terrain that takes us off the public path and into nearby forests and meadows with views of the lake. 

Before you reach Meersberg, you’ll stop at Birnau, a spectacular pink Cistercian abbey church built between 1747 and 1750 by Peter Thumb of Vorarlberg. It has an incredibly intricate decor inside, especially the ceiling that features breathtaking frescos by German Rococo painter Gottfried Bernhard Göz. The balustrade in front of the church offers wonderful panoramic views across the lake. 

The next stop will be Meersburg, one of the most enchanting mediaeval villages surrounding the lake. Surrounded by green meadows and vineyards, its narrow, clean streets and peaceful atmosphere by the lake offer calm and tranquillity in comparison to some of the busier towns in the area. It was once home to many artists.

After lunch, the route leads along a path that traverses fields, forests and meadows to reach Salem, once a Cistercian monastery. The monks from the monastery once used this path to walk to Birnau to hold mass. The monastery appears suddenly, as if from nowhere. It is a blend of Gothic and Baroque architecture and art that is home to a well-known boarding school. You can join a short one-hour tour, or have a coffee, before transferring back to Überlingen (10 km) by car. We will have dinner back at the hotel and spend our second night here.  

Today’s route: Morning transfer to Markdorf, then Markdorf to Lindau

Day 3 starts with a 22 km transfer with the bikes to the town of Markdorf. From here, you’ll start riding through villages, meadows and forests as the route descends back towards Lake Constance and Wasserburg, which literally translated, means ‘castle on the water’.

The route from Wasserberg to Lindau is calm and tranquil. We will cycle right up to the hotel, the Lindauer Hof, at Lindau harbour. Arriving at the harbour, we will be greeted by the sights of the majestic 19th century statue of the Bavarian lion and the Lindau lighthouse, marking the gate into the harbour. Once we have stopped and packed away the bikes for the day, the afternoon is yours. Stroll around the area, explore the harbour and promenade and enjoy the magnificent views of the lake and Alps in the distance. You are free to choose your own restaurant for dinner. 

The Lindauer Hof is a family-run, four-star hotel located on the island of Lindau. Consider the hotel’s restaurant for dinner in the evening today, with privileged views of the harbour, inviting you to take an evening stroll along the waterfront before bed. 

Today’s route: Lindau to St. Gallen

 

Before we start our route on Day 4, we will enjoy a guided tour around Lindau and dive into its rich history and wealth of architecture, including its many arches that line the winding streets, town hall and numerous churches. 

Once we start the route we’ll follow the cycle path from Lindau and into Austria towards Bregenz. The path meanders along the shore and we’ll soon reach the biodiverse nature reserve near Rohrspitz, surrounded by two arms of the Rhine. The reserve is home to a wealth of plants and wildlife, as well as being a favourite spot for many migratory birds. 

After passing through Swiss customs, we’ll be at the border town of Rheineck. St Gellen is just a short ride on. It is positioned on top of a hill, and there is a train that takes you to the top (or a bus transfer will be organised for smaller groups). Once at the top, there is a short walk from St Gallen train station to your modern, four-star hotel, Hotel Einstein. It is beautifully furnished and offers a very comfortable stay, and its central location makes it easy to take an evening stroll around the town. 

Today’s route: St. Gallen to Gottlieben

 

Once again, Day 5 will start with a guided tour around St Gallen. We will visit St Gallen Cathedral and Abbey, with its library and archives, that have together been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your expert guide will fill you in on some fascinating facts and tell you all about the history of this spectacular building, also home to artwork by Anton Feuchtmayer.

We will then go and collect our bikes on the outskirts of the town, before taking a path over the rolling hills and back down towards the lake. Next comes a 7.5 km hilly stretch, at which point you can opt to jump in the car if you do not feel like taking on the challenge. 

We will next cycle towards the lake on country lanes and back streets in the direction of Gottlieben, our destination for the day. It is a quaint and picturesque village on the shores of the Seerhein, a short river (just 4 km) that leads from Lake Constance. It is home to a sea of 17th century, half-timbered houses, as well as the castle of the Bishop of Constance.

We will have dinner at Hotel Die Krone where we will also be spending the night. This wonderfully restored 300-year-old building sits prettily on the edge of the Seerhein. The restaurant terrace overlooks the Wollmatinger Ried nature reserve and the Island of Reichenau and offers front-row seats to incredible sunsets. 

Today’s route: Reichenau to Stein am Rhein

Our itinerary on Day 6 includes exploring another Lake Constance Island, Reichenau, famous in the area for its vegetables and Romanesque churches. We’ll travel here by boat and have a look around, before taking another boat across the Untersee (also known as Lower Lake Constance) to the village of Allensbach, home to the well-known opinion research institute.

From here the cycle path takes us through the woods by the lake, before descending back down towards the shore to the charming Swiss town of Stein am Rhein. Its colourfully painted half-timbered houses create a splendid backdrop for a lunch or coffee stop. We will then head to the train station and travel on to the Hotel Die Krone/Gottlieben where we will also have dinner. 

Final Day. Farewell Lake Constance!

 

The final day of your tour begins on the bikes as we ride along the shores of the lake and back to Constance. The bike path traverses the council city, where we will stop for a guided tour. After this we’ll jump back on the bikes and cycle through some quiet residential areas to Lake Überlingen. Another quiet and scenic route will take us on to the town of Wallhausen, from where we will take a ferry back to Überlingen.

The ferry is scheduled to arrive at 1:42 pm each day, allowing you to plan your onward travel in the afternoon. You will be able to take a transfer back to the Parkhotel St. Leonhard if you have booked to stay in the area for a few more days, or to the train station, depending on your plans.