Konstanz sits at the western end of Lake Constance, where the Rhine leaves the lake, pressed up against the Swiss border so tightly that the border runs between buildings. It is the largest town on the lake, it has a medieval old town that came through the Second World War without a scratch, and the reason for that is one of the better stories in Germany.
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What Is Here
THE OLD TOWN IS UNDAMAGED, AND THE REASON IS THE BORDER. Konstanz is physically continuous with the Swiss town of KREUZLINGEN, and during the war the city left its lights burning at night rather than blacking out, so that Allied bombers overhead would read the lit sprawl as neutral Switzerland and not as Germany. Whether it was the decisive factor is argued over; the city was never bombed, and the result is that the medieval and baroque centre you walk through is the original, which almost no German city of this size can say.
THE IMPERIA IS A NINE METRE STATUE AT THE HARBOUR MOUTH AND IT ROTATES. The second image is it. Installed in 1993 and still controversial, it shows a courtesan holding two naked men in her palms: one wears a papal tiara and one an imperial crown, and both are shrunken and ridiculous. It refers to the COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE of 1414 to 1418, the only papal conclave ever held north of the Alps, which deposed rival popes, elected Martin V and ended the Great Schism, and which also tried the Czech reformer JAN HUS and burned him here in 1415. The statue turns slowly on its base. It is the best public sculpture in southern Germany and the city has never entirely made peace with it.
THE LAKE IS WARM ENOUGH TO SWIM AND THAT IS UNUSUAL THIS FAR NORTH. Lake Constance reaches the low twenties Celsius by late July and August, and Konstanz has free and paid lidos, the Strandbad Horn being the main one, plus the Rheinstrandbad where the Rhine runs out. The season is roughly late June to early September.
THE MINSTER TOWER CAN BE CLIMBED for the view over the lake and into Switzerland, and the Munster itself holds a Romanesque crypt and the spot where Hus was condemned.
MAINAU IS AN ISLAND OF GARDENS AND IT IS THE DAY OUT. Owned by a Swedish aristocratic family, reached by a footbridge or a boat, with a baroque palace, a butterfly house and planting that peaks with tulips in spring and roses in June. IT IS TICKETED AND NOT CHEAP. REICHENAU, the other island, is UNESCO-listed for its three Carolingian monastic churches and is quieter, flatter and cheaper, and it grows most of the region's vegetables.
THE BORDER IS A PRACTICAL MATTER RATHER THAN A CURIOSITY. You can walk into Switzerland in ten minutes from the old town and people do it daily to shop, because German prices are substantially lower, which is why Kreuzlingen residents come the other way. CARRY YOUR PASSPORT OR ID: both countries are in Schengen so there are usually no checks, but SWITZERLAND IS NOT IN THE EU CUSTOMS UNION, so spot customs checks happen and there are limits on what you may carry across. SWITZERLAND USES FRANCS and German cards work but the exchange on the counter rarely favours you.
THE THIRD IMAGE IS THE LAKE IN WINTER, which is the quiet half of the year here.
BOATS ARE PUBLIC TRANSPORT ON THIS LAKE. Scheduled services connect Konstanz with Meersburg, Lindau, Bregenz in Austria and Swiss ports, and the car ferry to Meersburg runs all year. Three countries meet on this water.
When to Go
Late June to early September for swimming and the full boat timetable, which is the main season.
May and June for Mainau's tulips and roses and for cycling the lake before the crowds.
September is the pick: the water still warm, boats running, the old town manageable.
Winter is mild, grey and often foggy, with a lakeside Christmas market and a reduced boat timetable. THE LAKE ALMOST NEVER FREEZES, the famous complete freeze having last happened in 1963.
The boat timetable contracts sharply outside summer, so check it rather than assuming an island trip is available in November.
Getting There
By train, about two and a half hours from Stuttgart and four from Munich, with the quickest route from much of Germany running through Switzerland via Zurich, which is about an hour away and is the practical airport.
By air, Zurich at an hour by train is the best option, with Friedrichshafen across the lake much smaller.
By car, the lake road is slow and lovely and jammed in August. The Meersburg car ferry shortcuts the eastern shore.
The city is flat and heavily cycled, the lake has a signed long-distance cycle route round it through three countries, and the old town is pedestrian. You do not need a car.
Is Konstanz Safe for Women?
Konstanz is a small, wealthy university city and is very safe. The FCDO publishes no advised-against areas anywhere in Germany, and its terrorism wording is the strongest it uses: terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Germany, with restaurants, MARKETS, shopping centres, places of worship, sporting events and crowded public spaces named as possible targets. That is worth knowing in a country where a Christmas market is often the reason for the trip, and the response is awareness rather than avoidance. On crime the FCDO puts German levels on a par with the UK and names theft and pickpocketing at airports, railway stations and in crowded places, with the specific advice not to leave bags unattended. It also gives one unusually concrete warning: exchange currency only at banks and legitimate bureaux, because counterfeit notes are passed to visitors at street kiosks.
THE LAKE IS THE REAL HAZARD AND IT IS BIGGER THAN IT LOOKS. Lake Constance is 63 kilometres long and up to 250 metres deep, and it generates sudden violent squalls off the Alps. THERE IS A STORM WARNING SYSTEM: orange lights on the shore flashing about 40 times a minute mean a strong wind warning, and about 90 times a minute means a STORM WARNING and that small craft should get off the water immediately. LEARN THAT, because it is the one piece of local knowledge that matters here and almost no visitor knows it. The water is also cold below the surface layer even in August, and drownings happen each season.
Swim at the supervised lidos in season rather than off the open shore, and respect the Rhine outflow, which runs fast.
Cycling is extremely heavy on a flat city with a major cycle route through it.
Ordinary urban care in the student bar streets at night, which are cheerful.
Carry ID for the border. Walking into Switzerland is normal and unremarked, and spot customs checks do happen.
The old town is cobbled and the minster tower stairs are narrow.
The Konstanz Packing List
Lake weather that turns fast, warm summers, grey winters and a swimmable lake.
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is well suited to a lake like this one, where a warm still afternoon can turn into a cold squall within twenty minutes and you may be on an open boat deck when it does. From November to March add a heavyweight merino base layer.
A Columbia Fast Trek II fleece and a Marmot PreCip Eco rain jacket, and take both on any boat trip whatever the morning looks like.
Walking shoes with grip for cobbles and the tower stairs, and Darn Tough merino socks.
Not linked and worth packing: A SWIMSUIT AND A QUICK-DRYING TOWEL, because the swimming is the reason to come in summer and the lidos are the best value in the city; SUNGLASSES AND SUNSCREEN, since lake glare at this altitude burns; YOUR PASSPORT OR ID for the ten minute walk into Switzerland; SOME SWISS FRANCS OR A CARD YOU ARE HAPPY TO USE ABROAD if you cross; A WATER BOTTLE; AND SOMETHING TO COVER YOUR SHOULDERS for the minster. Germany is card-friendly and the lidos and small boats still like coins.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Essential Resources for Women in Konstanz
Emergency numbers: 112 for police, ambulance and fire, free from any phone including a locked mobile, with operators who will find an English speaker. It is the single number across the whole European Union.
THE ONE PIECE OF LOCAL KNOWLEDGE THAT MATTERS HERE IS THE LAKE STORM WARNING SYSTEM, and almost no visitor knows it: orange lights along the shore flashing about 40 times a minute are a STRONG WIND WARNING, and about 90 times a minute is a STORM WARNING meaning small craft must get off the water at once. Lake Constance is 63km long and up to 250m deep and it generates sudden violent squalls off the Alps, so a calm morning is no guarantee. THE WATER IS COLD BELOW THE SURFACE LAYER even in August and drownings happen each season, so swim at the supervised lidos such as the Strandbad Horn rather than off open shore, and respect the fast Rhine outflow. SWIMMING SEASON IS ROUGHLY LATE JUNE TO EARLY SEPTEMBER, when the lake reaches the low twenties Celsius. THE BOAT TIMETABLE CONTRACTS SHARPLY OUTSIDE SUMMER, so check before planning an island trip in winter; the Meersburg car ferry runs all year. THE SWISS BORDER RUNS THROUGH THE CITY and Kreuzlingen is a ten minute walk: carry passport or ID, because although both countries are in Schengen, SWITZERLAND IS NOT IN THE EU CUSTOMS UNION and spot customs checks with limits on goods do happen. Switzerland uses francs. THE OLD TOWN SURVIVED THE WAR INTACT, the city having kept its lights on so bombers would read it as Swiss. Cycling is extremely heavy on a flat city carrying a major international cycle route.
US State Department travel advisory: the Germany advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/germany, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Main hospital: the Klinikum Konstanz on the Luisenstrasse has a 24 hour emergency department in the city. Dial 112 for police, ambulance or fire, which also works across the border in Switzerland, and note that AN INCIDENT ON THE LAKE goes through 112 to the water rescue service, the Wasserwacht and the lake rescue organisations, rather than to a land ambulance; the SWISS EMERGENCY NUMBERS are 117 for police, 144 for ambulance and 1414 for Rega air rescue if you are on the Swiss side. The overnight pharmacy rota is posted on every Apotheke door. Germany is in the EU, so a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU European Health Insurance Card gives you state-provided medically necessary care on the same terms as a resident. That is not the same as free: German healthcare involves patient contributions and the card does not cover repatriation or private treatment, so travel insurance sits on top of it. German hospitals are excellent and English is widely spoken in them, particularly in university cities. An Apotheke, marked with a red A, handles minor problems without an appointment and the duty rota for out-of-hours is posted in the window. Tap water is drinkable everywhere. Dial 112 for an ambulance and 116117 for the non-emergency medical service.
Official health authority: the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's public health body. covers the Baden-Wurttemberg regional health reporting, with the German weather service the authority for the lake storm warnings
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Berlin.
Official tourism authority: the German National Tourist Board. covers the Lake Constance boat timetables, the Mainau and Reichenau island opening and the lido season
Takeaways
Learn the shore storm lights: 40 flashes a minute is wind, 90 is a storm.
The old town is original because the city kept its lights on.
Bring a swimsuit. The lake is genuinely warm in late summer.
Carry ID. Switzerland is a ten minute walk and is outside the EU customs union.
Solo women safety assessment: Konstanz is among the most relaxed places in this library to travel alone. It is a wealthy university city of about 85,000 on a lake, the old town is small, flat and pedestrian, the waterfront is busy with students and families into the evening, and eating alone or swimming alone at a lido is entirely unremarkable. There is no district to avoid and the student bar streets are cheerful rather than rough. 112 REACHES POLICE, AMBULANCE AND FIRE free from any phone and works on the Swiss side too; the Klinikum Konstanz on the Luisenstrasse has a 24 hour emergency department in the city. BECAUSE THE BORDER RUNS THROUGH THE STREETS, KNOW BOTH SETS OF NUMBERS: in Switzerland it is 117 for police, 144 for an ambulance and 1414 for Rega air rescue, and carry passport or ID, since Schengen means no routine checks but Switzerland is outside the EU customs union and spot checks do happen. THE LAKE IS WHERE THE DANGER IS, AND IT IS A GENUINELY BIG BODY OF WATER rather than the pond it looks like from the promenade: 63 kilometres long, up to 250 metres deep, and capable of producing violent squalls off the Alps with very little warning. The local answer to that is a shore warning system most visitors never notice, and it is worth learning: orange lights flashing roughly 40 times a minute mean a strong wind warning, and roughly 90 times a minute mean a storm warning and that small craft should leave the water immediately. The water is cold below its warm surface layer even in August, drownings happen every season, and the Rhine outflow runs fast, so swim at the supervised lidos rather than off an empty stretch of shore. Take a fleece and a shell on any boat trip regardless of the morning.
Reading On
Konstanz is the German corner of a lake that touches three countries. In Germany, the Black Forest packing list is the region immediately north west and the Baden-Baden packing list its spa town, with the Stuttgart packing list covering the regional capital two and a half hours away. Across the water and the border, the Zurich packing list is an hour by train and is this city's practical airport, with the Lucerne packing list further into Switzerland. South east, the Innsbruck packing list covers the Austrian Tyrol. For the rest of Bavaria, the Munich packing list and the Fussen packing list are both reachable along the Alpine foothills. For the country, the Germany travel guide for women and the Germany packing list carry the rail network and the regions. For why wool suits an open boat deck when a calm afternoon turns into a squall, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
