Not to be confused with Lake Constance.

The Bodensee Region is a region in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, consisting of the coastline of Lake Constance, known as Bodensee in German, and Upper Swabia (Oberschwaben) immediately to its north.

Most known for jigsaw puzzles and board games, the Upper Swabian city of Ravensburg hides its size behind the small-town facades

Understand

Only two Landkreise in the Bodensee Region actually have access to the Bodensee - the aptly-named Bodensee-Kreis around Friedrichshafen, and Landkreis Konstanz, centred around the namesake city. The other three Landkreise in the Region - Biberach, Ravensburg and Sigmaringen - are at the core of Upper Swabia, with a gently hilly landscape and a number of medieval and baroque castles and quaint little towns and villages. Although not immediately adjacent to the lake, they share a cultural and geographic continuum with the lakeside areas and, due to the small distance, are most often visited together.

It is worth noting that the Landkreis Lindau in Bavarian Swabia also includes a small strip of the Lake Constance shoreline, with the city of Lindau being an island on the lake.

Konstanz is beautifully located on both shores of the Bodensee right where the Rhine river flows out of it

Cities

• Konstanz - a beautiful port city picturesquely located at the western tip of the Lake, where the river Rhine flows out of it
• Friedrichshafen - known for the longest lakeshore promenade and prominent contributions to the history of aviation
• Meersburg - a town on the shore of Lake Constance, with two castles - a medieval and a baroque one
• Pfullendorf - with the Hohenzollern Castle
• Radolfzell - beautifully located further west from Konstanz, with mementoes to long and rich history
• Ravensburg - the medieval inland city which is just as nice as the famous jigsaw puzzles made there
• Rot an der Rot - a small town around a large baroque abbey
• Sigmaringen - one of Germany's most beautiful castles on a tall rock over the river Danube
• Tettnang - the local capital of beer
• Überlingen - the second-largest city in Bodenseekreis, with both architectural and natural wonders
• Wangen im Allgäu - an important centre for local trade and industry in the Middle Ages

Other destinations

• Mainau - garden island with flowers and a park landscape with views on the lake
• Reichenau - The largest island in Lake Constance
• Uhldingen-Mühlhofen - a reconstructed early settlement on stilts at the shore of Lake Constance

Get in

By plane

The only airport in the region with scheduled passenger service is that of Friedrichshafen. Konstanz is one hour by train from Zurich Airport. Ravensburg, Sigmaringen and Friederichshafen can also be reached by direct train from Stuttgart. Changing at Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof allows a connection to Stuttgart Airport.

The Bavarian low-cost airport of Memmingen is also in the vicinity of the region.

By bus

See also: Intercity buses in Germany

Get around

The hilltop castle in Sigmaringen is arguably one of the most picturesque in Germany