Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Friedrichshafen is on the Bodensee-Gürtelbahn train line, which runs along the lake's
northern shore from Radolfzell to Lindau. There are also regular services on the
Bodensee-Oberschwaben-Bahn, which runs to Ravensburg (€3.95, 20 minutes).
Ravensburg
0751 / POP 49,780
Ravensburg has puzzled the world for the past 125 years with its jigsaws and board
games. The medieval Altstadt has toy-town appeal, studded with turrets, robber-knight
towers and gabled patrician houses. For centuries dukes and wealthy merchants polished
the cobbles of this Free Imperial City - now it's your turn.
Sights
Marienplatz
The heart of Altstadt is the elongated, pedestrianised Marienplatz, framed by sturdy
towers, frescoed patrician houses and cafes.
The 51m-high
Blaserturm
(adult/concession €1.50/1; 2-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm
Sat Apr-early Nov)
, part of the original fortifications, has superb views over the Altstadt
from up top. Next door is the late-Gothic, step-gabled
Waaghaus
, while on the opposite
side of Marienplatz sits the 15th-century
Lederhaus
, with its elaborate Renaissance
facade, once the domain of tanners and shoemakers.
At the northern end of Marienplatz is the round
Grüner Turm
, with its lustrous tiled
roof, and the weighty, late-Gothic church
Liebfrauenkirche
.
SQUARE
Ravensburger Spieleland
(
www.spieleland.de
;
Mecklenbeuren; adult/concession €25.50/23.50; 10am-6pm Apr-
Oct)
Kids in tow? Take them to this board-game-inspired theme park, with attractions
from giant-rubber-duck racing and cow milking against the clock to rodeo and Alpine
rafting. It is a 10-minute drive south of Ravensburg on the B467.
THEME PARK
Museum Humpis
(
www.museum-humpis-quartier.de
;
Marktstrasse 45; adult/concession €4/2;
11am-6pm Tue-Sun, to 8pm Thu)
Seven exceptional late-medieval houses set around a
MUSEUM
