Self-Guided Walking Tour in Lindau

A 2.5 km loop through eight stops on Lindau's island, from the famous harbour mouth past Germany's southernmost lighthouse, up into the medieval lanes around the Diebsturm and Peterskirche, then back down to the old Mangturm. The page gives you the map, per-leg walking times, real entry prices and opening hours, plus shorter versions.

8 Stops2.5 km~2 hours walking2–3 hours with stops
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Lindau Walking Tour at a Glance

This route is built for a self-guided visit at your own speed: the outdoor loop stands on its own, and every interior along the way is optional. Lindau's old town sits on a small island in Lake Constance, roughly 70 hectares of car-light cobblestone, so you can walk the whole historic core in an afternoon without ever waiting at a traffic light. Follow the eight stops in order and you see the working town behind the postcard, not just the waterfront the day-trippers stick to.

StartLindau Harbour (Seehafen Lindau)
FinishMangturm
Route typeA closed loop that starts and finishes at the harbour: south-east to the lighthouse, north up into the medieval lanes, east to the museum, then back south to the lion and the Mangturm. No long backtracking, so you get the harbour view twice.
Realistic timeWalking the circle takes well under an hour. Budget two to three hours for a relaxed version with outdoor stops, and add time on top if you go inside the museum and climb the lighthouse.
DifficultyEasy. The full loop is 2.5 km on flat, mostly car-free ground, with the longest single leg just 590 metres. The surface is cobblestone and old pavement throughout, so it is uneven underfoot but there are no hills or stairs to speak of.
Cost to followWalking the outdoor route is completely free. The only paid stops are optional interiors: €4.50 to climb the Neuer Leuchtturm, €3.50 for the Mangturm, and €8.00 for the Stadtmuseum. Everything else, including the harbour, the lion, the Diebsturm, the Peterskirche and the Maximilianstraße, costs nothing.
Best for:

Day-trippers arriving by train or ferry from Bregenz and Konstanz, anyone who wants the classic harbour-and-Alps view without a tour group, and travellers happy to pick a couple of small interiors rather than paying for all of them.

The Route

Free Walking Tour Map of Lindau

8 stops2.5 kmabout 2 hours
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The 8 stops along this route

  1. Lindau Harbour (Seehafen Lindau) in Lindau, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour
    1Lindau Harbour (Seehafen Lindau)
  2. Lindau Lighthouse (Leuchtturm Lindau) in Lindau, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour
    2Lindau Lighthouse (Leuchtturm Lindau)
  3. Diebsturm Lindau (Diebsturm) in Lindau, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour
    3Diebsturm Lindau (Diebsturm)
  4. Peterskirche (Ehemalige Pfarrkirche Peterskirche) in Lindau, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour
    4Peterskirche (Ehemalige Pfarrkirche Peterskirche)
  5. City Museum of Lindau (Stadtmuseum Lindau) in Lindau, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour
    5City Museum of Lindau (Stadtmuseum Lindau)
  6. Maximilianstraße in Lindau, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour
    6Maximilianstraße
  7. Bayerischer Löwe in Lindau, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour
    7Bayerischer Löwe
  8. Mangturm in Lindau, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour
    8Mangturm
  9. That's the complete route.

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Your Lindau Walking Tour, Stop by Stop

  1. 1

    Lindau Harbour (Seehafen Lindau)

    Lindau Harbour (Seehafen Lindau) in Lindau, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour

    This is the image on every Lindau postcard, and walking out onto the pier you understand why. The harbor mouth opens straight onto Lake Constance, with a stone lion on one side and a lighthouse on the other framing the water and, on a clear day, the snow line of the Alps behind it. Ferries to Bregenz and Konstanz come and go all day, so there is always movement. It is open around the clock and free, which makes it the natural start and finish of the loop. Come back here at the end for sunset light on the water. Walk out to the very tip of the pier on the right for the head-on shot of the harbor gate. Then double back toward land and aim for the white tower at the far end of the breakwater, the Neuer Leuchtturm.

  2. 2

    Lindau Lighthouse (Leuchtturm Lindau)

    Lindau Lighthouse (Leuchtturm Lindau) in Lindau, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour

    The white tower at the end of the breakwater is Germany's southernmost lighthouse, and unlike most lighthouses you can actually climb this one. From the top you get the harbor, the lake and the Austrian and Swiss shores spread out in one sweep. Entry is €4.50, and the climb is short, so if the weather is clear it is genuinely worth the small fee for the view you cannot get from ground level. Hours shift through the week: it opens at 10:00 most days and closes around 18:00, later on Friday and Saturday when it stays open until 19:00. Skip it if it is hazy, since the whole point is the distance view. The lion statue across the water is your seventh stop, but you reach it last on the loop. For now head back along the promenade toward the old town and the pointed turrets of the Diebsturm rising above the rooftops.

  3. 3

    Diebsturm Lindau (Diebsturm)

    Diebsturm Lindau (Diebsturm) in Lindau, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour

    Leaving the waterfront behind, the streets narrow and climb slightly, and the Diebsturm appears with its four little pointed turrets, looking more like a fairytale gatehouse than what it actually was: the town's old watchtower and jail. The name means thieves' tower. It sits on the Schrannenplatz, a small square that is one of the quietest corners of the island once the harbor crowds thin out. The square and tower are open daily from 8:30 to 18:00 and cost nothing, though the inside is not the draw, the shape and setting are. This is the prettiest five minutes on the walk for photos, and most day-trippers never make it up here. Right beside it stands a plain, ancient-looking church with a low tower. That is the Peterskirche, your next stop, and it is older than it looks.

    Hours
    Daily: 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
    Price
    Free
  4. 4

    Peterskirche (Ehemalige Pfarrkirche Peterskirche)

    Peterskirche (Ehemalige Pfarrkirche Peterskirche) in Lindau, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour

    Step inside the modest church next to the tower and the reason to come is on the walls. The Peterskirche is the oldest church on all of Lake Constance, and it holds the only frescoes by Hans Holbein the Elder still in their original setting. After the bright harbor light the dim, cool interior takes a moment to adjust to, and then the medieval painting emerges. The church now serves as a war memorial, so it is hushed and you have it mostly to yourself. Entry is free. Hours are a bit fiddly: roughly 9:00 to 12:00 every morning, with afternoon opening 14:00 to 17:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but Wednesday and Sunday mornings only. Time your loop to land here before noon to be safe. From here cut east through the old lanes toward the market square and the grand cream-colored house that dominates it.

    Hours
    Mon-Tue: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 2:00 – 5:00 PM | Wed: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Thu-Sat: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 2:00 – 5:00 PM | Sun: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
    Price
    Free
  5. 5

    City Museum of Lindau (Stadtmuseum Lindau)

    City Museum of Lindau (Stadtmuseum Lindau) in Lindau, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour

    The lanes open onto the market square and the finest house on the island, the baroque Haus zum Cavazzen, a patrician townhouse with a painted facade that now holds the town museum. It reopened in May 2025 after a long renovation that started in 2018, so the displays of Lindau's history are freshly redone rather than dusty and dated. Entry is €8.00, and it is closed Mondays, open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00. Worth it if the weather has turned or you want an hour out of the sun and a proper sense of how this island town worked. If it is a perfect blue-sky day, you can admire the facade from the square for free and save the interior for next time. The baroque rebuild here followed the great town fire of 1728. From the square head back south toward the water along the main street, the Maximilianstraße.

    Hours
    Mon: Closed | Tue-Sun: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
    Price
    €8.00
  6. 6

    Maximilianstraße

    Maximilianstraße in Lindau, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour

    This is the main street and the spine of the old town, a 230-meter run of arcaded houses, gabled facades and ground-floor shops and cafes. It is wide for a medieval street, about 15 meters and up to 20 at its broadest, which gives it the feel of a closed promenade rather than a through-road. Many of these buildings survived the 1728 fire, so the medieval proportions are still intact even where the upper floors were rebuilt. The old town hall sits on the central square along here, its painted facade facing the harbor, with a market hall below and the council chamber above. This is the place to slow down, grab a coffee or an ice cream, and watch the town go about its day. It is always open and free to walk. Continue south and the street delivers you back to the waterfront, where the giant stone lion guards the harbor mouth.

    Hours
    Always open
    Price
    Free
  7. 7

    Bayerischer Löwe

    Bayerischer Löwe in Lindau, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour

    Back at the water, the Bavarian Lion sits on its plinth at the harbor mouth, a six-meter block of Kelheim marble facing out across the lake. It is the counterpart to the lighthouse, the two of them forming the harbor gate you photographed at the start, and it marks Lindau as Bavarian territory rather than Austrian or Swiss. You cannot climb it or go inside, this is a two-minute stop: walk up to the base for scale, then turn around for the classic shot of the lion in the foreground with the lighthouse across the gap and the Alps behind. It is free and always accessible. The promenade here is the busiest stretch of the whole walk, so if you want the lion without crowds, early morning is your window. From here it is a short walk along the waterfront to the squat tower with the colorful tiled roof, the Mangturm.

  8. 8

    Mangturm

    Mangturm in Lindau, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour

    The last stop is the oldest harbor tower, the Mangturm, easy to spot by its roof of glazed colored tiles. Before the lighthouse existed, this is where the harbor light burned, so it is effectively the medieval ancestor of the white tower you climbed earlier. The squat shape and the patterned roof make it one of the most distinctive buildings on the waterfront. You can go inside for €3.50, with hours of 10:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 19:00 on weekends. The interior is small, so this is more about the curiosity and the rooftop angle than a long visit. Standing here you have closed the loop: the harbor, the lion and the lighthouse are all in view again, and you have seen the whole island in one circle. Linger on the promenade for the lake view, or head back to the harbor pier for a final photo as the light shifts.

    Hours
    Mon-Fri: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Sat-Sun: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
    Price
    €3.50

How Long Does This Walking Tour Really Take?

The walking itself is well under an hour: 2.5 km on flat ground split into seven short legs, the longest just 590 metres between the lighthouse and the Diebsturm. Add the outdoor stops and you land around two hours. Go inside the Stadtmuseum (easily 45 to 60 minutes) and climb the lighthouse and the visit stretches to three.

Walking time around the loop is well under an hour, so the real question is how long you linger. Budget two to three hours for a relaxed version with stops. The Stadtmuseum is the biggest time commitment if you go in, easily 45 to 60 minutes, so decide on that one based on weather. The Peterskirche frescoes deserve ten quiet minutes, and the lighthouse climb plus the view from the top is another 20 to 30 minutes.

The natural break point is the Maximilianstraße, roughly the midpoint of the loop and the densest run of cafes and ice cream parlors. Grab a table there and watch the street. If you want the break at the water instead, the benches along the harbor promenade near the Mangturm look straight out at the lake and the Alps, and that is the spot to sit with an ice cream before closing the circle back at the harbor pier.

Full Route, Shorter Walk or Two-Day Version?

The loop is short enough to do in one go, but the eight stops split cleanly if you have less time or want to spread it out. Here are three ways to walk it, each using the real stop numbers and per-leg distances so you can plan around your ferry or train.

The full loop

All eight stops, harbour to harbour

Stops 1 to 8 in order, 2.5 km, about 2 to 3 hours with stops

The complete circle: harbour (1), lighthouse (2), up to the Diebsturm (3) and Peterskirche (4), east to the Stadtmuseum (5), back along the Maximilianstraße (6), then the Bavarian Lion (7) and the Mangturm (8). This is the version that shows you both the waterfront and the quiet upper lanes.

The short version

Waterfront and core, skipping the eastern museum

Stops 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, roughly 1.5 to 2 hours

Drop the Stadtmuseum (stop 5), which sits furthest east and eats the most time indoors. You keep the harbour, the lighthouse, the medieval towers and church, the main street and the lion, and you cut about 700 metres of the east-and-back detour. The tightest way to see the headline sights in an afternoon.

Split in two

Waterfront first, upper town second

Day or session one: stops 1, 2, 7, 8. Day or session two: stops 3, 4, 5, 6

Break the loop at the Maximilianstraße, its natural midpoint. Do the waterfront ring first (harbour, lighthouse, lion, Mangturm), then take the upper lanes separately (Diebsturm, Peterskirche, Stadtmuseum, main street). Good for a slow two-day stay or anyone who wants a coffee break rather than one long push.

You can walk it in reverse, starting at the Mangturm and finishing at the harbour. We recommend the given direction because it puts the harbour and lighthouse in soft morning light before the ferries arrive, and lands you at the Peterskirche within its reliable morning opening window. Lindau Hauptbahnhof sits on the island a three-minute walk from the harbour, so either way you begin and end near the trains.

Is This Lindau Walking Tour Right for You?

This is a compact, flat island walk with a handful of small paid interiors, so it suits some visitors better than others. Here is who it fits and how to bend it to your day.

A good fit if you…

  • Day-trippers who arrive by train or ferry and want the whole island in one tight 2.5 km circle
  • Travellers after the postcard harbour view with the Alps, framed by the lion and the lighthouse
  • Anyone who prefers picking a couple of interiors over paying to go inside every single stop
  • People who like a self-guided pace with plenty of café stops along the Maximilianstraße

Adapt the route if you…

  • Short on time: use the short version and skip the Stadtmuseum to save the long eastern detour
  • The weather turns: make the Stadtmuseum and the Peterskirche your indoor anchors and linger longer
  • You are climbing the lighthouse: go on a clear day, since the whole point is the distance view
  • Travelling with young children: watch the harbour pier, which has no railing in places near the water

Tickets & Skip-the-Line in Lindau

Only three stops on this loop cost anything, and all of them are small. There are no timed-entry queues to beat in Lindau, so this is really about knowing the prices and opening hours before you decide which interiors are worth your time. Here is what each paid stop charges and when it is open.

Lindau Lighthouse (Leuchtturm Lindau)€4.50 to climb Germany's southernmost lighthouse for the harbour, lake and Austrian and Swiss shores in one sweep. Opens at 10:00 most days, closing 18:00, later on Friday and Saturday when it stays open until 19:00. Save the fee for a clear day, since the whole point is the distance view. official ticket site ↗
City Museum of Lindau (Stadtmuseum Lindau)€8.00 for the town museum inside the baroque Haus zum Cavazzen. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, closed Mondays. This is the biggest indoor time commitment on the walk, so it is your best rainy-day anchor and easy to skip on a blue-sky afternoon. official ticket site ↗
Mangturm€3.50 to go inside the old harbour tower with the glazed tiled roof. Open 10:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 19:00 at weekends. The interior is small, so this is more about the curiosity and the rooftop angle than a long visit.
Everything elseThe harbour, the Bavarian Lion, the Diebsturm, the Peterskirche and the Maximilianstraße are all free open spaces with no admission. The Diebsturm square is open daily 8:30 to 18:00 and the Peterskirche has patchy morning-first hours, so time your loop to reach the church before noon.
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Tips for Walking in Lindau

  • Lindau Hauptbahnhof sits right on the island, a 3-minute walk from the harbor, so arrive by train and you are at the start of the loop instantly. Day-trippers should aim to arrive before 11:00 to beat the ferry crowds on the promenade.
  • The old town is cobblestone and old pavement throughout, including the Maximilianstraße, which keeps its historic stone surface. Flat shoes with some grip beat thin-soled sandals, especially if it has rained.
  • Public restrooms are easiest to find around the harbor and the train station at the start of the loop. Use them there, since the upper lanes around the Diebsturm and Peterskirche have none.
  • Stop for an ice cream or coffee on the Maximilianstraße at the midpoint. For something local, the harbor-front terraces serve Bodensee fish like Felchen (whitefish), the regional catch from the lake.
  • For the classic postcard shot, walk to the tip of the harbor pier and face back toward land at the harbor mouth, lining up the Bavarian Lion, the lighthouse and the Alps. Early morning or just before sunset gives the cleanest light on the water.

Why Walk This Route?

Lindau is a town built on an island in Lake Constance, tucked into the corner where Germany, Austria and Switzerland almost touch. The old town sits on roughly 70 hectares of car-light cobblestone, which means you can walk the entire historic core in an afternoon without ever waiting at a traffic light. On a clear day the Alps line up across the water behind the harbor. That single view is why most people come, and it is the reason this walk is a loop: you start and finish at the harbor, so you get the postcard twice, once in morning light and once on the way back.

This route is a tight 2.5 km circle through the eight things actually worth your time. It runs from the famous harbor mouth, past Germany's southernmost lighthouse, up into the medieval lanes around the Diebsturm and Peterskirche, along the baroque main street, then back down to the lion and the old harbor tower. No filler, no detours to half-interesting plaques. Doing it on foot in this order matters because the island is small and easy to crisscross badly, doubling back on yourself and missing the quiet upper lanes entirely.

Why walk it instead of just wandering? Because the good stuff is layered. The harbor is obvious, but the oldest church on the whole lake hides one street back, and the finest patrician house is two minutes from a tower that was once the town jail. Wander randomly and you will spend your whole visit on the waterfront promenade with the other day-trippers. Follow this loop and you see the working town behind the postcard.

Common Questions

Is Lindau safe to walk around?

Yes, very. Lindau is a small, calm island town with low crime and no rough areas to avoid. The main hazards are mundane: cobblestones underfoot and the edge of the harbor pier with no railing in places, so watch children near the water. There are no notable tourist scams here.

What if it rains during my Lindau tour?

The Stadtmuseum (Haus zum Cavazzen) is your indoor anchor, open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00 for €8.00, good for an hour out of the rain. The Peterskirche is also indoors and free. The arcaded fronts along the Maximilianstraße give some cover, and the cafes there let you wait out a shower with a coffee.

What's the best time of day for this walking tour?

Start around 9:00 to 10:00. You get the harbor and lighthouse in soft morning light before the day-trip ferries arrive, the Peterskirche is open in its reliable morning window, and you finish before the midday promenade crowds peak. Late afternoon also works for sunset over the lake, but the church afternoon hours are patchy, so check before relying on them.

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