Hey,

I'm spending the year living in the city of Konstanz on the German/Swiss border - I was just wondering if anybody had any recommendations of towns or cities to visit in the surrounding area?

It can be for any reason!

Thanks

Mainau, Unteruhldingen, Meersburg, Friedrichshafen Zeppelin Museum, Campus Galli at Messkirch, Salem, Reichenau, Arenenberg castle, Stein am Rhein, Rhine river cruise, Schaffhausen, Rhine Falls adventure park, Connyland, Winterthur, Kyburg castle, St. Gallen, Appenzell, Fuenflanderblick, Lindau im Bodensee, Bregenz, Pfaender, Saentis, Atzmaennig fun park, Rapperswil castle, Zuerich museums, Engen, Rottweil .....

... Birnau pilgrimage church, Hegau volcanoes and Hohentwiel castle ruin, old town of Konstanz, the varous abbeys in Oberschwaben/Upper Swabia, Ulm, places along the Black Forest railway line (Triberg, Villingen, Donaueschingen, Vogtsbauernhof museum village, Gengenbach, Haslach, Wolfach, Schiltach)...

The town of Meersburg is lovely. There's a bike/walking path along the shore of the lake, and bikes can be rented. I enjoyed our trip to Mainau Island.

There are ferry boats that run to Mainau Insel (the flower island) Meersburg and Lindau. They are all worth exploring.

Go sailing on Lake Constance (there are several sailing schools along the shores), and to the open-air opera at Bregenz (Austria) where the audience is on the land, with the opera performed on a large raft on the lake. Visit St Gallen (the abbey of St Gallen is a UNESCO world heritage site, with a beautiful old library you can o into).The old Meersburg castle in Germany (a ferry ride away from Konstanz) is great for exploring, likewise the "new" one in the town - only a couple of hundred years old! Put on your list as well Ravensburg - you can get there by ferry to Friedrichshafen and then train. The Rutenfest is a festival at the end of the academic year, primarily for the young. See this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutenfest_Ravensburg . A fairly dry description for a great weekend! Ravensburg is worth a visit at other times as well.

This may help
http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Lake_Constance_Guide.php

http://www.bodensee.eu/

I was glad to have seen Stein am Rhein.