Lake Constance

Lake Constance — the Bodensee — is the third-largest lake in central Europe, shared between Switzerland, Germany and Austria, and unlike everywhere else in this country it is flat.

There are no mountains coming down to the water. The Swiss shore is orchard and vineyard country, the lake is warm enough to swim in from June, and the whole thing feels closer to southern Germany than to the Alps — which is more or less what it is.

It also has a legal curiosity: the borders in the middle of the lake have never been agreed. Germany, Austria and Switzerland have simply never settled where they run, and the arrangement works.

The Swiss shore

Rorschach — the main Swiss port, with a long promenade and a baroque granary on the waterfront. Twenty minutes from St. Gallen.

Arbon — a small town on a promontory with a castle and a Roman fort under it.

Kreuzlingen — effectively one town with Konstanz in Germany; the border runs down a street and you cross it without noticing.

Stein am Rhein — where the Rhine leaves the lake, and the most painted small town in Switzerland.

Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls — further downstream; see the Rhine Falls.

The boats

The best thing here. Scheduled services cross between all three countries continuously in season, and they are public transport — covered by rail passes; see the lakes.

Worth doing:

• Mainau, a German island of subtropical gardens and a butterfly house
• Reichenau, another German island, UNESCO-listed for its Carolingian monastery churches
• Lindau, in Bavaria, an old town on an island with a harbour entrance guarded by a lion and a lighthouse
• Bregenz, in Austria, with the floating opera stage on the lake

Passports are worth carrying, though checks are rare inside Schengen.

Cycling

The Bodensee-Radweg runs about 260 km round the whole lake through three countries, flat, well signed, and one of the most popular cycle routes in Europe. It is done in four to six days, and bikes go on the boats and trains.

For a day, the Swiss stretch from Rorschach to Kreuzlingen is straightforward and pleasant.

The Rhine

At the western end the Rhine leaves the lake and runs to Stein am Rhein, Schaffhausen and the falls. The stretch is navigable and the boat trip down it — narrow, green, with vineyards on both banks — is among the best on any Swiss water.

Getting there

• By train — Zurich to Romanshorn or Kreuzlingen about an hour and a quarter; St. Gallen to Rorschach twenty minutes.
• By boat — from any of the German or Austrian ports.

When to go

June to September, when the boats run at full frequency and the water is swimmable. Spring for the orchards in blossom, which is a genuine event around Thurgau — the canton is known nationally for its apples.

Out of season the boat services thin out sharply and the lake gets fog.