After the Sparkasse 3-Länder-Marathon: Lindau

The Route: Bregenz → Lindau → Bregenz Logistics: Direct train, roughly 15 to 20 minutes, or the same Vorarlberg Lines ferry used for the marathon start, roughly 20 minutes. Marathon Month: October Duration: 1 night

Bregenz ──(train, ~15-20 min, or ferry, ~20 min)──> Lindau
                                                          │
                    Bregenz ◄──(return train or ferry)────┘

Most runners see Lindau island only in the tense, early hours of race morning, boarding a ferry in the dark and lining up at the start before the sun is properly up. A night back here, with no bib number to collect and no 9:45am deadline, is a genuinely different way to experience the same small, historic town.

October in Lindau: cooler lake-air mornings and quieter streets than the summer tourist season, with the harbour lighthouse and the town's stone lion statue at their most photogenic in the low autumn light.

Getting there from Bregenz is straightforward: a direct train takes 15 to 20 minutes, or the same Vorarlberg Lines ferry used on race morning covers the same route in around 20 minutes, this time without the pre-dawn urgency.

Night One: Lindau

Lindau's old town occupies a small island connected to the mainland by a causeway, its streets narrow, largely car-free, and easy to cover slowly. The harbour itself, marked by a lighthouse on one side and a stone lion statue on the other, is the town's signature view and the same spot most runners passed at the very start of their race. St. Stephan's evangelical church, on the Marktplatz, hosts the marathon weekend's ecumenical runner's worship the evening before the race, a detail worth knowing even if you're visiting after the fact rather than before.

Hotel Bayerischer Hof, directly on the harbour, is the island's classic grand hotel, with the harbour lighthouse visible from many rooms and water views across the lake. A smaller alternative closer to the old town's interior streets suits anyone who'd rather be away from the harbour's daytime foot traffic.

For dinner, the harbourside restaurants facing the lighthouse offer straightforward Bavarian and lake-fish dishes, with outdoor seating that works well into October on a mild evening, weather permitting.

Getting Home

Return to Bregenz by the same train or ferry route, both running regularly through the day, so there's no need to plan a fixed departure time in advance. Friedrichshafen Airport, on the German side of the lake, is a further onward option for anyone flying rather than returning to Bregenz, reachable from Lindau by regional train with a change.