Friedrichshafen punches above its weight for a city of 60,000. The Zeppelin Museum alone is worth the trip — one of the finest aviation museums in Germany, with a full-scale replica of a Hindenburg section that you can walk through. The lakefront promenade runs for several kilometres, giving you open views of the Bodensee and, on clear days, the Swiss Alps. The Dornier Museum at the airport fills out the aviation story with the flying boats and wartime aircraft that the other local aviation dynasty produced.
Beyond the museums, the city rewards slow walking. The old schloss church sits right on the water, the old harbour draws afternoon crowds, and the lakeside is clean enough to swim from June through August. Bike rental is easy to arrange and the flat lake shore makes for relaxed cycling east to Langenargen or west toward Immenstaad.