Dossier 06 · Bavaria
Lindau: the island house on Lake Constance
A casino that opened in 1950 and, since 2000, has occupied a round, chip-shaped building; a five-star hotel across from the island station; and an island town with a lighthouse and a lion. The smallest and quietest of the six, and the one with the most gaps in the record.
- 1950casino opened, Bavaria's oldest
- 21playing age in Bavaria
- 5 starsHotel Bayerischer Hof
- 2 h 15Munich by train, one change
Photo: Tobias Doering / Unsplash
Our verdict
Who it is for
Choose Lindau for the island and the lake, and the casino as a quiet evening in a landmark building.
The Hotel Bayerischer Hof has five stars and 101 rooms, with a heated indoor pool open all year and a spa that includes a Finnish sauna, a sanarium, a steam bath and a caldarium. Lindau is on Lake Constance, with Zurich 1 h 51 away by train (fastest sample) and the Bregenz Festival on its lake stage each summer.
Know before you book: the Bavarian state casino's own site needs JavaScript, so we could not read Lindau's hours, tables or menus, and we do not print any. Treat everything below about the casino beyond its age rule, history and building as "ask the casino". Hotel Bad Schachen in Lindau is closed from 5 October 2026 until 2028 or 2029, and the lake ferries have finished for the season.
The casino
Spielbank Lindau, at Chelles-Allee 1 (tel. +49 8382 27740), opened on 22 April 1950 and has been state-run since 1990; the Bavarian government calls it the oldest casino in Bavaria. The architect Hans Lechner's round, jeton-shaped building opened on 15 July 2000, replacing a temporary wooden building. About 65,000 people visited in 2024. The CASINObühne in the foyer stages cabaret, comedy, singer-songwriter concerts and club nights about once a month, and event guests get free entry to the casino afterwards (we found no readable calendar).
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Age and ID | 21 to play. Adults of 18–20 may be admitted only at the casino's discretion and with a companion aged 21+, and may not play. Minors are barred. A valid official photo ID is required. Lindau's tourist office says there is no obligation to play. |
| Entry | Free, per the state casino magazine for December 2023 to May 2024 (dated; confirm). |
| Dress | Neat clothing (tourist office); Tracht is welcome (state magazine). A third-party page contradicted itself on a jacket rule, so we do not print one. |
| Hours | Not verified. The law allows opening between 12:00 and 04:00. |
| Games, counts and menu | Not verified. Ask the casino. |
| Closed | 24 December (per the dated magazine). |
Rooms & spa
The Hotel Bayerischer Hof at Bahnhofplatz 2 has 101 rooms (a third-party page says 104) in these categories: courtyard, north, west, garden (with a view of the Mangturm), lake-facing, lake-facing Junior Suite, comfort (fourth floor, west or lake side) and four lake-facing suites; every room is non-smoking and air-conditioned. The published rates carry 2023 season dates, so we print none. The hotel describes itself as on the harbour promenade; its address is Bahnhofplatz. Only the north-facing rooms are described as "new"; no dated renovation is published. Together with the Hotel Seegarten (Ludwigstraße 23, four stars, 62 rooms), the group has about 163 rooms.
Check-in is from 16:00 and check-out at 12:00. For both hotels there are 51 outdoor and 34 underground parking spaces and six garages (€20 outdoors and €24 underground per day) and five EV chargers at a €23 flat fee. Pets are not allowed at the Bayerischer Hof; at the Seegarten they cost €37 a night. The hotel does not state its accessibility; one third-party reference mentions level-access showers, undated. Book through onepagebooking.com/bayerischerhof-lindau or phone +49 8382 9150.
The Maximilian SPA
The spa has a Finnish sauna, a sanarium, a steam bath, a caldarium and a Kneipp basin (07:00–22:00), a heated two-level indoor pool open all year (07:00–22:00) and a heated outdoor pool in summer (07:00–21:00). Treatments are 10:00–18:00, with 24 hours' notice to cancel. The hotel gives no pool dimensions, so we cannot confirm the often-quoted outdoor pool size.
History of the hotels
The hotels trace hospitality on this site back to 1854 under the Stolze and Spaeth families. Hotel Bad Schachen, now closed, has a Jugendstil building of 1909–10 by Billing and Vittali; it closed on 5 October 2026 for a comprehensive renovation and plans to reopen in 2028 or 2029.
The kitchen
Chef Sebastian Fink runs both hotel kitchens: the lake-view Restaurant Bayerischer Hof, the all-day Reutemann and a garden terrace, and the Corner Café/Bar. The casino has the Cantinetta al Lago (hours unverified). The starred cooking is KARRisma at Alter Schulplatz and VILLINO in Bodolz, and Mangold across the Austrian border.
Getting there
Long-distance trains now stop at Lindau-Reutin on the mainland; regional trains continue to the island station, which is directly across from the hotel and about a minute from the harbour on foot. By car, the A96 from Munich takes about one and a half hours, with park-and-ride at P1 Blauwiese and P2 on the mainland. Airports: Friedrichshafen 25 km, Altenrhein 40, Memmingen 75, Zurich 140 and Munich 210 km (door-to-door times not verified).
| From | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Munich Hbf | Train, one change | 2 h 15 (fastest sample); 23 connections a day |
| Munich | Car, A96 | About 1.5 h |
| Zurich HB | Train, one change | 1 h 51 (fastest sample) |
| Friedrichshafen Stadt | Bus and regional train | About 43 min (sample) |
The Vorarlberg Lines service between Bregenz and Konstanz via Lindau ran 3 April – 18 October 2026, and the BSB scheduled service for 2026 has ended, so no scheduled ferry runs now. Dates for 2027 and sailing durations were not verified.
48 hours in Lindau
- Friday 16:00
Check in, then the spa
The indoor pool and sauna area are open to 22:00.
- Friday 19:00
Dinner at the Bayerischer Hof
The lake-view restaurant serves from 19:00, with Bodensee fish such as Felchen and Zander on the menu.
- Friday 22:00
The casino
Confirm hours with Spielbank Lindau; the law allows 12:00–04:00. Bring official photo ID.
- Saturday 10:00
The island on foot
The island covers about 70 hectares; the Bavarian Lion (1856, 6 m, 50 t) and the 36 m New Lighthouse (1853–56, Germany's southernmost) stand at the harbour.
- Saturday 13:00
Lunch at the Reutemann
Open all day, 07:00–23:00 from April to October and 12:00–18:00 from November to March.
- Saturday 19:30
Dinner at KARRisma
One Michelin star; Wednesday to Saturday, with a five-course surprise menu at €155 or six courses at €179.
- Sunday
A day trip to Zurich
Zurich is 1 h 51 by train with one change (fastest sample).
What's on
Official dates, verified 20 October 2026. The Oktoberfest, children's festival and casino cabaret dates for 2027 are not yet published; we found no "Inselfest" in the official calendar.
- 6 – 10 Nov 2026
Lindau Jahrmarkt
Funfair.
- 8 and 29 Nov 2026
Verkaufsoffene Sonntage
Shops open on these Sundays.
- 26 Nov – 20 Dec 2026
Hafenweihnacht
Harbour Christmas market, Thursday to Sunday 11:00–21:00.
- 22 – 31 Dec 2026
Christmas and New Year packages
At the hotels: Christmas 22–26 Dec; New Year's Eve 26–31 Dec.
- 27 Jun – 2 Jul 2027
76th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
Physiology/Medicine.
- 21 Jul – 22 Aug 2027
Bregenzer Festspiele
La traviata on the lake stage 22 Jul – 22 Aug (28 performances, 21:15 in July and 21:00 in August); Penthesilea on 21 and 25 Jul and 2 Aug.
How it compares
Choose Lindau if…
- you want an island town and a lake in a small, quiet package
- you are going to Bregenz or Zurich anyway
- you are 21 or older and happy to ask the casino for details
- a five-star hotel without a big-city feel appeals
Choose another if…
- you need published casino hours and rules: Wiesbaden, Baden-Baden, Bad Homburg or Berlin
- you want a large spa: Tegernsee or Baden-Baden
- you want to be 18: Berlin
- you want a starred dinner in the hotel: Tegernsee
Against Tegernsee, the other Bavarian lake house, Lindau is smaller and more compact; the casino rules are the same state rules.
Questions
How old do I have to be?
21 to play. Adults aged 18–20 may enter only at the casino's discretion with a companion aged 21+ and may not play.
Is there a dress code?
The tourist office asks for neat clothing and the state magazine welcomes Tracht. We could not confirm any other rule.
Where is the hotel exactly?
Bahnhofplatz 2, across from the island station; the hotel describes itself as on the harbour promenade.
Does the Bayerischer Hof have a spa?
Yes, the Maximilian SPA, with an indoor pool open all year, a Finnish sauna, a sanarium, a steam bath, a caldarium and a Kneipp basin.
Is Hotel Bad Schachen open?
No. It closed on 5 October 2026 for a comprehensive renovation and is due to reopen in 2028 or 2029.
Do ferries run in winter?
No scheduled ferry service is running now; 2027 dates were not verified.
Sources
Facts checked 2026-10-20. Confirm opening hours and prices with the venue before you travel.
Hotel Bayerischer Hof · Maximilian SPA · Useful information · Lindau tourism: casino · Bavarian government: 75 years of Spielbank Lindau · Lindau tourism: getting there · Deutsche Bahn: Munich–Lindau · Lindau at a glance, 2026 (PDF) · Bregenzer Festspiele · Bavarian casino ordinance (BaySpielBO)