Bavarian Inn Restaurant
Downtown Frankenmuth
Day One:
Meet + Greet
Frankenmuth Cheese Haus | @the_pookies_world_travelers

Breakfast: Get the lay of the land along Main Street before buzzing down to South Main to start your day with scratch-made, sustainable food at Honey B’s Eatery. Order the Biscuits & Gravy or the Southern Benny (a benedict on warm buttermilk biscuit with braised pork and poached egg).

Choose Your Chariot: Cruise the flower-lined streets and experience Frankenmuth on a Fantasy Carriage Company or Frankenmuth Carriage Company horse-drawn carriage ride. Take in the beautiful Bavarian architecture and keep watch for shops you might like to visit later! Or, find your seat aboard the nostalgic Golden Ticket Trolley for a 45-minute tour of town complete with fun music and interesting facts about Frankenmuth!

Lunch: Located right on Main Street, try Tiffany’s Food & Spirits (known for its Sicilian-style pizza) and enjoy lunch on the front patio overlooking Downtown Frankenmuth. Taste locally sourced goodness at Michigan on Main Bar & Grill — like their house-made Ale Brat and a Pretzel — with your choice from Michigan’s largest selection of German beers, or one of 17 rotating Michigan craft brews on tap! Or, make your way to Poblano's Mexican Grill & Cantina, a casual cantina serving street tacos to enchiladas — and jumbo margaritas!

Mingle on Main: Spend time exploring shops galore along both sides of Main Street. Watch taffy or fudge get made at Zak & Mac’s Chocolate Haus, Frankenmuth Fudge Kitchen, or Frankenmuth Taffy Kitchen. Try 270+ varieties of cheese at Frankenmuth Cheese Haus, or sample house-made Bavarian sausages at Kern’s Sausages or Willi’s Sausage Co. Don’t miss spots like Adorn Boutique, Rapunzel's Boutique, or White House Boutique if vacation fashion is what you’re after!

Prost | @ashhhleysmith

Sip & Sample: You’ve already covered a ton of ground on your first day in Frankenmuth! Treat yourself to wine tasting at the Frankenmuth tasting room of Michigan’s most-awarded winery, St. Julian — where you can sample six wines or spirits (in your souvenir tasting glass)!

Dinner:
When in Rome, right? Experience Frankenmuth’s world-famous chicken dinners (in multiple courses served family-style) at Zehnder's Restaurant or Bavarian Inn Restaurant. Both offer a rich, authentic, German experience and food you won’t soon forget!

Or, cozy up at Prost! Wine Bar & Charcuterie and revel in a European-inspired wine bar experience offering flavors from around the world. Celebrate with charcuterie boards and an extensive wine selection (including wine served on tap), and relax by the outdoor fire bar, if you like.

Seize the Night: End your evening at the historic 1862 Frankenmuth Brewery — Michigan's oldest microbrewery — and enjoy the view from an enclosed patio with ceiling-to-floor glass overlooking the Cass River, or from its heated wraparound decks!

Head to Zehnder’s Tap Room for Friday Night Flights, featuring Zehnder's 20 specialty craft beers and live lounge entertainment, or experience the Lorelei Lounge for an expansive bourbon bar that hosts live entertainment every evening.

Bavarian Inn Castle Shops | @bavarianinn
Day Two:
Pick Your Pleasure

Breakfast: Order up a Breakfast Pizza at T-Dub's, or begin your day at Oma’s Restaurant inside the Bavarian Inn Lodge. “Oma” means “Grandma” in German, and the Banana Nut Bread French Toast, German Potato Pancakes, and Potato Cheese Dumplings all taste like a big ole hug! Or, fuel up with a healthy, hearty breakfast burrito from K's Cafe, alongside an energizing smoothie.

Zip & Climb: Zoom into day two with a taste for adventure! Climb, zipline, and feel like you're flying on a series of aerial obstacle courses at Frankenmuth Aerial Park — and be sure to check out the fan-favorite FrankenZip course!

Chime Time: Witness the Bavarian Inn Glockenspiel Tower, an illuminated clock with figurine movement, when it chimes at 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm daily. Save time to explore the Bavarian Inn Holz Brücke, too, an iconic covered bridge made entirely of wood which spans the Cass River.

Lunch: Head to Frankenmuth River Place Shops for lunch, and experience more than 40 stores and attractions that make up this German-themed shopping village. Grab a bite to eat at Pasty Haus or taste a piece of Paris at La Crepe du Jour (and discover savory crepes like the Bavarian or Mediterranean). Or, venture into Cass River Bar & Grill for big TVs and big German beers.

Stroll the Shops: Pick your pleasure while at Frankenmuth River Place Shops, from The Michigan Shoppe to I Love Frankenmuth. On top of the shops, this spot is home to Serendipity Day Spa (need we say more?), and a tasting room of Grand Traverse Distillery. Or, waltz into Modern Craft Winery, located inside Bead Haven, to try their anything-but-routine “mixperience” wine tasting.

Boat Tours in Frankenmuth | @michiganaddicts

Head Downriver: Get to the docks at Frankenmuth River Place Shops' waterfalls and board the Bavarian Belle Riverboat for a narrated historical tour of Frankenmuth on the Cass River. Or, ride in an electric-powered, 12-passenger tour boat with Frankenmuth FunShips. Book the one-hour Wine & Chocolate River Tour to enjoy Michigan wines paired with gourmet chocolates while you cruise!

Want to drop right into the Cass River’s calm waters on your own? Look to Frankenmuth Kayak Adventures for pre-set trips and paddling fun!

Dinner: Serving up mouthwatering ribs, brisket, and pulled pork in a classic blues atmosphere, Slo’ Bones BBQ Smokehaus offers drink specials, live music on weekends, and an inviting patio (and you might just wind up staying here all night)!

Or, enjoy artfully plated European dishes (paired with the perfect wine selection by an in-house, internationally certified sommelier) at The Station 100, tucked inside Frankenmuth's former train station.

Nightlife: After dinner, you’ll find lively times at Tiffany’s Food & Spirits and Frankenmuth Brewery, plus the seasonal, outdoor Schnitzelbank Bier Garten during summer months. Buy first-come, first-serve seats for the Saturday-evening tour on Frankenmuth's 16-person PedAle Trolley, where you'll sip brews while you bike from pub to pub!

Day Three:
Before You Go
Prost | @sisterhoodbloodymarys

Brunch: Start the day off right with a Bloody Mary or Mimosa Flight and the German Heritage charcuterie board while brunching at Prost! Wine Bar & Charcuterie. Or, savor a house-specialty hash, Biscuits & Gravy, or one of three styles of Benedicts.

Stroll for Souvenirs: From Bavarian Inn Castle Shops to the Covered Bridge Shop, Amazin’ Mitten to Frank's Muth — souvenirs, gifts, and goodies that’ll fill your suitcase with memories of Frankenmuth can be found all around town. Don’t take off without at least a few!

Before You Go:
You simply can’t visit Frankenmuth without visiting Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland! Overflowing with more than 50,000 trims and gifts, this store is the size of one-and-a-half football fields — and offers the opportunity to customize ornaments for the perfect souvenir!

Lunch: If you’re still full from brunch, grab a late lunch of light eats. Track down a local food truck — Bavarian Inn Cluck Truck or The Cheese Trap — to taste signature Frankenmuth flavors on-the-fly. Or, choose from the grab-n-go selections at Zehnder’s Marketplace or Bavarian Inn Castle Shops and picnic down by the riverfront in Heritage Park.

Cheers to your big weekend in Little Bavaria Drive over that covered bridge one last time, watch the Bavarian Belle Riverboat glide down the Cass River, and recognize you’ve experienced a feeling of “willkommen” you could only find here!
Like This? You Might Also Like:
Things To Do

The greeting around Frankenmuth is "willkommen" (the German word for welcome), and you're sure to feel the warm sentiment and German inspiration all throughout your getaway in Michigan's Little Bavaria!

Read More +
See How to Spend a Weekend in Our Other Cities:
Things To Do

Shop antique centers to artisan boutiques, sample eclectic coffee shops and eateries, belly up for craft beer and handcrafted cocktails, and even board a tall ship to sail off into the sunset! It’s all available (and ready when you are) on your weekend in Bay City!

Read More +
Things To Do

Explore the country’s longest canopy walk and 110 acres of botanical gardens, bike a 30-mile stretch of scenic rail trail, or sip under the stars at an open-air beer garden — and enjoy every moment of your vacation in Midland, Michigan!

Read More +
Things To Do

When it’s time to really get away, get to a city that’s got some soul. Get to Saginaw, Michigan!

Read More +
Author
Jen W. O'Deay + Go Great Lakes Bay

By: Jen W. O'Deay | Updates: Go Great Lakes Bay | Jen is a Saginaw native and owner of Feel These Words, an independent copywriting studio & home to the free "5 Day Website MiniBoost". Jen specializes in writing that connects, delivered through website copy, branded content articles, and WingWoman writing services. You'll find Jen camping with her family, laughing, and at feelthesewords.com