What to See in Charming Frankenmuth, Michigan

Jason's been itching to get to Frankenmuth, Michigan for several years, simply to visit their Christmas wonderland store. Since visiting the holiday store was only going to be an hour or two at most, we researched area attractions so we could make a full day out of our visit. We'll get to the wonderland store in another post because I want to focus on the charming town attractions that I think make for a fantastic visit all on their own.

Frankenmuth was founded by 15 German settlers in 1845, so the whole town has a touristy German look and feel about it. I say "touristy" because my daughter's boyfriend's mom comes from Germany and upon seeing the photos said, "That's nothing like Germany at all!" But, for those of us who have never been, it's feels like a fun little Bavarian village where it's easy to pretend you are visiting a foreign land.

We walked the whole town on foot in about 3 hours, making a few stops along the way. Our first stop was at the Bavarian Inn, where several times a day you can catch the cuckoo clock chime and tell a fun little story. *Tip- Get close, otherwise it's kind of hard to hear.

Next up, the hubs couldn't pass by the Lager Mill Beer Store and Brewing Museum. Shopping in the store is free, but you do have to pay a small fee to tour the brewing museum.

You can take a drive or a stroll over the beautiful Wooden Covered Bridge:

We didn't take a ride, but you can hop aboard the Bavarian Belle Riverboat for a narrated tour of Frankenmuth.

You must stop at the Bavarian Inn Castle Shops. The area and all of the shops are simply adorable!

There are tons of little shops to explore in Frankenmuth, and the girls were over the moon when they realized many of them passed out yummy food samples. My favorite came from The Cheese Haus, where we picked up several varieties of cheese to bring back home.

Of course, you can't leave Frankenmuth without having some of their famous chicken! We concluded our tour with a stop to Zender's Famous Frankenmuth Chicken Dinners, where you can get an all you can eat chicken dinner meal. It is a bit pricey, though. We did pay around $100 with tip for the 4 of us for lunch, but aside from the chicken being a bit too salty for my liking, it was a really amazing meal.

Make sure you head in and reserve a spot before touring the town because they do get filled up quickly. We had a 2 hour wait before we could be seated, but we did hit the shops after we made reservations, and if you still have time to kill, head down to the basement of Zender's where you can do a little grocery shopping, and you can see the pastries they sell in shop being made.

If you are heading toward the upper part of Michigan, I highly recommend a stop in Frankenmuth. You won't be disappointed!

Have you ever been to Germany? Would you like to tour a real Bavarian village?