The Best Things to Do in Frankenmuth, Michigan

Frankenmuth is one of Michigan’s most visited cities, and the crowds it draws every year are justified. The Bavarian-themed downtown along the Cass River has a genuinely distinct character, and the food, shopping, and brewing scene that has grown up around it has real depth beneath the tourist surface.

Frankenmuth Brewery

The Frankenmuth Brewery has history going back to 1862, making it one of the oldest continuously operating breweries in Michigan. The current version of the brewery has been revived with German lager traditions at its center — which fits the town’s character perfectly. If you visit Frankenmuth and do not stop here, you have missed one of the things that makes the town worth visiting.

Read the full Frankenmuth Brewery spotlight

Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland

The largest Christmas store in the world is genuinely worth experiencing regardless of how you feel about Christmas. The scale of it — a 98,000 square foot retail space open 361 days a year — defies description. It is a Michigan landmark and one of those things that has to be seen to be understood.

Zehnder’s and Bavarian Inn

Two family-owned restaurant institutions that anchor Frankenmuth’s dining scene and between them have served hundreds of thousands of people all-you-can-eat chicken dinners over the decades. They are the reason Frankenmuth became a food destination before anything else, and they have maintained quality at a scale that is genuinely impressive.

The Cass River

Frankenmuth’s riverside setting is part of what makes it work. The covered wooden Holz-Brucke bridge, river walks, and outdoor seating along the water give the town a physical character that supports everything around it. Worth building time into the visit to walk along it.