Things to Do in Frankenmuth, Michigan

Wally Bronner founded this store in 1945, and it now bills itself as the world’s largest Christmas store. The building covers 7.35 acres on 27 acres of grounds, and it stocks more than 50,000 ornaments, lights and gifts. About 100,000 lights line the half-mile Christmas Lane every evening.

★ Good to know It’s open 361 days a year, closing only on New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas; the weekend after Thanksgiving is the busiest of the year.

On the south end of Bronner’s grounds stands a 56-foot replica of the chapel in Oberndorf, Austria, where “Silent Night” was first sung on Christmas Eve 1818. Bronner’s built it in 1992 with the Austrian government’s permission. It’s a quiet stop after the noise of the store.

★ Good to know Admission is free, and the chapel is open daily during store hours.

The building went up in 1856 as the Exchange Hotel, and William Zehnder Sr. reopened it as Zehnder’s on Mother’s Day 1929. It seats more than 1,500 people in nine dining rooms and serves about a million guests a year. The draw is the all-you-can-eat, family-style chicken dinner, and the James Beard Foundation named it an America’s Classic in 2020.

★ Good to know Zehnder’s Marketplace next door has the bakery and gift shop if you only want a snack.

Directly across Main Street, the Bavarian Inn serves the same famous chicken dinners plus German dishes in 12 dining rooms. The Zehnder family bought what was then Fischer’s Hotel in 1950. Tiny Zehnder later pushed other Frankenmuth businesses to build or remodel in the Bavarian style you see today.

★ Good to know The lower-level Castle Shops are worth a browse while you wait for a table.

This wooden bridge stretches 239 feet across the Cass River and is Michigan’s largest covered wooden bridge. Builder Milton Graton’s crew used oxen to pull it into place in January 1980, and it was dedicated that September. Cars cross in two lanes, with covered walkways on both sides.

★ Good to know Walk across to reach the Bavarian Inn Lodge and Heritage Park, where many of the town’s festivals take place.

This 150-passenger stern-driven paddlewheeler runs narrated tours of about an hour on the Cass River. The family that operates it brought the boat from Arkansas in 1999 and restored it. There’s an open-air upper deck and an enclosed lower salon.

★ Good to know It runs from early May to mid-October, and the start and end dates move with the weather, so check the schedule on its home page.

This German-themed outdoor shopping village at 925 S. Main St. has more than 40 shops and attractions. It’s open year-round, with heated sidewalks for winter visits. It also hosts free family festivals through the year.

★ Good to know The Bavarian Belle leaves from the same address, so pair the two.

Formerly called Michigan’s Own Military and Space Museum, this museum at 1250 Weiss St. tells the stories of Michigan men and women in wartime and in space. It holds more than 700 exhibits, each devoted to a Michigan service member. Its Medal of Honor section is one of its best-known collections.

★ Good to know It’s near Bronner’s, so it fits easily into the same afternoon.