Lindau, Germany

Lindau is a Bavarian town of about 27,000 residents set on an island in eastern Lake Constance, where the borders of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland meet. First documented in 882, it became a Free Imperial City in 1422 and retained that status until 1802. The harbour entrance is framed by the 33-metre New Lighthouse built in 1853, the southernmost in Germany, alongside the 12th-century Mangturm tower. Inside the 1180 Peterskirche are the lake's oldest frescoes, dating to around 880. Each summer the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings gather roughly 30 laureates and 600 young scientists on the island.