Free & Low Cost

Free & Low Cost

Do Frankenmuth on a dime — so you can spend more time (and less money) making lifelong vacation memories.

A trip to Little Bavaria doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, there are tons of ways to enjoy Michigan’s German town without breaking out your wallet at all! Check out a few of our favorite free (and almost-free) things to do in Frankenmuth:

Cross the iconic Covered Bridge.

Walk, bike, or drive over the Cass River on our historic Frankenmuth Covered Bridge — a 239-foot, 230-ton masterpiece made entirely of wood (except for the nails)!

See the Glockenspiel and Figurinespiel.

Hear our German-imported, 35-bell Bavarian Inn Glockenspiel Tower chime at 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm daily while its figurines dance, or see the Frankenmuth Cheese Haus Figurinespiel play at 9am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm daily.

Hear totally free tunes.

Catch the Summer Concert Series in Memorial Park every Sunday from late-June to mid-August, or head Downtown for Friday Fun Nights (Memorial Weekend through late-September) for free live music and street performers!

Enjoy free smells and samples.

See fudge hand-paddled or taffy pulled and kissed in the storefronts of our sweet shops, or sample at Great Lakes Olive Oil Company’s tasting bar!

Witness Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland.

Browse the world’s largest Christmas store, then drive down Christmas Lane after dusk to see 100,000 lights aglow, any night of the year!

Behold churches and chapels.

Tour Frankenmuth’s founding church, St. Lorenz, or visit the Silent Night Chapel — a replica of the one in Austria where “Silent Night” was first sung in 1818.

Go on a gnome hunt.

Grab a gnome hunt sheet at our Visitor Center, or use your phone, then track down and record 15 gnomes (and their known gnome homes) and return to the Visitor Center for a prize!

Discover the murals of Michigan's Little Bavaria.

Download the FREE Frankenmuth Mural Finder app, seek and spot 10 murals, check in on the app at each location, then redeem your pass at the Visitor Center for a special Frankenmuth Mural Finder prize!

Find budget-friendly festival fun.

From Bavarian Festival to Frankenmuth Oktoberfest, you can get in to most of our famous Frankenmuth festivals for just five to 10 bucks!

Try your hand at pretzel rolling.

Learn to hand-roll German pretzels with the best of ‘em at Bavarian Inn Restaurant — then enjoy your piping-hot pretzel after it’s baked! *Currently only offering this experience to groups of 20 or more*

Indulge in all the tastings.

Try a tasting flight from Michigan’s most-awarded winery, St. Julian, sample Michigan spirits and wines by Grand Traverse Distillery and Black Star Farms, or pair with handcrafted chocolates for the perfect wine tasting at Frankenmuth FunShips.

Tour our museums.

Step back in time at the Frankenmuth Historical Museum, or see the nation’s largest Medal of Honor collection on display at the Michigan Heroes Museum.

Play where you stay.

A stay at Bavarian Inn Lodge gets you access to the Midwest’s largest hotel family fun center (and over 160 games), while an overnight at Zehnder’s Splash Village is your ticket to an arcade with more than 40!

Have mega fun with mini golf.

Play putt-putt outdoors at Frankenmuth Jellystone Park or buy wristbands for 18 holes indoors at Willy’s Mini Golf inside Bavarian Inn Lodge.

Get in more family game time.

Navigate the Mirror Maze and The Vault laser beam challenge together, or try the River Place Game Room — all at Frankenmuth River Place Shops.

Find fun on the farm.

Take a hands-on family farm tour at Grandpa Tiny’s, April to October, or weave through the Frankenmuth Corn Maze at Weiss Centennial Farm in fall!

More ways to explore