The official logo of the Lake Constance Cycle Route is this sign. Some officials believe that this sign is sufficient to signpost the Lake Constance Cycle Route. However, this sign is not self-explanatory and therefore unknown to most cyclists. The sign is also too small and not sufficiently eye-catching. Often it is located half-way up signposts but most of the time it is absent altogether. If, however, you do see it, you can’t be sure whether it signposts the route you are cycling or the route from the other direction. At some places the sign points out another route, such as the following signs.
In short: one cannot depend on the signposts to stay along the right route.

The largest city on Lake Constance is the starting point and destination for the cycling tour around the Lake for the majority of cyclists. There is a network of good quality, uncomplicated and clean cycle routes here. The cycle routes are sub-divided into various routes according to the destination and are marked by a coloured dot on the signposts. Unfortunately, you will have to remember the correct colour at the start of the route, as otherwise you won’t know which direction to follow. At sunset the colours are impossible to tell apart. The signposting of the route is not sufficient. Even though Mainau and Meersburg are both in the same direction coming from the town centre, both routes run along busy roads and over (mainly unnecessary) hills. In the most important places in the town centre, there are no signs at all, probably to hide the fact that there is no proper cycle route through the town centre. The Lake Constance Cycle Route is not even signposted in Konstanz.
In a survey of 450 cyclists along Lake Constance the signposts in Konstanz were voted worst.

Along the German main roads the yellow StVO (road traffic regulations)-sign with black lettering is sometimes used. Critics say that its only use is to show cyclists that they are cycling directly next to a busy road. On Lake Constance this applies mainly to Friedrichshafen. Luckily the Lake Constance Cycle Route runs mainly far away from traffic and often directly along the water’s edge, while cars take a very different route.

When the cycle route is not running parallel to the main road (and it does that quite often), then it is mainly signposted as a long distance route in Germany. This is the almost official sign for cycle routes in Germany. In the North, it is mainly red on a white background, in the South, it is always green on a white background. The signs are only seldom so well written as in our example, which contains a near destination and long distance destination with kilometre distance and the old logo of the Lake Constance Cycle Route.

In Austria there is – like in Mozart´s music – a common theme in the signposting of cycle routes, and numerous variations of this. Sometimes the figure on the sign cycles in a blue circle, but most of the time in a red one. Like the `official´ logo of the Lake Constance Cycle Route his back wheel is sometimes coloured blue, sometimes the front wheel also, but mainly no wheel is coloured.

For cyclists, Switzerland is known as the "Cycling Country", and correctly so. In a countrywide effort, nine national cycle routes are excellently marked and signposted: the signposts are located in the correct places (even when one is cycling fast, one can see them before one has cycled past), they are self explanatory and uniform, almost everywhere a short and long distance destination is given and there are many extra signs along the way. In some places there are even overview maps for cyclists. It´s a pity that the Lake Constance Cycle Route isn´t one of these nine national routes and is therefore not explicitly signposted. The Swiss have however put the small logo in some locations and coloured in some of the wheels of the cyclist blue here and there.
The best thing about the excellent signposting in Switzerland, is that they have been introduced in both Germany and Austria. In Austria the Swiss system begins long before the border and the Cycling-experience route in Germany along the Untersee (Lower Lake) is also signposted with the Swiss system.
The majority of administrative officials recognise that it is only a question of time before Europe´s most popular cycle route is comprehensively signposted according to the Swiss system.
We are looking forward to this!

Despite all our criticisms of the signposting along the Lake Constance Cycle Route we want to make one thing clear: look forward to the most popular cycle route in Europe and be assured that no one has ye gone missing! As long as the Lake is to the right of you, you are cycling in the right direction and will almost always find the right route.