Spending a day in Frankenmuth wouldn’t be complete without a bit of shopping in this cute Bavarian town.
All of these shops can be found along Main Street and are easily walkable once you find a parking spot for your car.
You can find almost anything here in Frankenmuth from precious Christmas ornaments, leather goods, cheese, sausage, fudge, and of course, German Cuckoo clocks.
Here are the ten best shops in Frankenmuth for you to explore on your next visit.
10 Best Shops In Frankenmuth
1. Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland
Bronner’s has always been a must-visit shop when visiting Frankenmuth.
When we were young, my mom took us there, and I remember my sisters and I were allowed to pick out one ornament to take home.
We explored the entire store, trying to find the perfect ornament that represented us.
Even more exciting to a child is seeing all the fantastic Christmas-themed displays on ledges by the ceiling in every room of the store.
Open 361 days a year, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland is the “World’s Largest Christmas Store,” with the actual store being 7.35 acres in size and landscaped grounds covering 27 acres.
You can find everything Christmas-related, including lights, gifts, Santa outfits, artificial trees, and of course, ornaments.
Plus, you can get it all personalized while you continue your shopping explorations.
A visit to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland will get you right into the Christmas spirit any time of year.
Recently, I got to explore something new for me at the edge of Bronner’s parking lot: The Silent Night Memorial Chapel.
The chapel is a replica of the chapel in Oberndorf, Austria, built on the site of the original St. Nicholas church, where the song Silent Night was first sung in 1818.
It is open during Bronner’s store hours, and there is no admission fee.
When you walk up to the site, you see white signs that hold the lyrics for Silent Night in several languages.
I found the French one and can almost remember being able to sing it at one time.
If you understand any other languages, it can be fun to find one you know.
Inside, you will find an inspirational chapel that showcases the history of the most iconic Christmas song, including a photograph of the original manuscript of Silent Night handwritten by composer Franz Xaver Gruber.
2. Castle Shops
Located in the lower level of the Bavarian Inn Restaurant, you’ll find a charming fairytale atmosphere with gorgeous paintings on the walls of the stairways depicting Bavarian dinner scenes and the Pied Piper of Hamelin, life-sized German nutcrackers guarding the stairs, and huge German beer steins on display.
Of course, you can’t help but see all the German influences at the Bavarian Inn Castle Shops while you are wandering along the cobblestone path through the many different Castle Shops, including the Royal Gift Shop, Doll & Toy Shop, Beer & Wine Shop, and the Candy Corner.
Pick up your Frankenmuth souvenirs here, along with beautiful gifts for the entire family.
Don’t forget to stop at the Castle Shop bakery to take home some delicious pies.
3. Charlin’s Book Nook
One of my favorite things to do is discover fabulous local bookstores when I travel.
I found Charlin’s Book Nook in the River Place Shops hidden in the back behind the arcade.
This little bookstore is a bit deceiving.
If you walk in from the River Place Game Room, you will be surprised at how big this bookstore is.
Charlin’s is a used bookstore filled with classic and contemporary literature.
They even have a kid’s corner where your kids can read while you browse the shelves for your favorite book.
If you are having trouble finding what you are searching for, the staff is super helpful and will go out of their way to help you locate it.
If you are hunting for an elusive first edition, rare book, or the latest in the Janet Evanovich series, Charlin’s is the books shop to explore.
4. Covered Bridge Shop
You might notice when visiting Frankenmuth that many of the shops are specialized and focus on selling specific items.
One in particular is the Covered Bridge Shop, located south of the Bavarian Inn Restaurant and north of the River Place Shops.
There is a shop section where you can find some excellent leather items like leather wallets, purses, vests, jackets, and really nice leather belts.
The rest of the shop has plenty of Frankenmuth souvenirs and toys.
If you have kids, they will love the cats and unicorns on a leash where they can almost blend in with the little dogs being walked around town.
5. Enchanted Forest
Enchanted Forest is a unique store in the River Place Shops for shoppers looking for a bit of magic.
This store is home to fairies, dragons, and gnomes, where moss and foliage drape down from the ceiling and tiny fairy lights dance across the walls.
When you enter this magical fairyland, you’ll be captivated by its enchanting displays that inspire you to create your own enchanted garden at home.
In addition, Enchanted Forest has celestial amulets, zodiac candles, jewelry, healing crystals, smudge sticks, solar lanterns, wind spinners, garden gnomes, cute concrete dragons, hand-painted fairy figurines, and excellent lawn decor.
This is a great shop if you are just starting to be creative with your garden.
If you need more inspiration, you can also check out the fairyland created in front of the store with miniature fairy houses hiding in flowers and bushes next to a blue pebble stream.
6. Frankenmuth Cheese Haus
For more than 50 years, the Frankenmuth Cheese Haus has been on Main Street (545 S. Main St.), offering cheese samples to visitors.
Since they expanded their retail space, they now have more than 270 different cheeses, seven cheese spreads, including Garlic, Horseradish, Bacon, Jalapeno, Smokey Jalapeno, Fiery Jalapeño, and their Creamy Blue Cheese spread.
They also make several kinds of cheese in-house, including Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Mint, Blueberry, Strawberry, and their Chocolate.
You have to try their Chocolate Cheese!
What makes the experience of visiting the Cheese Haus even better is that you can watch the cheese being made.
After you do that, you can browse through their extensive selection of cheeses for sale (I picked up a Traverse City Cherry Cheddar), crackers, sausage, and all the kitchen gear you would need to have an incredible cheese and wine party.
7. Frankenmuth Clock Company
Open seven days a week, the Frankenmuth Clock Company specializes in authentic, handcrafted German items, including Black Forest cuckoo clocks, wall and mantel clocks, miniature clocks, German novelty clocks, Howard Miller clocks, music boxes, incense smokers, nutcrackers, grandfather clocks, and even holiday ornaments.
You can find the Frankenmuth Clock Company just south of downtown and only a two-minute walk from the Frankenmuth River Place Shops.
When you walk into the shop, you will be amazed at all the clocks on display, more than 1,000 of them.
There is always a salesperson on the display floor ready to demonstrate how the clocks work.
All you have to do is point out which one you want to see.
Frankenmuth Clock Company also repairs your clocks for you and will show you how everything works while they do it.
As you wander through the tight aisles filled floor-to-ceiling with clocks, you might see a replica of the Wooden Christmas Pyramid Carousel that was in the movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
At least, this reminded me of it.
8. Frankenmuth Fudge Kitchen
Another specialty shop that you have to stop at is the Frankenmuth Fudge Kitchen, which has been making Michigan’s Best Fudge for over 50 years.
You can stand outside and watch them make and cut the rich, creamy fudge, or you can come inside and try a couple of free samples of their more 20 Fudge flavors available.
Try the vanilla nut butter pecan, German chocolate, or the Turtle Fudge.
They even have specialty fudges like the dairy-free chocolate raspberry fudge and vegan fudge.
I’m sure that when you visit, you can find at least one flavor that you will have to take home with you.
9. Frankenmuth Woolen Mill
This is a unique store and one of the oldest in Frankenmuth.
The Frankenmuth Woolen Mill has been here for 127 years at 570 S. Main Street.
The woolen mill has been making one-of-a-kind wool bedding since 1894.
You can even watch part of the handmade process through the glass wall in the back and see antique machinery sitting on the original 1894 mill floor.
Then you can browse the racks and take home your own wool bedding, wool pillow, wool comforter, wool mattress topper, home accents, and even beautifully made quilts.
In addition to the wool bedding, you will find one of the largest selections of Heritage Lace in Michigan.
They do have custom orders for you to pick out the perfect fabric to match your bedroom.
When you purchase a wool item, you are actually helping out the environment as wool is a 100% renewable resource.
10. Sticky Situations
Another unique store you have to stop in at the Frankenmuth River Place Shops is Sticky Situations.
This is one of the newer shops to open in the River Place Shops.
Sticky Situations is a family-owned and operated business specializing in raw honey, unfiltered honey, local honey, honey mustard, honey butter, loose leaf tea, maple syrup, apple syrup, and bee pollen.
I had no idea that there were so many different kinds of honey from Nutmeg, Orange Blossom, Avocado, Alfalfa, Rosemary, and even Chipotle Honey.
Winnie the Pooh would have a field day in this store, and I know that you will, too!
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