We have used the IRAM 30 m-telescope together with the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) bolometer to survey nearly 270 stars of different types for 250GHz continuum emission. We compare these data with their low frequency (cm-range) properties. Early type stars show very often a deviation from the uniformly expanding wind model which we tentatively attribute to temperature and/or density fluctuations in their deeper atmospheric layers. For WR stars this deviation seems to depend on the effective temperature. Pre-main sequence stars usually seem to be surrounded by a shell of warm dust making a substantial contribution to the 250 GHz flux density value. We have found especially for nearby giants and supergiants that a layer at the transition from photosphere to chromosphere emits ample 250 GHz radiation. We show that the present data can still be explained by a simple uniformly illuminated disk model with the known stellar radius. Optically variable stars are not very strong emitters at 250 GHz. We preferentially detected the more exotic ones, a few Beta Lyr-type and symbiotic stars. Comments on many individual objects are given in the appropriate sections.