Zürich

Day Trip to the Rhine Falls, Rheinfall

When you visit Zurich, you have two options to reach the north side of the Rhine Falls. Both routes take about the same amount of time. Take the Regional non-stop train for 40 minutes from Zurich to Schaffhausen. Then retrace the last 10 minutes of your route on the #1 bus or the local S9 train from Schaffhausen to the Neuhausen Rheinfall stop. Alternately take the local S9 train from Zurich, which takes an hour but allows you to stop at Neuhausen Rheinfall without going all the way to Schaffhausen. Either way you will get a great view of the falls just before you arrive.

From the Neuhausen Rheinfall stop you walk down the steps on the north side to the promenade along the river. You can catch all the various boat tours from this side of the river. The north side has great views of the falls with Laufen Castle on the opposite bank, but you only get close to the falls on a boat tour from this side of the Rhine.

Rhine Falls Laufen Castle

You also have several options to start your day trip at the Rhine Falls on the south side at Laufen Castle. Take the S12 train directly from the Zurich Main Station to the Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall stop. Alternately take the Regional non-stop to Schaffhausen and then take the S33 or S12 to the Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall stop. You can even hike about 15 mintues from the Neuhausen Rheinfall stop on the north side and cross the bridge to Laufen Castle.

Laufen Castle offers you up close and personal views of the falls, but you must pay a small fee to enter. The Laufen Castle grounds offer many viewpoints including a glass elevator ride and overhanging platforms. At the lowest level of the castle you will find the boat dock for the Red boats, which provide a taxi service to cross the river to access all the other boat tours and the north side promenade.

Rhine Falls Boat Tours

Boat tours run from the north side of the Rhine River. The boat tours are colored to indicate their route:

Yellow – 30 minutes, including 20 minute stop at the pinnacle in the middle of the falls. 20 chf
Blue – 15 minute roundtrip up close and personal in the spray. 7 chf
Pink – 30 minute non-stop tour up and down the Rhine. 11 chf
Red – 5 minute crossing between north boat docks and Laufen Castle on the south side. 5 chf

Other Sights in the Lake Constance

• Meersburg Castle and Promenade – boat ride from Konstanz.
• Lindau Island – at the far southeastern shore of Lake Constance.
• Friedrichshafen – ride in a zeppelin or simply see the museum.

Schaffhausen

Schaffhausen is about an hour by train from Zurich and is the access point used by most people who visit the Rhine Falls. So, don’t miss a chance to take a walk from the train station through the Schaffhausen old town. The Munot Festung fortress is a 10 minute walk from the station. Not only is the castle interesting, but it has a small vineyard and lovely views over the old town. Schaffhausen is about 10 minutes from the Rhine Falls, and 30 minutes by train or bus from Stein am Rhein.

Stein am Rhein

Stein am Rhein is one of the most impressive small medieval villages in Switzerland. The village is about 1.5 hours by train from Zurich or 30 minutes from Schaffhausen by bus or rail. Stein am Rhein is also a standard stop for Rhine River boats that travel between Kreuzlingen and Schaffhausen.

The village of Stein am Rhein is very small so it’s easy to cover in an hour and leave lots of time for shopping or restaurants. The Rathausplatz town hall square with its painted building facades and the museum of St. George’s Abbey are both well worthwhile visits. Burg Church on the opposite bank of the Rhine River has roman ruins, but they aren’t overly impressive. Hohenklingen Castle is situated above Stein am Rhein a few minutes by car or about a 40 minute steep walk up. The restaurant at the castle gets good reviews.

Mainau Island

Mainau Island is a popular spot for local families to visit. The island is about two hours by train from Zurich if you skip Schaffhausen, the Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein. You can walk onto the island after taking rail or bus, however you can also arrive by boat on Lake Constance. The popular sights on Mainau Island are the Italian steps water cascade, Mainau Castle, the castle gardens, the butterfly garden and a kids playground.  The fee is currently 11 Euros per person. You can take a direct boat from the near the Imperial Statue in Konstanz Harbour. Don’t miss the Konstanz old town if you choose the boat cruise.

Rhine River Boat Tours

If the Rhine River is high enough, you can take a river cruise with URH.com from Kreuzlingen to Schaffhausen past Stein am Rhein. Buy a day pass for the entire route or pay a reduced fare if you only travel as far as Stein am Rhein. Rhine River Boat Tours are also covered with a Bodensee Plus Card. The 3 day Bodensee Ticket covers trains, buses, the Meersburg ferry and 25% off a Rhine River Cruise. Use a Bodensee Plus Card for 3 or 7 days of travel which includes the full fare on all boats.

Rail Crossing into Germany

Once you cross into Germany at Schaffhausen, Stein am Rhein or Konstanz, you can no longer use the SBB app to pay for rail tickets. These areas are part of the SBB Deutschland responsibility managed by VHB. So for example, to ride one stop from Konstanz toward Konstanz-Petershausen you will either need to buy a ticket at the station or get the HappyTicket Deutschland app. Once you get past these regional train systems, you need to use the Deutsche Bahn website or DB Navigator app for the rest of Germany.

Visit Zurich – Day Trip to St Gallen

Visit the village of St Gallen which is 1.5 hours by train from Zurich. From the St Gallen main train station, walk east on Leonhard Strasse to Multergasse and enter the old town. See the Abbey of St Gall and its historic library. Look for the architecture of over 100 oriels (bay window boxes) in the old town surrounding the abbey, especially on Marktgasse, Schmiedgasse, Spisergasse, Multergasse and Kugelgasse. See the Church of St Laurenzen next to the Abbey of St Gall too.

Immediately south of the abbey, catch the Muhleggbahn Funicular, which will bring you within a short walking distance of the Three Lakes (Drei Weieren). Other attractions to consider near the old town are the Textile Museum, the St Gallen Art Museum and the Schützengarten Brewery. The Natural History Museum, the Peter and Paul Wildlife Park and the St Gallen Botanical Garden are more difficult to reach unless you have a car.

On your way back to the train station, wander through the Red Square (Roter Platz) / City Lounge where all streets and benches are carpeted in red. The Roter Platz is just a 6 minute walk southeast of the station. If you don’t plan to return to Zurich that day, you can train from St Gallen to visit Appenzell in the Alpstein area or ride the Voralpen Express all the way to Lucerne.

Visit Zurich – Day Trip to Ebenalp

You can reach Appenzell in the Alpstein area in about 2 hours from Zurich, but you’d be stretched to see more than one of the many popular destinations. The most popular destination is the Ebenalp Gondola, which you catch at the Wasserauen train stop just past Appenzell. After your gondola ride, you hike down along the cliff edge, through the prehistoric cave and to St Michael’s Cave Chapel. Continuing along the edge you reach the famous Aescher Guesthouse, which is built into the cliff edge. Enjoy a meal or stay the night. Be careful if you continue on down to the beautiful Seealpsee lake afterward, as there have been fatalities on the steep trail. You need to return to Wasserauen from the Aescher Guesthouse or the Seealpsee to complete your day trip.

Appenzell

Ebenalp is not the only place to see in Alpstein, so consider making your visit longer than a day trip from Zurich. Walk the streets of Appenzell and try to time your visit on the exact day in the spring or in fall when various farms parade their cows through town on their way to or from their summer pastures. Check with Appenzell Tourism for dates of the Alpabzug. Visit the Landsgemeinde in Appenzell on the last Sunday in April, when residents do their annual voting in the open air parliament at the town square. Visit in February for Carnival.

If you stay 3 nights in the Appenzell area, your hotel will give you an Appenzeller Card that’s good for transportation as well as the Ebenalp & Hoher Kasten gondolas and some museums too. You can’t buy an Appenzeller Card yourself though. The card must be obtained through eligible accommodation that you book in the region.

Other Alpstein Gondolas

Enjoy the phenomenal views over the Alpstein, Lichtenstein, Germany and Lake Constance from the Hoher Kasten gondola summit. You reach the gondola base station by taking the train from Appenzell to Wiessbad and then the #192 bus to the gondola station. Hoher Kasten is also a possibility on a day trip from Zurich, as it takes just over 2 hours one way to reach the gondola.

Hike the steep cliff edges from Ebenalp to the Berggasthaus Schäfler where you can spend the night and hope to film the sunset on the spiny ridges of the Alpstein. This is a favorite video and Instagram viewpoint.

Visit Mount Santis, the highest gondola in the Alpstein. You can reach the gondola base station from Appenzell in about 40 minutes by taking S23 train to Urnasch and then taking the #791 bus the rest of the way. You can also reach the Mount Santis gondola base station in about 2 hours from Zurich.

Visit Zurich – Day Trip Flumserberg Skiing

Although you likely won’t find much snow in Zurich in the winter, you will find a great ski area nearby at Flumserberg. You can reach the gondola base station at Unterterzen in about an hour by train. You will find multiple gondolas with various skill levels, an option to ski through the forest and a toboggan run. The view looks down to the Walensee with the Alpstein range and Mount Santis as a backdrop. It’s amazing. You can also ride many of these gondolas in the summer too, when the beautiful green pastures contrast with the blue waters of the Walensee.