Easily accessible from either the lovely and nearby Stein am Rhein or Zurich, Schaffhausen is another picturesque medieval town which is mostly known to tourists as the location of the Rhine Falls. The Old Town is beautifully preserved and mostly pedestrian-only which makes wandering around a peaceful and delightful affair.

You’ll see examples of late Gothic, baroque, and rococo architecture as well as some lavishly painted facades (though Stein am Rhein still wins in that category!).

Characterful streets show the many fine guildhouses and merchant’s houses with their oriel windows, a sign of wealth from the Baroque and Gothic period.

None more so than Vondergrass where you won’t be able to miss the frescoed Haus zum Ritter, dating from 1485.

The whole house exterior is covered in Renaissance frescoes and is one of the most important pieces of work north of the Alps. It depicts the adventures of a knight, and while the original is carefully kept in a museum, you can enjoy the colorful reproduction painted in 1942.

There are also plenty of cute little boutiques for shopping and casual cafes to grab a midday meal while people watching.

Café Vordergasse is an art nouveau–style tearoom with a lovely, flowery pavement terrace and a light menu of salads and tartines.

Step slightly outside the pedestrian zone to see more historical landmarks and government buildings.

The Museum zu Allerheiligen is set in a beautiful monastery and is the oldest building in Schaffhausen (around 1000 AD).

Hop on a short bus ride to get to the nature part of your day – the famous Rhine Falls. While the falls are the main attraction here, the riverside landscape along the Rhine is also worth exploring whether by taking a short boat cruise or simply walking on the trails along the river.

The mighty Rhine River is impressive on its own, passing through four countries as it flows from the Alps to the North Sea.

The falls are on a stretch of the river known as the High Rhine where the waters cascade down to a lower level in a spectacular waterfall. The village surrounding it and the creation of Schaffhausen arose where shippers needed somewhere to unload and stack their goods when avoiding the rapids that were impassable for ships.

The Rhine Falls are usually described as Europe’s largest waterfall though it should be noted that many other waterfalls in Europe have greater drops and many are much longer, combining a series of cataracts. With a drop of around 23 metres, across a width of 150 metres, the falls are large and impressive though their main claim to fame is the immense volume passing through – it’s very powerful!

You’ll be able to walk all around and see them from every angle.

Standing high above the falls and hearing their thunderous roar was pretty special, and I imagine they look equally stunning in every season. It sure didn’t beat the waterfalls in Iguazu but they were also much easier to access. 🙂

Old Europe has quite a large number of what we call ‘fairytale towns’, each more charming than the other with their storybook streets and medieval buildings. I still remember the picturesque skyline of Tallinn and dream of getting lost again in the narrow alleys of Troyes. Switzerland though gave me the most artistic of them all in Stein am Rhein, one of the best preserved medieval small towns in the German-speaking world.

Sitting on the banks of the Rhine River, the view from the bridge as you approach the old town already hints at its storybook quality with pretty houses along the river’s edge and a castle up on the hill.

Once encircled by defensive town walls, they’ve since all been transformed into houses except for the two remaining town gates.

It’s an easy day trip from Zurich, but if you decide to spend the night (and I recommend you do, the evening brings a whole other level of charm), the simple Hotel Rheingerbe is a great choice. Its riverfront restaurant is a delightful place to eat the local food while watching the sunset…

…and its cozy bedrooms give you uninterrupted views of the Rhine and its activities.

Now let’s start the visual tour from behind the hotel. You can take it real slow as even at a snail’s pace, you could cover every streets and alleys in an hour. That’s part of Stein am Rhein’s appeal – a compact core that is so full of marvels you’ll need a few tours to really take it all in.

The main street, Understadt, runs right in the middle and is lined with restaurants, cafes, and souvenir shops. Don’t let the busyness distract you from noticing the facades with delightful timber decoration.

If you wonder what it was like to live here around 1850, step into the Museum Lindwurm just up the street for an immersive experience.

Many houses feature antique signs and guild symbols.

You’ll soon arrive at the ‘piece de resistance’ and what makes Stein am Rhein such a  visual jewel: Rathausplatz.

The main square is lined by some of the town’s most exceptional buildings, all adorned with beautiful paintings.

The town hall sits at the center of it all, equally majestic with its richly painted facades you’ll want to admire from up close.

No other towns I’ve ever visited could claim to be an outdoor gallery as much as Stein am Rhein, and the preservation is fantastic.

You won’t be able to take your eyes away for a while, so might as well get some food at one of the few restaurants right on the plaza such as the lovely terrace of Hotel Adler.

A lunch of crispy Rösti topped with tomatoes and cheese and served with a glass of chilled white wine…this outdoor gallery keeps on getting better!

The side streets leading away from the main square provide a quieter and more private exploration. There are no less pleasing to the eyes with their colorful residences and climbing vines acting as the real artwork.

When do you ever get the luxury of your own exquisite square? This one came with a gurgling fountain and benches calling for you to sit down and contemplate the beauty all around for as long as you wish.

Every meandering alley can put you in front of some the finest half-timbered houses in Switzerland, each one a marvel of design.

Soon you’ll start to notice a recurring motif…St. George slaying the dragon! It is the town’s emblem hence visible on pothole covers as well as prominently displayed above the doors of some of the most famous buildings.

St. George has a huge significance in Stein am Rhein and is for the most part the reason we know the town as it exists today. Stein am Rhein was just a quaint fishing village until 1007, when St. George’s Abbey was moved here by Henry II and the town grew around it.

It’s easy to see how it flourished given its strategic location along the major trade route of the Rhine.

Now the abbey is a wonderful museum and absolutely worth a visit as it was the highlight of day for me (ok, maybe tie with the Rathausplatz). 

You’ll be left alone to wander around the former Benedictine monastery complex, taking in the beautiful wooden decor and antiques.

There’s an undeniable romanticism and opulence in some of the rooms, which only hints at the prosperity of the last monks who graced these walls.

The garden is equally splendid and probably the town’s most beautiful picnic spot.

It’s hard to tell the scale of the monastery from outside the walls, but there are three interior yards as well as a church all interconnected.

The most popular room is without a doubt the spectacular Banquet Hall where one will find every wall covered in unique early-Renaissance murals – among the earliest known in northern Europe.

End the tour in the apartments that are, in my opinion, an architectural jewel, with that gorgeous light from the Rhine river peeking through…

A short walk over the bridge will give you a new perspective on the monastery, its size, and absolutely perfect location.

By then you would have seen most of the town but a second stroll is absolutely in order, especially at sundown.

You’ll be surprised just how many features you’ve missed, some high up on the walls where only those in the know would think to lift their eyes…

And that golden light brings a new life to the painted murals, highlighting tableaux usually washed out by the harsh midday sun. 

Hopefully you’ve spent the night and have some time for one last glimpse of Stein am Rhein, this time from high above. Get a healthy breakfast of Swiss bircher muesli  in the plaza, already buzzing with cycling tourists and locals starting their day.

Stepping outside the Old Town gates, look up to see this morning’s destination: Hohenklingen Castle.

It’s a nice little walk up a few residential streets then through vineyards before reaching the woods surrounding the castle. 

The views are already making your a.m. workout worth it as you slowly start to see the Rhine flowing and the outskirts of town.

After about 20 minutes you’ll enter the woods for a few more minutes of ascent.

The castle will soon appear out of nowhere, the entrance gate just a few feet away. Go in and revisit the Middle Ages…

Dating back to 1200, Burg Hohenklingen is now a high-end restaurant and wedding venue.

You can have lunch or dinner with this gorgeous view.

It’s just a perfect way to end your visit to this fairytale town. Looking from above, Stein am Rhein truly resembles a storybook cover with its bridge over the Rhine and its tiny size. Prettiness both from deep within and far away – rare and unforgettable. 

One of the reasons I love travelling to Europe so much is how easy it is to change scenery and find yourself in another world after only a brief commute. Case in point, less than two hours from Zürich by train you’re surrounded by the beautiful landscape of rolling hills of the Appenzell.

One of Switzerland’s least-explored regions, Appenzell is everything you think of when dreaming of a typical Swiss experience. Traditional wooden chalets flank the sides of deep green mountains, cow bells ring in the distance, alpine flowers perfume the air and all you’ll want to do is roll down one of these gorgeous hills in the hope to run into Heidi…

You’ll find much fewer tourists in the Appenzell Alps than anywhere else which means you can enjoy the stunning scenery in relative peace. Make your way to Brülisau (take the train to “Weissbad” and then the bus to “Brülisau, Kastenbahn”) to get to the summit of Hoher  Kasten, a mountain easily accessible with a cable car.

It’s a hiking paradise with 400 km of trails and over 20 mountain guesthouses where you can eat, drink and stay the night. 

Once you reach the top at 1795m, you’ll be rewarded with many magnificent views extending far beyond the borders.

A circular path runs all around the summit to get a 360 degrees perspective of the area, with the Rhine River cutting through the valley down below.

Don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers. With over 192 Alpine species, at the right time the summit is entirely covered in a rainbow of wildflowers.

Five platforms have been set up at the main viewpoints and give incredible views as well as useful information on all the identifiable peaks around you.

The cherry on the cake though has to be the revolving restaurant at the top…

You can keep on feasting your eyes on the incredible landscape as you sample some fine traditional Swiss cuisine. The restaurant slowly rotates once per hour, offering a true panoramic view in slow motion.

Back down in the valley, make your way to the canton’s capital, aptly named Appenzell. This tiny village is probably the most traditional in all of Switzerland. Wandering its historic streets is really the closest you’ll get to your childhood’s storybooks. 

This is what Switzerland looked like a few centuries ago, with colorful buildings covered in frescoes everywhere you look, flower boxes bursting with Alpine beauties, and old-fashioned signs decorating every shops. 

On the main street, or Hauptgasse, you’ll find the impressive town hall with its façade painted by August Schmid from Diessenhofen (1928).

Equally striking is the Löwen pharmacy with beautifully painted medicinal herbs on the round-arched panels covering the shutters.

Every building is worth tilting your head upwards for a while and imagine the pretty interiors they must be hiding.

Quaint little shops are all over the old town and you’ll be able to find a unique souvenir to bring home, whether it’s a cow bell, pretty lace curtains, traditional costumes, or the eponymous (tasty but very stinky!) local cheese.

Just peeking into this home decor store gave me years of envy for such wooden craftsmanship – I mean look at that door and this elaborate buffet!

While main street can get busy, it’s surprisingly easy to stumble upon a quiet square and sit by the fountain to take in the colorful panorama.

Blumen Barbara is the kind of gorgeous flower shop you wish you had back home, and unfortunately not the kind of souvenirs you can easily bring with you…

Customs and traditions are still very much alive outside of the architecture. You’ll notice plenty of skilled metal works and sculptures throughout the town, in backyards and front stoops, for both decor and house use.

More treasures await when you explore beyond the tiny center, and excursions into the neighboring lanes are sure to bring yet more stunning photos.

The Konkordia House from the 17th century with its steep gabled roof is another outstanding building at the edge of the old town. Get up close to see the beautiful paintings under the eaves representing the eight ages of man. 

Even modern buildings have embraced the color spectrum.

The nearly 1000 year old church is worth a stop for its frescoes and stained glass windows, but it’s the cemetery with views into the surrounding hills that I found most beautiful.

The back of the church sits right by the river Sitter and the small bridge that connects to the modern town.

Although only a few steps long, the bridge offers a splendid perspective on the village and the bucolic surroundings.

From here you can see Hoher Kasten in the distance and quite a few thriving industries.

One in particular you shouldn’t miss is the brewery that awaits right on the other side. The family-owned Brauerei Locher has been in business since 1886 and still makes all their beers by hand with only the best local ingredients. 

They’re known for experimenting with flavors (think rice beer, mulled beer, honey beer, alpine flower beer, etc.) though their traditional beers have also achieved wide acclaim.

You can tour the brewery, taste their products and purchase bottles to bring home…and you can also, as I recommend you do, stop at one of the lovely beer gardens in town to slowly savor a pint of their Appenzeller Bier. It’s the best way to end the day in this charming little town.

St Gallen is eastern Switzerland’s main town and a major cultural center for the region. Its location makes it an ideal pied-a-terre to explore the nearby Bodensee (Lake Constance) or the rolling hills of the Appenzell region, though most visitors have never heard of it and sadly end up skipping the beautifully ornate old town.

Most of its historic center is a pedestrian zone which makes strolling through its narrow cobblestone lanes a wonderful way to spend a day or two.

At its core you’ll find the main church of Kirche St. Laurenzen, a neo-Gothic beauty that affords great views from its tower and…

… the old Abbey District,  a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983 and the main reason for your visit really. The Abbey Cathedral of St. Gallen is one of the last monumental Baroque buildings in Europe and absolutely stunning.

Step inside and you’ll be amazed at the unique turquoise color scheme and the infinite amount of  gilded sculptures you could very well spend the rest of the afternoon contemplating.

Looking up at the frescoed ceiling will also make your head spin from trying to zoom in on the throngs of cherubs, intricate details and vibrant colors.

The wedding cake effect over such a vast space is nothing short of elegant and supremely peaceful.

Even after the stunning cathedral, it would be hard to be fully prepared to see St. Gallen’s true jewel: the Abbey Library. Cameras are unfortunately forbidden inside so you’ll have to get a glimpse online to understand why every year thousands of visitors don felt slippers to shuffle around this 18th century masterpiece of a room. 

The oldest library in Switzerland is also one of the earliest and most important monastic libraries in the world and it’s constantly named as one of the most beautiful libraries in the world too….to which I can wholeheartedly attest. From the inlaid flooring and exquisite Rococo interior to the incredible sight of some 170,000 documents – in part hand-written and over a thousand years old – safely kept in display cases, there are no questions as to why this is St. Gallen’s number one attraction.

Back outside, the compact center will charm you with its lively sidewalk cafes, half-timbered houses and many fine Medieval buildings branching out from the abbey.

Make sure you often look up to notice the ornate bay windows St. Gallen is famous for (called ‘oriels’) that adorn the wealthy merchants’ houses dating back from the 15th to the 18th century. The wooden ones in particular present a level of details that speaks a lot to their former owner’s status. 

Sitting at a sidewalk terrace is as enjoyable as wandering the old town, especially when you get to dig into a Flammkuchen (tarte flambée) washed down with a cold local beer.

There are plenty of quaint squares to sit down and people watch from as well, and they always give a wonderful perspective on the various architectural style spanning the last few centuries.

End your day with yet more views and a fantastic meal at Schwarzer Adler. The rooftop terrace is especially inviting on a warm evening.

You’ll find home cooked traditional dishes and let me recommend a big fillet of veal with cream sauce served with pasta as a delicious end to your day – if you’ve walked enough to justify it of course ;).