Northeastern Switzerland

Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city, and the cantons of the northeast, where the Rhine Falls, the Abbey of St Gallen, the Appenzell hills and Lake Constance create varied scenery.

This region combines the Zurich and Eastern Switzerland regions of Switzerland Tourism, and includes the cantons of Zurich, Schaffhausen, Thurgau, St Gallen, Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden (two half-cantons), and Glarus. To the west it borders Aargau (part of the Basel region); to the southwest it adjoins Zug and Schwyz (part of Central Switzerland); to the southeast it connects with Graubünden; and it borders Germany to the north and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.

Highlights: Zurich’s Old Town on both banks of the Limmat, the Grossmünster and the Fraumünster (with Chagall windows), Bahnhofstrasse and Lake Zurich; the Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen, Europe’s most powerful plain waterfall, and Stein am Rhein on the Rhine; the Abbey of St Gallen and its Baroque library (a World Heritage site); Appenzell’s painted town, the Säntis, the mirror-like Seealpsee and the cliffside Äscher guesthouse; the shore of Lake Constance in Thurgau, and Walensee and the Churfirsten range at the border of St Gallen and Glarus.

Classic itinerary: 1–2 days in Zurich, 1 day for the Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein, and 1–2 days for St Gallen and Appenzell, for 4–5 days in total.

Getting there: Zurich Airport is Switzerland’s largest gateway, 10 minutes by train from the city centre; the rail network in the region is dense, and St Gallen is about 1 hour from Zurich.

Note: Prices in Zurich are high, so consider a city transport day pass; when hiking in the Appenzell hills, keep an eye on the weather.

Destinations

Itineraries