Eastern Switzerland: travel guide

Why visit Eastern Switzerland

Eastern Switzerland — the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Ausserrhoden, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, and Thurgau — is the Switzerland that tourism brochures romanticise and that most visitors skip en route to the Alps. This is a mistake. The region offers a concentration of genuine Swiss cultural experiences — including some of the most traditional communities in the country — without the crowds that package tourism brings to Interlaken or Lucerne.

Appenzell, in particular, occupies a unique place in Swiss political and cultural history. The half-canton of Innerrhoden held its first elections in which women could vote in 1991 — the last jurisdiction in Europe to grant women’s suffrage. The Landsgemeinde (open-air cantonal assembly, held each April in the village square) is still conducted with men bearing swords as a symbol of voting eligibility. The painted facades of the village houses, the embroidered textiles, the local Appenzeller cheese and the herbal schnapps: all are maintained with an intensity that goes beyond folkloric tourism into genuine living tradition.

St. Gallen, the region’s main city, is best known for its magnificent Baroque Abbey Library — one of the great interiors of 18th-century architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site containing some of the most important early medieval manuscripts in the world. Schaffhausen sits on the Rhine at the point where the river’s flow is interrupted by the most powerful waterfall in Europe.

Key destinations

Appenzell

Appenzell village is small enough to walk completely in an hour and dense enough with visual interest to fill a full day. The Hauptgasse is lined with painted facades (flower garlands, heraldic motifs, scenes from rural life) on buildings that house bakeries, cheese shops, and embroidery studios. The Landsgemeindeplatz is where the cantonal assembly meets; the Appenzeller Volkskundemuseum covers the remarkably distinctive folk art tradition.

The landscape around Appenzell is equally striking: the Alpstein massif, centred on the Säntis peak (2,502m), rises dramatically from the surrounding rolling plateau. The ridge walks from Ebenalp (accessible by cable car from Wasserauen) and the views from the Seealpsee give Alpine experiences comparable to anything in the more famous western resorts — typically with far smaller crowds.

Day trip from Zurich: 1 hour 40 minutes by direct S-Bahn to Herisau and then Appenzell railway, or book an Appenzell full-day tour from Zurich for a guided experience. See the Zurich to Appenzell guide.

St. Gallen

St. Gallen’s Abbey District — the Cathedral and Abbey Library — is the core cultural asset of the city and the reason most visitors come. The Abbey Library (Stiftsbibliothek) is housed in an 18th-century Baroque hall of extraordinary richness: painted ceiling, inlaid wooden floors, carved galleries, and floor-to-ceiling shelves housing 170,000 volumes of which the 2,000 medieval manuscripts form the heart of the collection. Among them is the Plan of St. Gall (820 AD), the oldest surviving architectural plan in Europe.

The library is considered one of the most beautiful rooms in the world — a claim that stands up on inspection. Entry requires wearing felt overshoes (provided at the door) to protect the floors. Book entry in advance, particularly in summer.

Beyond the abbey, St. Gallen has a well-preserved old town of painted bay windows (Erker) and a strong textile heritage (the city was a major centre of embroidery and linen production from the Middle Ages through the 20th century). The Textilmuseum covers this history with genuine depth.

Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls

Schaffhausen is primarily visited for the Rhine Falls — a 20-minute journey from the city by bus or foot — but the old town deserves the extra time required to explore it properly. The Fronwagturm (a medieval tower with an astronomical clock) and the painted Erker windows on the merchant houses give the old town a character reminiscent of Appenzell in miniature.

The Rhine Falls themselves are the most powerful waterfall in Europe: 23 metres high, 150 metres wide, and during spring snowmelt periods generating flows of up to 1,250 cubic metres per second. A half-day tour from Zurich to the Rhine Falls is one of the most popular day trips in the region. The experience of approaching by boat from the park below and entering the spray zone in front of the main cascade is genuinely dramatic regardless of season. The rock in the middle of the falls (Schloss Wörth) can be visited by boat from the Swiss bank.

Stein am Rhein

Stein am Rhein, 20 minutes east of Schaffhausen by train, is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Switzerland and among the least visited for its quality. The Rathausplatz is surrounded by painted half-timbered houses from the 15th and 16th centuries — murals depicting mythology, history, and heraldry cover entire facades in a concentration found nowhere else in Switzerland. The Benedictine monastery of St. Georgen (a working convent since 1005) sits beside the Rhine and is partially open to visitors.

Top experiences

Ebenalp and Wildkirchli

Above the Seealpsee above Appenzell, the Ebenalp cable car reaches a rocky terrace at 1,644 metres from which a walking route descends through the Wildkirchli — a hermitage built into a natural cave, inhabited by hermit monks from 1658 to 1853, the cave walls still bearing the marks of occupation. The path continues to the Berggasthaus Aescher, a guesthouse literally built into the cliff face that has been described as one of the most dramatically situated restaurants in the world (book well ahead — it fills completely on weekends).

Säntis summit

The Säntis (2,502m) is the highest peak in the Alpstein and the dominant visual reference point for all of eastern Switzerland. A cable car from Schwägalp (postal bus from Urnäsch in Appenzell) reaches the summit in 10 minutes; the panorama from the top extends over seven countries on clear days. The summit hosts a weather station, a restaurant, a viewing platform, and a telecommunications tower. The descent on foot to the Meglisalp (a high Alpine dairy) takes about 2 hours on a good marked trail.

St. Gallen Abbey Library

The Abbey Library visit is non-negotiable for anyone with an interest in history, architecture, or books. The hall itself — designed by Peter Thumb and decorated by Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer in the 1750s — is one of the finest examples of the Vorarlberg Baroque tradition. The manuscripts on display rotate, but typically include illuminated texts from the 8th and 9th centuries of extraordinary beauty and historical significance. Allow at least 45 minutes for the library itself; the accompanying exhibition explains the context.

Rheinfalls by boat

The boat companies operating below the Rhine Falls offer several service levels: a short crossing from the Swiss bank to the rock in the middle of the falls (about 10 minutes, very wet, highly recommended), a longer approach from the German side at Schloss Laufen, and seasonal evening illumination cruises. The close-approach boat to the central rock is the definitive experience — the volume of falling water at that proximity is physically overwhelming.

Getting to Eastern Switzerland

By train

The region is well connected by Swiss rail. St. Gallen is 1 hour from Zurich by direct train; Schaffhausen is 45 minutes. Appenzell is reached via Herisau (Zurich–Gossau–Herisau, then the Appenzeller Bahnen) in about 1 hour 40 minutes. The Swiss Travel Pass covers all these journeys.

By road

The A1 motorway connects Zurich to St. Gallen (60 km). Appenzell is reached by a regional road south from St. Gallen; the landscape rewards driving as much as rail travel in this region.

Best time to visit

May to October is the primary season. The Landsgemeinde in Appenzell (last Sunday of April) is a unique cultural event worth scheduling a visit around. Summer brings hiking on the Alpstein and Rhine swimming in Schaffhausen. The Rhine Falls are most dramatic in May and June when snowmelt brings peak flows.

Suggested itineraries

2 days from Zurich

Day 1: St. Gallen (Abbey Library, old town Erker walk) — overnight St. Gallen or Appenzell. Day 2: Appenzell (Hauptgasse, Ebenalp cable car, Wildkirchli path) — return to Zurich.

3 days

Add Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein as a day from St. Gallen or Schaffhausen — train to Schaffhausen (45 min), Rhine Falls by foot or bus, Stein am Rhein by train (20 min), return.

Practical information

Eastern Switzerland is among the most affordable parts of the country for accommodation — significantly less expensive than Zurich or the major Alpine resorts. St. Gallen has the widest accommodation range; Appenzell has smaller guesthouses and a hotel or two that book up on spring and summer weekends. The region connects naturally to the Zurich region to the west and the Engadin to the south via St. Gallen–Chur. The Swiss Travel Pass covers the full journey network in this region efficiently.