Holidays To Appenzell - Eastern Switzerland

Charming historic town surrounded by stunning alpine scenery

Appenzell is a delightful small town whose beautiful pedestrianised old centre has many buildings which are ornately decorated with frescoes and date back to the 16th century. The unique Hauptgasse is the main street with quaint colourful houses while Landsgemeindeplatz, the historic town square, is surrounded by narrow streets and provides the perfect opportunity to relax in one of the many restaurants and cafés. The town boasts many historic buildings from the 16th century including the Town Hall and the parish church of St. Mauritius as well as several interesting museums.

The rolling countryside around Appenzell gradually changes from hilly landscape to the rock-dominated Alpstein region where mighty sheer rock formations tower to over 2,500m. From the town, there are rail connections to the mountain base stations from where you can take cable cars up to alpine beauty spots with memorable walks and fabulous views. Particularly recommended are the Europa-Rundweg circular trail and the walk to the picturesque Aescher hostelry. Hotel guests benefit from the FREE Appenzeller Card, allowing you to explore the nearby mountains. 

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Contact us to book your holiday

Call us on 0800 619 1200 or email us at info@swissholidayco.com

Choose from our handpicked Appenzell hotels

Hotel Lowen

Romantik Hotel Santis

There are many delightful alpine spots to explore in Appenzellerland. Just a quick rail journey from Appenzell is the Wasserauen and Ebenalp cable car - at 1,644m the gateway to the hiking region of the Alpstein. Highlights include the Wildkirchli cave chapel and the Aescher hostelry. Take the Brülisau-Hoher Kasten cable car for a revolving restaurant with a fantastic 360° outlook.  A third recommended trip is the Jakobsbad-Kronberg cableway with fabulous views of the Alpstein from the sun terrace.

You may also like to travel to the towns of Rorschach or Romanshorn, both on the shore of Lake Constance. This is one of Europe's most beautiful lakes and well worth seeing during your stay in the region. Please click here for a summary of the best the region has to offer.

Take a day trip to the historic town of St. Gallen - two of the highlights here are the baroque Cathedral and the Abbey Library, which also is known as Seelenapotheke (healing place of the soul). Find more Swiss World Heritage Sites here.

We can recommend a multi centre UNESCO themed holiday, taking in the Old Town of Bern and the St. Gallen Abbey. You'll stay in Lucerne and Appenzell. Please ask us for details.

Our holidays include the Half Fare Card, which entitles you to a 50% discount on most rail, mountain railways, cable cars, boats and PostBuses across Switzerland.

If you are planning trips further afield, it can be well worth pre-booking the Swiss Travel Pass, as it saves you a great deal of money - and helps you avoid the queues at the ticket office! We will be delighted to help you choose the one that's right for you. Call us on 0800 619 1200 for more advice.

Enjoy a fantastic two or multi centre holiday, with a scenic rail journey connecting your resorts.

Appenzell is not too far from St. Gallen, where you can join the Pre-Alpine Express to Lucerne or the Lake Constance Line to Zurich.

If you prefer to be based solely in Appenzell, there are many lakes and mountains journeys to be enjoyed locally. We can tailor make any itinerary you choose, please contact us for details on 0800 619 1200. 

Your ticket wallet will contain comprehensive travel instructions to help you reach your destination with ease, including recommended rail connection times and platform numbers. These are the most common routes for your Appenzell holiday. 

Fly to Zurich

Flights available from London, Luton, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Swiss Railways: Zurich Airport > Gossau > Appenzell with a transfer time of around 1 hour 40 minutes. 

Fly to Geneva

Not recommended due to a minimum transfer time of 5 hours.

Travel by international rail

Rail from London St. Pancras via Paris to Basel.

Swiss Railways: Basel > Zurich > Gossau > Appenzell with a transfer time of around 3 hours.

Request your holiday quotation

Call us on 0800 619 1200 or email us at info@swissholidayco.com