Fairly recently my dad started working 4-5 months out of the year for a company based in the largest city in Switzerland, Zurich. Since then I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a good amount of time in Zurich as well. Whenever he’s in town I try to make it over there as it’s truly one of my favorite cities in the world. It’s filled with historical buildings dating all the way back to the time of the Romans as well as a visually stunning lush landscape.
My dad and I love to take day trips around Zurich when I’m in town. Last weekend my dad and I decided to go somewhere new. We wanted to go somewhere close to Zurich by train but somewhere not too far away from Zurich and not too expensive either. Switzerland is notorious for being outrageously expensive and their trains are no exception to that. A one-hour ride can cost upwards of 30 Swiss Franks each way, which is about $65 round-trip. My dad thought of a brilliant idea for our weekend day-trip, Schaffhausen!
Schaffhausen is a small city located about 45 minutes by train from Zurich. It’s known for being home to Europe’s largest waterfall, Rhine Falls. The nearby downtown area of Schaffhausen is filled with Renaissance era architecture and buildings dating back hundreds and hundreds of years still standing in mint condition. There are several stunning churches with massive clock towers peering over the city, as well as the famous preserved cannon fortress, Munot.
“The Rhine”
The Day in Schaffhausen
We started off our day leaving the flat in Zurich at 9:30AM. We took the tram down to Zurich Hauptbahnhof, better known as Zurich HB. Zurich HB is the main train station in Zurich and also the largest train station in Switzerland. This station can be a day attraction in itself, but that’s a whole nother story.
From Zurich HB we bought tickets to Schaffhausen, an all zone ticket that was about 60 Swiss Franks per person/roundtrip.
We departed from Zurich HB at 10:05 and got to Schaffhausen at 10:45. Once we got off the train we walked straight out from the train station and saw people walking toward the downtown. We followed the crowd.
Breakfast at Café Vordergasse
We decided this was the perfect time for a little bite to eat and coffee before we got our day started. We headed to the first packed café in our path, Café Vordergasse. This café was poppin’. There really wasn’t any order to the seating either. We just grabbed the first available seat we found. There was no English menu so we just winged it. I ordered a latte and my dad ordered a cappuccino. After that we told the waiter we didn’t know what we wanted. He may or may not have understood us, but brought my dad to the counter with all the food anyway. My dad returned with three pastries! One was a chocolate chip croissant, one was a salted pretzel-type deal with butter inside, and the last was an oat croissant. Melt in your mouth delicious.
Just as we took a bite into our food, a huge glass vase of bright pink muesli with fresh fruit passed by. Immediately we flagged down our waiter to order one of those. We pointed to the vase across the room and said “One muesli please.” He knew what we wanted.
It was amazzzing. After the light but filling meal we were perfectly full. We were feeling great and ready to head out on our 4 mile roundtrip walk around the falls.
The Walk Along the Rhine
Most people don’t walk ALL the way to the falls from the downtown area but it’s really not that far at all. We had comfortable shoes on and dressed warm enough. It was about 6km roundtrip. We left from the bottom of town just below the Munot Fortress and started on the path right next to the Rhine River. From there it was a straight shot. We walked for about 30-45 minutes right along the river until we reached the falls. The walk itself was lovely! We passed cottages and houses lining the river with wild tulips and daffodils.
The water is a sea green and dark emerald color and lighter on the edges where it’s so clear you can see the bottom in several places. We walked on this path and appreciated the cleanliness and pureness Switzerland offers this world, it’s just such a nice country.
Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen
Once you reach the falls you have a few options. We walked around the falls snapping photos with all the other tourists for a short while.
Then we walked to the base of the falls and decided it was time for a white beer. We weren’t dressed very nicely so we just went to the grab-and-go and bought ourselves two Swiss beers. We sat outside and enjoyed the falls and our beverages.
The Boat Ride to the Base of the Rhine
We made the decision that the boat ride was a bit anti-climactic. I also didn’t really want to get wet because it was fairly cold out…so we didn’t do it. I’m making a judgment out of nowhere but it just seemed like something I could definitely pass on. It was however, surprisingly inexpensive in Switzerland terms. If you’re traveling with young kids or if this is the only time in your life you’ll be here and want to take the boat ride to the base, then rest-assured it won’t cost you too much. The ride was somewhere between 6-10 Franks, what a steal! ☺
The Falls Continued
After the beers we walked a little further down the Rhine River to the next bridge. You can see the bridge from the main falls viewing area. We walked along the river for 10-15 minutes, crossed the bridge, and then walked back up on the other side. We stayed on this side of the river the whole time until we were back in the city of Schaffhausen.
Castle Viewing Area
Once you get back to the base of the falls you will come up to an old castle that has now turned into a hotel. From the top you will see an old preserved church with lots of fake cows in front of it and a couple of little cafes scattered throughout. Inside the main café building you can buy a viewing ticket to get up and close to the falls for 5 Franks. This allows you to view the falls from a very close proximity. You walk through the castle and you’ll see people walking down. From here we scanned our tickets and walked through the metal spinning-thing. The 5 Franks was worth it!
I also really enjoyed taking photos with the fake cows up top by the castle, maybe a little too much.
The Walk Back
After the castle/falls viewing area it was time to head back. By this time it was 3pm and we were hungry! We walked along the right side of the river back to Schaffhausen for twenty minutes before we started to enter the residential area. This part was a treat. We walked through these perfectly manicured and perfectly preserved neighborhoods right along the river. The houses were so nice, the streets were so clean and the architecture so fitting and exactly what you’d expect Switzerland to look like. I found myself in awe just as I usually do when I walk through so many Swiss neighborhoods; it just looks too perfect sometimes.
Munot Fortress
Once we started to get closer to town we couldn’t help but notice the large castle/fortress that stood out. It was very cool.
We found the stairs up to the fortress at the base of it at the bottom-right of the long-tunnel looking thing. There’s a small sign that says, “Munot.” Try to find it, if you can’t just ask someone how to get up to the fortress.
We walked up a couple flights of stairs and then we were at the castle! The park to the right was beautiful as well, with a field of green grass and a patch of protected daffodils.
The inside of the fortress was so fun to explore. It was very dark with patches of light vaguely coming through the windows from the top.
You can walk up the spiral stone staircase to the top and have an impeccable view of the city and all of the old preserved buildings and homes.
Late Lunch at Ristorante Pizzeria Musikhof
After Munot we decided to get a late lunch/early dinner before heading back on the 45 minutes train ride to Zurich. We stumbled upon this family-run, very homey Italian joint, Ristorante Pizzeria Musikhof . The food was spot on, the service and atmosphere was charming, and the prices were very reasonable. We started with the antipasti and then I had the Bolognese and my dad had the Arrabiata. Everything at Ristorante Pizzeria Musikhof was on point. I definitely recommend this place for anyone coming to Schaffhausen.
Once we finished our delicious Italian meals at Pizzeria Musikhof it was time to head back to Zurich. We got to the train station around 530PM and the train was just departing for Zurich HB. After the forty-minute train ride that passed through rolling green hills, rivers and quaint Swiss towns, we were home safe and sound.
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