Rhine Falls Switzerland, Day Trip from Zurich

Looking for ideas for a day trip from Zurich? Rhine Falls, German Rheinfall, is an ideal one day trip destination from Zurich. The Rhine Falls is a famous tourist attraction in Switzerland, and is worth visiting for its magnificence! The natural beauty is overwhelming and for sure worth the time and effort to visit it. The spray rising like clouds from the falls created a rainbow which thrilled adults and children alike.

By the time we reached the Rhine Falls, there were hordes of tourists crowding both sides of the falls. Tourists kept pouring in continuously and it was difficult for me to find a good spot to photograph. Nevertheless I did get a toehold and got good views and some pictures.

Rhine Falls Switzerland – From Schloss Laufen, a footpath leads you past the thundering waters to the Fischetz platform.

About Rhine Falls Zurich

The largest waterfall in Europe by volume, the Rhine Falls is located in a beautiful and dramatic natural setting, surrounded by lush greenery and towering cliffs.  Seeing it in real I could sense its power and might. The height of the falls is not much, just 23m, but the breadth is an impressive 150m. Thanks to the authorities, there are various vantage points, observation decks, boat tours, and walking trails around Rhine Falls.

Platforms are built in such a way that they extend over the falls and you feel as if the water falls will pour straight on to you. You can experience the power of falls standing directly under it.

Rhine Falls from Zurich Switzerland

How to get to Rhine Falls from Zurich

The Rhine Falls is easily accessible by public transportation. Distance from Zurich to Rhine Falls is 46.6 km and distance from Schaffhausen to Rhine Falls is 3.7 km. This makes it a popular day trip destination for both locals and tourists.

By Train: Take a train from Schaffhausen to either Neuhausen Rheinfall (north of falls) or Schloss Laufen an Rheinfall (to the south crossing the river). Train travel will be free if you have your Swiss Travel Pass.

There are trains every hour from Winterthur to Schaffhausen, if you miss one you will have to loiter around for an hour (when I visited). So better time yourselves if you are ever there. Train ticket costs SFr 22 – SFr 40.

Alternatively you can hire a taxi, or take a night bus or self drive.

Rhine Falls History

The Rhine Falls have a long and rich history, dating back to the prehistoric era. Over the centuries, the falls have been a site of both natural and human activity, and have been used for everything from fishing and milling to military defense.

Interesting Fact about the waterfalls – There were plans to remove the falls by blasting away the rocks, because it was considered an obstacle to shipping traffic. Luckily the plan never took off.

The boat trips are not free with the Swiss Travel Pass. There are few types of boat rides (yellow boat lets you stop at the rock in the middle of the falls and climb up) and other ones that are only a round-trip. Charges vary from CHF 7.2 to CHF 10.

Things to do in Rhine Falls – Boat Tour

Rhine Falls Information

• Type of attraction – Natural Water fall
• Number of drops – just one
• Rhine Falls is the largest waterfall in Europe.
• 150m wide and 23m high
• Average water flow is 600 cubic meters per second (250 cc/sec during the winter months)

Rhine Falls Tickets and Timings:
Rhine Falls is open from à
1 April to 30 April: 10 AM to 5 PM
1 May to 30 September: 9.30 AM to 6.30 PM
1 October to 5 November: 10 AM to 5 PM

No tickets required for Northern banks with Schlössli Wörth, Neuhausen am Rheinfall/Schaffhausen
30 minute Rhine Falls Boat – 869.09 INR
Smilestones Miniature – 1824.56 INR
Rhine Falls and Stein am – 5637 INR
Rhein Falls Boat Tour to the Rock – 1737 INR

There are more combinations to choose from. Depending on the time you have set aside to tour the waterfalls you can choose one.

Insider tips Rhine Falls

The boats are free with a Swiss Travel Pass as long as they’re operated by the URH (Schweizerische Schifffahrtsgesellschaft Untersee und Rhein). Tours with German boats are not covered.

Best time to visit Rhine Falls is between April and October. Boat trips are permitted in these months. May and June offer delightful scenes when the amount of water peaks. I visited during late April and wondered how much more heavy the falls would be in May and June.

It can be quite tempting to just sit by the waterfalls and time flows by just like the water from waterfalls, but a word of caution – the cafes and boat rides close by 5pm.

Time to tour Rhine Falls – The boat tours take 20 to 30 minutes.

What else to do at Rhine Falls?

The area around the Rhine Falls includes several restaurants, a souvenir shop and the Rhine Falls Park, where children enjoy a lot. The place gets maximum footfalls on weekends when the locals visit.

Here is a list of interesting things to do at the Rhine Waterfalls

1. Visit the Adventure Park that is across the street from Schlössli Wörth. Kids can enjoy various sorts of climbing and abseiling (to go down a steep cliff or rock while you are fastened to a rope). The park is closed in winter.
2. We missed visiting the Rhine Falls after dusk, which I read is beautifully illuminated. If you are staying over for a night near Rhine Falls then a visit to Rhine Falls after dusk will be a great experience. Lighting designer Charles Keller is the brain behind this novel project.
3. Rhyality, the multimedia art hall, above the falls is worth a visit for Video images and animations display. This is open all through the year.
4. Smilestones, the miniature world located directly above the Rhine Falls, indoor, air-conditioned miniature world shows tiny versions of Swiss landscapes.
5. Is it possible to get to the middle of the Rhine Waterfalls? An oft asked question about Rhine Falls, the answer is – Yes it is possible; you can take a boat to the rock in the middle of the waterfalls to experience the falls even closer.
6. Can you swim in Rhine Falls? You can take a dip in the Rhine at any time during the summer months. Official Rhine swim takes place only once each year.

Largest waterfall in Europe – Rhine Waterfalls

Reach Rhine Falls from rail station ‘Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall’

You can make a round trip on foot and by boat to the falls. To fully enjoy the fall and activities, you need 2 to 6 hours.

Walk from the rail station to the 1000 year old Schloss Laufen (Laufen Castle). Schloss Laufen is a castle overlooking the Rhine Falls and classified as a heritage site of national significance. You can spend some time here as kids will enjoy the playground. There’s a restaurant and a ‘Historama’ (an exhibition about the castle and the Rhine Falls) here.

After this halt go down to the observation platform, either on foot via the Belvedere Panoramic Trail. You can also take the glass Panoramic Lift, which is an experience by itself.

Once you are done with photography from the observation platform, take the boat across the Rhine to the 100 years old castle, Schlössli Wörth located on a tiny island. It has a restaurant inside where you can spend some time.

To return back to the rail station, cross the pedestrian bridge to the bank and turn right. Walk along the river promenade soaking in the good views of the falls. Take the pedestrian path on the railway bridge that leads back to Schloss Laufen and the rail station.

Alternatively you can also start from the rail station at the other side of the river: ‘Neuhausen Rheinfall’. This route is shorter and takes 45 minutes but you will miss out on the activities excluding boat trips crossing the Rhine.

Location of Rhine Waterfalls

Zurich waterfall is located on the upper Rhine River near the village of Neuhausen in Northern Switzerland and the nearby city is Schaffhausen. GPS address is: Rheinfallquai 32, 8212 Neuhausen am Rheinfall.

We reached Rhine Falls from Zurich by train. The ride took less than an hour. It was a scenic train trip. My kids were thoroughly excited about the Rhine falls tour from Zurich by train, one of the reasons why we didn’t prefer Zurich to Rhine Falls bus.

It is not a full day trip but half a day tour to Rhine falls from Zurich would suffice. We visited St Gallen after this visit to Rhine Falls.

Do you love waterfalls?

Interested in reading about more waterfalls? Do check out these travel blogs:

Tenkasi Tamil Nadu – Land of Waterfalls

Soochipara Waterfalls in Kerala

Phoolpad Waterfalls in Chhattisgarh 

Jog Waterfalls in Karnataka

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Indrani Ghose is an Indian Travel Writer and Blogger based in Bangalore, India. She has written for numerous publications across the globe – including Lonely Planet, The National UAE, Whetstone Asia, Deccan Herald. You can follow her on her social media handles Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook to see the wonderful destinations, beautiful offbeat places and get instant updates about them.