From Zurich
Appenzell and the Säntis country
Countryside that looks like nowhere else, and that almost nobody sees.
Loop
192 km
Driving time only
2 h 41
Suggested hire
8 h
From
800 CHF
Appenzell is under two hours from Zurich and yet nobody goes. It is a country of hills and scattered farms, with a village whose main street is lined with façades painted red and yellow.
It is also one of only two Swiss cantons, with Glarus, to have kept the Landsgemeinde: the citizens' assembly votes by show of hands on a village square, on the last Sunday of April. Above stands the Alpstein massif and the Säntis, 2,502 metres.
The loop runs 192 kilometres for two hours forty of driving out of eight. The roads are good but winding: this is a day of wandering, not a day of distance.
The itinerary
La traversée jusqu'au pays d'Appenzell
Motorway to St Gallen, then the hill roads. The landscape closes in, farms scatter across the slopes, and you stop meeting cars. That is when the day really begins.
Le village d'Appenzell
The main street and the pedestrian centre are lined with painted façades, red and yellow, with a level of detail that surprises the first time. The village walks in an hour.
La place de la Landsgemeinde
Appenzell Innerrhoden is, with Glarus, one of only two Swiss cantons to have kept the Landsgemeinde: the citizens' assembly votes by show of hands on a village square, on the last Sunday of April.
Urnäsch et le retour
The road continues across the hills to Urnäsch before dropping back down. Above stands the Alpstein massif and the Säntis, 2,502 metres, the high point of both Appenzell cantons. 192 kilometres in all.
km included : 200 km
The kilometres below are measured from the airport. Starting from a hotel in town, or from another town, changes the loop and therefore the count: the quote is adjusted to your actual pickup point.
The day for people who have seen it all
Lucerne, the Rhine Falls, the Oberland: those are the outings everybody does. Appenzell is the one we suggest to someone returning to Switzerland for the third time who does not want the same circuit again.
Winding roads, not difficult ones
The surface is good and there is no pass, but it turns constantly. Over eight hours that means two hours forty of driving for only 192 kilometres: it is the pace of the country, not a problem.
The Landsgemeinde, if your date lands right
It is held on the last Sunday of April. That day the village is full and car access is constrained. If your date coincides, tell us: it is a rare sight, but it is planned differently.
Frequently asked questions
From 800 CHF in an E-Class for eight hours of hire, 1120 CHF in an S-Class and 1040 CHF in a V-Class. The loop runs 192 kilometres against 200 included: no supplement.
2,502 metres. It dominates the Alpstein massif and is the high point of both Appenzell cantons, Innerrhoden and Ausserrhoden.
A citizens' assembly that votes by show of hands in the open air. Appenzell Innerrhoden is, with Glarus, one of only two Swiss cantons to have kept it. It is held on a village square, on the last Sunday of April.
It is the local architectural tradition: the façades of the pedestrian centre and the main street are painted red and yellow, with a level of detail that surprises. It is the day's main visual subject.
Because the loop counts two hours forty of driving: over four hours, one would remain on the ground, which is not worth the trip. Over eight, more than five hours remain for the village and the hills.
Yes, there is no pass on the route and the roads are maintained. The country under snow is in fact the version many of our clients prefer, and the village is empty.