Often hailed as Switzerland’s most beautiful town square (no mean feat!), the elongated Rathausplatz in Stein am Rhein often elicits little gasps of wonder because it's so darned ornate. The fresco-festooned Rathaus (town hall) soars above the 16th-century houses named after their elaborate murals, such as Sonne (Sun) and Der Weisse Adler (The White Eagle). Look up a level and you'll notice that many also sport intricately carved oriel windows and billowing flower boxes. It's pure fairy-tale stuff.
Shutterstock / Gaid Kornsilapa
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
![SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 01: Library of the monastery St. Gallen, Switzerland. 2000 hand writings, 1635 incunable and almost 100.000 books. The library was built between 1758 and 1767 und richly decorated. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images) [St. Gallen, Schweiz: Ehemaliges Benediktiner-Kloster. Stiftsbibliothek mit 2000 Handschriften, 1635 Wiegen- und Fruehdrucken (Inkunabeln) und schliesslich 100.000 Buechern, 1758-1767 erbaut und kunstvoll ausgestattet. Stift St. Gallen: 612 Zelle des hl. Gallus, eines Gefaehrten Columbans, 719 wird durch den hl. Otmar das Kloster errichtet, das 747 die Regel Benedikts annimmt, 1805 saekularisiert.]
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Abbeys, Architecture, Books, Interiors, Libraries, Photo tgg06/01](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/2023-06/StiftsbibliothekStGallen.jpeg?auto=format&fit=crop&ar=1:1&q=75&w=1200)
29.21 MILES
If the greatest masterpieces on earth are wrought for the glory of God, St Gallen’s Stiftsbibliothek (Abbey Library), is like a living prayer. Religious…
11.41 MILES
Ensnared in wispy spray, the thunderous Rheinfall might not give Niagara much competition in height (23m), width (150m) or even flow of water (700 cu…
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Completed in 1103, Schaffhausen’s cathedral is a rare, largely intact specimen of the Romanesque style in Switzerland. It opens to a beautifully simple…
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Crowned by a filigreed spire and looking proudly back on 1000 years of history, the sandstone Münster was the church of the Diocese of Konstanz until 1821…
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This monastery museum sits between the Rathaus and the Rhine. A Benedictine monastery was built here in 1007, but what you see today, including the…
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Steps lead up through terraced vineyards to this fine specimen of a 16th-century fortress. The unusual circular battlements were built with forced labour…
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Completed in 1103, Schaffhausen’s cathedral is a rare, largely intact specimen of the Romanesque style in Switzerland. It opens to a beautifully simple…
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Entered via the cathedral cloister, the Museum zu Allerheiligen showcases treasures from Schaffhausen fossils to Etruscan gold jewellery. The art…