72625 posts
Hello Kkrauss15 and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
What’s wrong about touristy, you’re visiting and traveling as a tourist! 🙂
You’re traveling by car, right?! I use Viamichelin for route planning, this as a start:
– http://www.viamichelin.com/
Maybe Davos or St. Moritz would mean less of a detour for you and have similar mountainous surroundings.
– http://www.myswissalps.com/da vos
– http://www.myswissalps.com/st moritz
Also make sure you read:
– http://www.myswissalps.com/ca r
Best,
Steph
72625 posts
Appenzell is the obvious choice.
It is less than 30 minutes deviation off the motorway route** from the Lake Como area towards the Obertsdorf area and less than 2 hours drive from Oberstdorf but is one of the most picturesque parts of Switzerland.
The Appenzell Alps region is fabulous, and perfect for a short stay in summer with a few (but not too many) mountain excursion options, and wonderful easy walking paths across the whole area. If you are interested in beer/brewing, the brewery tour in Appenzell is excellent (and the beer is ‘real’ Swiss beer brewed from local spring water …
http://www.appenzell.ch/en/ho me.html
** – the drive itself would be scenic but simple to achieve. There are two obvious routes for you to choose from :
1) Lake Como – Chiavenna – Splügen or
2) Lake Como – Lugano – Bellinzona – San Bernardino – Splügen
They join at Splügen, then you go Splügen – Thusis – Chur – Buchs SG – Oberriet (divert up the hill to Appenzell) – Oberriet – Dornbirn (Austria) – Oberstdorf
72625 posts
Thanks both of you!
I will look into both areas. I’m not familiar with the Appenzell area. Is there a specific village you recommend? Thanks for the brewery recommendation – my husband will love that!
72625 posts
Appenzell itself. It is even a ‘capital city’ in a sense (geo-politically speaking), but tiny on the grand scheme of things!
117 posts
Appenzell is a lovely, historic and distinctive little town. As 1960man suggests, it’s the canton capital of tiny Appenzell Innerrhoden Canton (I think the smallest of the 26), but it runs its own fantastic and efficient railway to the nearby city of St Gallen and to rural retreats. It’s beautifully verdant, and there are plenty of mountains close at hand.
Attached are 2 photos taken last May – approaching Appenzell on the train from Herisau (a very picturesque ride), and the historic town centre. Painted wooden town houses are the norm here.
Hope that helps
John