Ever since I moved to Switzerland and started to travel around the country, there hasn’t been a place that has disappointed me. No matter if it is a valley, a lake, a mountain or a city, there’s always something that catches my attention and makes me love the place. If you follow my blog, you already know how much I love spending time in the Swiss nature. It is just too beautiful!! But if Swiss nature is beautiful, the cities and small towns are not far behind. They all have a very special charm. Visiting a Swiss town feels like being in a living postcard. Everything is perfect, even the smallest detail.
The photos I am showing you today are from one of my favorite small towns in Switzerland. It’s also one of the prettiest ones I’ve visited so far! It is a town located west of lake Konstance (or Bodensee), by the Rhine river, in canton Schaffhausen. It’s not a big town. Actually, its main attraction are the stunning half timbered houses with profusely painted facades that are located in the main street. But they are so so beautiful that walking this street is worth the trip! And even if the town is so pretty, it doesn’t feel like a tourist destination. In summer, the streets are very quiet, the very few people you meet are sitting on the terraces or swimming in the river. It is a fairy tale town! It is so true that, during Advent, the Christmas market of Stein am Rhein is called Märlistadt (Swiss German for “fairy tale town”) and each year is dedicated to a different fairy tale. How magical is that?
Here are some photos I took last summer in this dreamy Swiss town. I hope you like them!
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 45mm f/11 1/125sec. ISO200
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 70mm f/2.8 1/2500sec. ISO200
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 59mm f/11 1/250sec. ISO200
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 70mm f/11 1/200sec. ISO100
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 47mm f/11 1/200sec. ISO100
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 55mm f/11 1/200sec. ISO100
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 28mm f/11 1/500sec. ISO100
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 47mm f/11 1/50sec. ISO200
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 42mm f/11 1/50sec. ISO200
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 30mm f/11 1/50sec. ISO200
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/500sec. ISO100
#8 and #11 photos are awesome. Indeed like a real life fairy tale, Mercedes.
Thanks a mil, Amanda! So happy you like them! 🙂
This little town is a dream. I hope the covid doesn’t ruin Swiss Christmas markets and I can make a post about this little town in Christmas! During those days, it is even more magical!!
Have a fantastic week!
I can imagine it would be magical at Christmas. Having been in Lucerne when the Christmas markets were on, some years back, I can imagine how lovely it would be.
The one in Stein am Rhein is very special! Is very very small, but as it is dedicated to a fairytale (each year a different one) it is very childfriendly! Not so many stalls with Gluhwein and more games for children. I love it! Never been in Lucerne during Christmas yet… I find the city so so beautiful that I’m afraid Christmas can disappoint me (it happened in Bern!!!)
Well, that might happen. I remember the light shows on the church and buildings at the river, and the musicians with their drums and alpine long horns performing in the streets.
Sounds better than Bern then! When I went last Christmas to Stein am Rhein, there was also a group of alpine horns performing there… It was really impressive! I guess I’ll have to pay a visit to Lucerne in Christmas this year! 🙂
Yes do visit at Xmas and then report back! Lol!
Fairytale!!!
Of all the Swiss towns I’ve visited these past three years, Stein am Rhein is definitely the one that feels more magical!! 🙂 It is so pretty that doesn’t feel quite real, hehehe! It’s like walking on a movie set or something like that! Happy you liked it!
Have a fantastic week, Snow!!
You too, Mercedes!! (Wonder if it loses its charm when you live there or what the locals think?)
Uuuummm, interesting! What do you think? Maybe it’s because of tourism, but every time I go to this Swiss town (well, I can say the same about almost every little town in Switzerland, hehehe), it’s always impecable…. If I would live in a place that I don’t appreciate, I wouldn’t take so much care of it… (or maybe I’d do it, I’d put lots of flowers to make it more beautiful and appealing, hehehe)
Yeah, hard to know eh?! Maybe both sides are represented
Probably!! There must be people that care and people that get so used to this kind of beauty that stop to appreciate it… But, I don’t know why, I feel like Swiss people are specially proud of this kind of heritage!
That’s good! 😊
Como se nota que disfrutas en tus andanzas en esos parajes, tus descripciones y tus fotografías te delatan en tu admiración por la naturaleza y su belleza.
Mil gracias, María!! Que ilusión que te haya gustado el post y las fotos!! Tus comentarios siempre me sacan una sonrisa enorme!! 🙂 Ya sabes que los paisajes suizos, tanto en la montaña como los de ciudad, me vuelven loca… Son demasiado perfectos! 🙂
What a beautiful town. I loved how some of the houses were painted. It’s like walking through an art gallery! Do you know how old these paintings are? I’m guessing if they are old, they’d have to be touched up every so often. And you photographs towns as well as you do landscapes. Beautiful post.
Thanks a lot, Anne! Of course, the town is even more impressive in person, it does feel like walking in a museum (but here you can also eat icecream while admiring the paintings… so it’s even nicer than a museum!!) About the buildings… I know they are from the Middle Age, but I can’t find much information about them (I’ve just read that the owners of the buildings agree to maintain the original paintings… that must cost a fortune!!). I’ll investigate more!
Mer – what a quaint and beautiful village!!! It just transported me back to one of fairy tales like Handsel & Gretel or even the real village from Frozen. It’s incredible and magical seeing from the end of your lens.
Thanks a mil, Blanca!! I don’t know why, but these kind of Swiss towns remind me of Adare, the little town you recommended me for my last trip in Ireland. I know they are totally different, but I like that both of them are so idyllic and well maintained… In both of them everything is so perfect that you feel like you are walking on a living postcard!!
This town is indeed a fairytale! I love how you framed your object. Very unique 🙂