4 Best Sights in Eastern Switzerland, Switzerland

The northernmost peak of the Appenzeller Alps, the 5,380-foot Ebenalp is accessible via cable car from Wasserrauen, 7 km (4 miles) south of Appenzell. At the top is an easy hike that connects to other trails that lead to a mountain lake or loop back to the cable car. Also here is the Wildkirchli, a cave that was home to humans in the Paleolithic era and today houses a large bear skeleton that dates back 90,000 years. Five minutes farther along the trail is the Berggastaus Aescher-Wildkirchli, a mountainside restaurant with eye-popping views of the valley below.

For a pleasurable high-altitude excursion out of Appenzell southwest to the hamlet of Schwägalp, you can ride a cable car that departs every 30 minutes up to the peak of Mt. Säntis. At 8,209 feet, it is the highest in the region, with beautiful views of the Bodensee as well as of the Graubünden and Bernese Alps. The very shape of the summit—an arc of jutting rock that swings up to the jagged peak housing the station—is spectacular.

Six kilometers (4 miles) north of Weesen on a winding mountain road lies Amden, perched 3,116 feet above the Walensee in the relatively undiscovered region south of the Churfirsten Mountains.

At the western end of the Walensee, Weesen is a quiet, shady resort noted for its mild climate and lovely lakeside walkway.