Getting Oriented

Quiet cousins to fast-paced, international Zürich, the eastern cantons often play the wallflower to more spectacular touristic regions, but are mistakenly overlooked. Lush and hilly, with orchards and gardens, its north dominated by the romantic Rhine, towered over by Mt. Säntis (8,200 feet), and dotted with lovely hidden lakes—as well as the enormous Bodensee (Lake Constance)—the region is as varied as it is beautiful.