Best of Appenzell Switzerland

Appenzell is a magical corner of Switzerland worth exploring. I’ve been there twice and my most recent visit was last month. Appenzell is located in the northeast corner of Switzerland close to St. Gallen and next to the border of Liechtenstein. The region is mainly known for cheese and breathtaking mountainous landscapes.

In this blog post, I want to share with you what I think is the ‘Best of Appenzell Switzerland‘.

Sax

We stayed in a guesthouse in the small village of Sax called the Hotel Restaurant Schlössli Sax. We tried to get a hotel or Airbnb closer to Appenzell but they were all booked for the long weekend in early September. We enjoyed discovering Sax and it was a perfect place to stay for the three nights.

I found a small, cozy, and inexpensive Inn that allowed dogs. We took our 9-month-old cocker spaniel puppy with us. The only constraint of staying in a remote village like Sax was the lack of nearby restaurants.

We chose to have dinner in our guesthouse for two of the three nights. The advantage of doing this was that we could leave our dog in the room. In early September, it was already too cool to sit outdoors for dining. We found the service and food to be excellent!

The first evening we arrived, we walked from our guesthouse to explore the surrounding countryside. The views of the flat green crops and spiking mountains on both sides were amazing. Not only could we see the Alpstein mountain range in Switzerland, we could also see mountains in the neighboring country of Liechtenstein.

Schäfler Mountain and Hut

For the first full day, I chose to do a hike near the town of Appenzell. We had to drive 45 minutes to reach the small village of Wasserauen. I had planned a scenic hike up to Schäfler Mountain. I had seen pictures of this dramatic mountain range that I wanted to see in person!

To start the hike, we first took the Ebenalp Cable Car from Wassarauen. The ride is only 6 minutes to rise 723 meters. We could have walked up instead of taking the cable car, but we had already done this steep hike when we were here in 2014. I wanted to save time to get to Schäfler even though it was only a one-hour hike to the hut.

The weather was cloudier than I anticipated, so I was in a hurry to reach the top before the clouds covered us. And that is just what we did. Minutes after we reached the hut and I took the below picture, the whole area was socked in with clouds.

I was so lucky to at least see this view before it clouded over. We had the local sausage and roesti while sitting on the outdoor terrace before starting our way back down. We returned on the same path, but before taking the cable car down, we visited the Aescher Hut.

Äscher Cliff Restaurant and Hut

This idyllic place has to be one of my favorites in all of Switzerland. I heard about this unique spot many years ago and organized a hike and overnight stay in the mountain hut in 2014.

This place has gained a lot of popularity since National Geographic named it as one of the top Destinations of a Lifetime among 225 of the World’s Most Amazing Places

Since we were doing a hike in the same area, I wanted to return here to see the Aescher hut again. It had been expanded but still had its special charm. We found a table outside and had a local beer to enjoy the ambiance and 180-degree view.

Aescher Hut was built in 1860 and is one of the oldest guesthouses in Switzerland. The hut is literally built into the cliff (with one wall being the rock itself). The structure originally housed farmers, goats, and cows in the mid-1800s. It then evolved into a guesthouse for pilgrims coming to see monks for spiritual guidance.

The hermit monks lived and worshipped here from 1658 to 1853. You will find the 400-year-old Wildkirchli cave church between the Ebenalp cable car and the Äscher hut.

Seealpsee

I’m including a description of the Seealpsee (means ‘Lakealp Lake’) even though we didn’t go there on this recent trip. In 2014, we hiked from the Äscher hut down to the Seealpsee. I remember it being quite a steep descent back then. The lake and surrounding area are just magnificent!

The Seealpsee lake is peaceful and a great place for a day trip. There are many cows around that let you walk right up to them. You can stop at the restaurant just beside the lake or bring a picnic to enjoy.

You can walk up to Seealpsee from the Wassarauen parking. There is a paved road almost the whole way to Seealpsee. It’s an easy route for 2.9 km and you can reach the Seealpsee Mountain Hut/Restaurant within an hour.

Staubern and Saxer Lücke

For the last full day, we opted to do a hike closer to where we were staying in Sax. I discovered there was a cable car just down the road in the village of Frumsen. It would take us up to the Berggasthaus Staubern (restaurant and hut) where we would start our 3 km ridge walk to reach Saxer Lücke.

Once again, I had seen some Instagram pics of an amazing mountain ridge at Saxer Lücke that I wanted to see. It was a mix of clouds and sun on this day, so I was hopeful we could be witness to this beauty.

We walked across the ridge for an hour, but unfortunately, the Saxer Lücke was socked in with clouds. We waited for a while but had no luck. I was disappointed but still happy we did the walk. I greatly appreciated the views of the soaring peaks and two lakes down below.

We did get lucky to see a large mountain goat or deer perched on one of the mountain tops. If you look closely at the below picture, you’ll see the animal on the left side of the mountain. I thought that was pretty cool to see, and I wondered how the animal got onto the high mountain plateau.

We walked back on the same path to reach the Staubern hut where we ate a delicious lunch. As it was a bit chilly by now, we ate inside to keep warm. I just love these old mountain huts.

After our fun day of walking, we took the cable car back down to the parking lot. One thing I have to say about the cable cars in the Appenzell area is that they are quite pricey. We spent close to $100 on each roundtrip ride for two adults and a dog. Yes, they even charge you for your dogs! For me, it was still worth it to reach the tops of these peaks and see the lovely 360-degree views.

Säntis Mountain

Since I’m writing about the ‘Best of Appenzell Switzerland’, I will mention one more spot we visited in this region during our May 2014 trip.

The Säntis mountain peak is 2500 meters and offers a 360-degree of 6 countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France, and Italy! Säntis is the highest mountain in the Alpstein mountain range in northeastern Switzerland.

We took a cable car to the top of this mountain which was still snow-covered in May. Apparently, you can also drive to the top when the roads are clear from snow. Once to the top, you can walk out on a big terrace to see the views in every direction. It is one of the major attractions in this area and is worth a stop during your visit to Appenzell.

Summary of Appenzell

To summarize, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the region of Appenzell again. It was my decision to spend a few days here to celebrate my birthday on September 11th. It was a great birthday present for me! Hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about the ‘Best of Appenzell Switzerland‘! If you liked this post, please leave a comment below!

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If you are looking for other ideas on what to see in Switzerland, you will want to see my other posts below!

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• Want to know the Secret Spots in Switzerland?
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• Spring in Switzerland
• Biking the Heart Route in Switzerland
• 9 Activities Not To Miss in Switzerland
• 3 Day Itinerary in Ticino Switzerland
• 5 Lakes Walk in Zermatt Switzerland – a Must-Do!
• 9 Top Spots near Interlaken Switzerland
• E-Biking in Switzerland
• Discover Adelboden Switzerland in Summer
• What to See in Meiringen Switzerland
• Unexpected Excursions in Lugano
• Best of Appenzell Switzerland
• Awesome Autumn in the Swiss Vineyards
• Schynigge Platte Things to Do
• 2 Days in Basel Switzerland
• Pizol 5 Lakes Hike
• Switzerland Destination Page

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