The stunning Rhine Falls is located on the border between the cantons Zurich and Schaffhausen and are a true spectacle. Impressive volumes of the waterfall over the rocks across a width of around 150 metres. In today’s blog post we will inform you about how to get to the Rhine Falls, and of course what to expect.
The Rhine Falls is a popular tourist attraction in Switzerland, visited by many tourists from all over the world. Visitors want to experience the power of the water and explore the surrounding villages.
The Rhine Falls are situated on a stretch of the high Rhine, this is called the high Rhine because this is the part of the Rhine where the water goes to a lower level resulting in a spectacular fall!
Many visitors visit the Rhine Falls during the summer season, the water flows down at an impressive pace and the power of nature is visible during summer.
The water flows during summer at around 600.000 litres per second, in comparison to winter only 250.000 litres per second. You can imagine the power of the water falling during summer days, must be impressive.
How to get to the Rhine Falls?
So, how to get to the Rhine Falls? There are two main ways of getting to the Rhine Falls, namely: by car or by train. In our opinion, the easiest way, which avoids searching for a parking place is to travel by train.
Wherever you are coming from, you can easily travel by train to the station called: Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall or Neuhausen Rheinfall. These two stations are very close to the waterfall. Travelling by train from Zurich to the Rhine Falls will approximately take 55 minutes, check this link for the current timetable.
Travel by car to the Rhine Falls
If you travel by car, this is also a possibility. There are parking spots. We travelled by car once, and we parked at the Rheinfall Parkplatz, this was great. You should park here if you want to visit the northern banks of the Rhine Fall.
You can easily walk to the Rhine Falls, this is a lovely path. One big advantage of this parking place, which is in our opinion rare these days, is that parking is free! If you want to visit the southern banks, go to the parking lot at am Schloss Laufen.
Travelling by car from Zurich to the Rheinfall Parkplatz will take around 35 minutes. You can check the route here.
No worries about the operating times of the trains, the trains in Switzerland almost run all year round. Of course, we highly recommend checking the current timetable, to plan your trip, check it here.
How to get to the Rhine Falls for wheelchair visitors?
For people visiting with a wheelchair, we recommend that you park your car in the northern bank car park, this is close to the fall, and you can take the wheelchair lift down to the boat landing.
If this parking lot is full, check the lift at the Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall viewing platform, this is a great spot too.
There are also a few separate parking places available for people in wheelchairs, you will need a disability identification to park here, but you can drive right down to the Rhine Falls basin. You can’t visit the little rock in the Rhine Fall with a wheelchair, but believe me, the view from the northern or southern side is already unforgettable.
We recommend going to the Northern banks, Neuhausen am Rheinfall/Schaffhausen this side is the most wheelchair friendly with a lift and paved paths and so on.
Experience the magic of the Rhine Falls
Overview of the Rhine Falls
The impressive Rhinefalls are located near the city of Schaffhausen and very close to the village of Neuhausen. You can find the fall in the northern part of Switzerland. The falls are 150 metres in width and 23 metres high, you can expect some really impressive power of the water falling.
The falls attract yearly many visitors from many places, but we are sure, the beauty of this waterfall is worth a visit. In our opinion May, June or July are the best months to visit the Rhine Falls, during these months the most water is coming down, which makes it even more spectacular.
Boat trips at the Rhine Falls
There are possibilities to see the Rhine Falls even closer by booking a boat trip. There are longer boat trips and shorter ones. You can book a boat trip from April to approximately October, reserving a spot is recommended if you travel with a family or a group.
The boats depart from Worth and the banks of the Rhine, they come close to the waterfall, we found this an impressive experience!
The prices for a boat trip can be viewed on this page, here you can read the many different boat options as well.
The difference between the northern side and the southern side of the Rhine Fall
To illustrate this a bit more, there are two sides of the waterfall, there is a northern bank and a southern bank.
- the northern bank has a long promenade, which runs along the Rhine. You can view the falls from a distance compared to the southern falls. This site is free to enter.
- the southern bank is the entrance to the Schloss Laufen(Schloss means castle). So this means the castle of Laufen. The southern bank has many terraces, which give you a view of the Rhine Fall from different angles. You get close to the waterfall, by close we mean: you can get a little bit wet. This side of the Rhine Fall is not free, the price for an adult is 5 CHF, and for children 3 CHF.
Which side of the Rhine Fall is better? Northern bank or Southern bank?
In our opinion, the southern bank is more beautiful than the northern bank, you can get so close to the fall compared to the northern bank. You can view the castle.
The only disadvantage is that the southern bank is not free, view the prices for the entrance of the southern bank below. On days when it has rained a lot or a lot of snow melted, the fall is even more spectacular on the southern side.
If you have enough time, we highly recommend viewing both sides, the northern and the southern side. But why? Well, in our opinion the southern side is more close to the fall, so you can experience it close. But the northern side shows you the whole length of the fall, which is impressive too!
The entrance price of the Rhine Falls
There are two possibilities, for how to view the Rhine Falls, you can visit the northern banks, which is free. The southern banks with the Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall are not free. The prices for the southern bank are: (viewpoint, panorama path and castle)
- Children 6-15: 3 CHF
- Adult: 5 CHF
- Groups from 15-29 persons: 3 CHF per person.
- Groups with 30 or more group members: 2 CHF per person.
Are there guided tours at the Rhine Falls?
Yes, there are guided tours, in this way, you can get to know more about the history and geology of the Rhine Falls. You will hear so many interesting details about the fall. Highly recommended.
Are dogs allowed at the Rhine Falls?
Yes, but they need to be leased at the Rhine Fall area, for the boat trips: the rock experience does not accept dogs. So in the main area of the Rhine Fall dogs are allowed.
Conclusion
All in all, we can conclude that the Rhine Falls are a unique experience. The power of the water coming down is so impressive. Yearly many tourists visit the Rhine Falls. There are two sides, the northern side(free) and the southern side(charge).
In this blog, you can read the difference between the two sides. Entry prices are noted as well. We think this is such an unforgettable experience. We hope you will have a great day exploring the Rhine Falls!