After a solo tour of Schloss Lichtenstein, we arrived at Burg Hohenzollern to find that they're in…read morefull Christmas Markets season. The place was crowded and lively and quite busy. You'll park in a lower parking lot adjacent to the gift shop. A shuttle van will bring you almost to the entrance of the castle. From there, it's a bit of a walk. It is barely handicapped accessible though the castle itself is not at all wheelchair friendly and many rooms require transiting a number of stairs. The current castle was built between 1846 and 1867 in a Gothic Revival style and influenced by the Châteaux of the Loire Valley. The exterior is regal, dominating the hill it resides on. Inside, each room is decorated with period furniture and artifacts that were owned by Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia. The vault in the basement contains the Crown of Wilhelm II and a uniform that belonged to King Frederick the Great. No photographs allowed in that room but the rest of the castle, absolutely. [Review 21244 overall - 248 in Germany - 209 of 2024.]

Beautiful castle! Pretty views from the top. But getting there from Stuttgart was really…read morebreathtaking as well. We took public transportation which is not recommended. It took 3 hours one way to get there by trains and bus. If you have a car it takes an hour. I would say it was worth it, but we were exhausted by the end of the day. The castle had a cafe that actually tasted pretty good.

Rhyfall Mändli is a boat service that operates along Rhine Falls. And they have a ton of different…read moreoptions, depending on what you're in the mood for. You can either buy tickets ahead of time to secure a spot or buy it in-person day-of. Depending on which line you're going for, it might be better to just buy day-of for flexibility because there are no refunds if you buy online. We took the Red Line which is a boat service between Schloss Wörth and Schloss Laufen. It's the quickest way to get to the other side and we bought it in-person for 3 CHF each. I think this might have been a group discount because online says it's for 6 CHF. This is one of the instances where buying in-person is fine. The boat goes every 15 minutes so it shouldn't be too hard getting a spot. What we really wanted to do was the Yellow Line because it takes you right up to the falls and you can get off on a rock in the middle of the falls. Seems like a pretty impressive experience but because of all the storms, the water levels were too dangerous for the boat to get close so the service was suspended. An alternative is the Blue Line which is more of a tour of the falls but it doesn't get you as close as the Yellow. The Yellow Line is best booked ahead of time online because of its popularity. A great activity which also can serve as a means of transportation. Two birds with one stone! I'd love to come back and get to the middle of the falls for some unique views.

This hill is located in the the oldest part of Zurich (near Schipfe). It was once a Celtic…read moresettlement and then it became a Roman fort. The stone wall of the fort is what you see today. There's more history there that is still being uncovered. Some items found around the Lindenhof date back to the 1st century BC. Today, it's a large park with incredible views of Zurich and the Limmat River. We saw groups of people playing boules in the grassy area on a Sunday, as well as people playing chess. There's a fountain in the middle of the square that pays homage to Hedwig's women who wore battle gear to defend the city during the seige of Zurich in 1292. It's worth seeking out as it can be quite peaceful up there even though it's a tourist hot spot. The walk up the somewhat steep pathway and steps to get there from the city center is worth it. I've read that there is an elevator for those with mobility issues, but I didn't see one. There are benches as well as places to sit along the wall. It's shady and breezy up there. A great place to relax and enjoy the view.

This was a part of a self guided walking tour recommended by our hotel; we only had one night in…read moreZurich and wanted to see what we could without overdoing it. We stayed at a hotel on the other side of the river and walked across a lovely bridge to get here. You start at the bottom of the hill where there is a one lane road. While there are cars (or were, when we visited), mostly there are pedestrians and bicyclists. The lane is full of little shops and restaurants all vying for your attention and money. Eventually you come to a wide and tall (long) staircase going up. At the top is what is considered Lindenhof Hill, a quaint park with gorgeous views across the river and towards Lake Zurich. There is a fountain and old pumping station, as well as some Roman artifacts. It's a nice park to just sit and take in the views, or play a game of giant chess/checkers. The streets are all narrow in this area, but once you leave the hill, you need to find Thermengasse. It is a covered pedestrian walkway with grating for a walkway. Underneath the grating is an exposed archeological dig of a Roman heating system. There is signage throughout the passageway telling you all about it. As night began to fall, we made our way around the area, just taking everything all in. We ended up by the Fraumuenster church and walked across the Muenster bridge towards the Niederdorf area. If we had had more time, we would have explored the area more, but we were happy with the highlights we did see. It was a nice little introduction to the city. 78/2025