Rhine River Attractions

Cantons: Grisons (GR), St Gallen (SG), Thurgau (TG), Schaffhausen (SH), Zurich (ZH), Aargau (AG), Basel-Land (BL) and Basel-Stadt (BS).

The Rhine (a name probably of Celtic origin: Latin Rhenus, German Rhein, French Rhin, Romansch Reno, Dutch Rijn) is Europe's most beautiful river and most important waterway. The first 375km/233mi of its total length of 1,320km/820mi are in Switzerland. Its source is in the eastern part of the St Gotthard massif, from which the two principal arms of the river flow separately westward for the first 60km/37mi.

The Vorderrhein flows out of the Tomasee (2,345 m/7,694ft), at the foot of Mt Badus (2,928 m/9,607ft). The Hinterrhein originates in the névé of the Rheinwaldhorn (3,402 m/11,116ft). (10km/6mi west of Chur, at Reichenau, the two streams join to form the Alpenrhein (Alpine Rhine), which flows north into Lake Constance. Emerging from the west end of the lake, the river plunges over the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen and, as the Hochrhein (High Rhine) continues west to Basle.