Goldküste–Limmat

Rapperswil castle enthroned on a rocky spur, where from Lindenhof, panoramic views sweep over the Säntis to the Glarus Alps, the Zurich Oberland and the Zürichsee split in two by the lake dam. The lake is sung about in the wistful children’s song «I han es chlyses Schiffli» (I have a little ship). Boats have always plied the 40-km-long lake: once war vessels, trading boats, steamships, beer boats and gravel barges; today hundreds of private pleasure boats, two lake steamers and 12 motor vessels.

The north-eastern shore along the gentle slopes of the Pfannenstiel has long been home to stately country mansions. Now just as expensive villas are being built, which occasionally rob cyclists of lake views. The route now runs sometimes separate from, and sometimes with, the traffic through the busy regional centres of Stäfa, Meilen, Küsnacht and through Zurich’s «leisure-side», the lakeside promenade with its leisure and pleasure seekers.

The Limmat winds steadfastly through the urban sprawl, past the tranquil Fahr Monastery and on through the Limmattal shopping mile. Destination Baden, a town in Canton Aargau, its old town centre boasting a celebrated spa history.