Canton of St. Gallen

In northeastern Switzerland, find the canton of St Gallen, a doughnut-shaped region which meets Lichtenstein and Austria’s Vorarlberg in the east and bumps up to Lake Constance in the north. Often overlooked for more classic Swiss regions, St Gallen is a hidden enclave of soaring peaks, glittering lakes and undulating meadows, and a hotbed of culture and craft, wrapped in medieval history.

The capital of the canton of St Gallen is the city of St Gallen itself, in the north of the region. A thriving university town and seat of entrepreneurism from beer brewers to fashion houses, its primary sight is the UNESCO designated 8th century Abbey of St. Gall complex which has a magnificent Baroque twin-towered cathedral and a historic library which houses documents and ancient books written over a thousand years ago.

In the south, constituency Werdenberg with its capital Buchs are close enough to visit Liechtenstein for a coffee and Werdenberg in particular is one of the few towns in Switzerland to have a timber frame settlement. Above the medieval town is Werdenberg Castle, once the seat of the Counts of Montfort and Werdenberg; today it offers a far-reachingpanorama over the Rhine Valley to the Alps.