• About an hour from Zurich: 56 km and about 55 minutes by car, or about 1 hour 10 minutes by train via S-Bahn from Winterthur or Schaffhausen
• Station across the river, a few steps over the Rhine bridge into the old town, so the train saves hunting for parking
• Boat there or back on the scheduled Untersee and Rhein boats from Schaffhausen, Kreuzlingen or Konstanz, slower than the train but a trip in itself

Stein am Rhein is a small medieval town where the Rhine flows out of the Untersee, the western end of Lake Constance. Its timber-framed houses, some from the 15th and 16th centuries, are covered in painted frescoes, and winding lanes lead to the market square.

Kids can climb to Hohenklingen Castle for the view, visit the museum in the old Benedictine abbey, or watch boats from the riverside promenade.