Agricultural (cows, farming, etc.) area ideas for July 2026 pre-Basel river cruise?

Posted by ColoradoRanchers (N&SWCO) on 10/27/25 11:30 PM

Hoping to make first trip to Europe fun and comfortable for my [nervous] husband and to spark his curiosity for many more trips. We've only been on a couple Caribbean cruises in 30+ years together but starting a new chapter. You can drop me in any city and I can figure it out and thrive so there's no limits here... but him, not so much! Long haul flight is causing pause so I'm packing in this first adventure because our lifestyle has given us stamina!

For my question, it's maybe because I can't find related threads, but are there areas in Switzerland with more agriculture than others? I'm looking for a few suggestions of which areas might be more Ag related scenery and/or things to do. We're not city-life, hustle/bustle types and feel more comfortable with quiet life as we have at home working the ranch. We're not looking for Dude Ranches or the like, more just to see how agriculture people do things elsewhere, different culture, fresh and new foods, etc. We're fit, 64 & 70, living/working long hours in all weather at 6500+ feet, so altitude shouldn't be a limiting factor. I will figure out transportation as necessary, especially train travel so we both can gaze out the window, yet will rent an auto if that is best option for suggested journeys. I am using the July 2025 RS Switzerland big guidebook as reference so feel free to just sent me page references you may have marked as I am trying to make an index of pages to keep track of for re-reading but, well, whew!

We of course want to see the beautiful mountains and the views, do some day hiking, and hopefully catch an alpine boat tour to relax and take in the views. I am thinking of adding parts of the Berner Oberland section of the RS Switzerland big guidebook but don't want to miss other ideas! I am thinking 7 - 10 days including arrival day into Switzerland and embarkation day on to riverboat in Basel. No flights booked yet but am thinking that aspect is getting urgent (trying to learn that too) and so arrival airport is open based on ideas. I have been reading and researching but really want to suss out the agricultural aspect before making final decisions; hoping to plan things different that we will enjoy on the river cruise following. It may help to say when we end the cruise in Amsterdam, I am planning a possible journey via train/auto to see where our Salers cattle originated from in France for our last adventure before heading back to Colorado and back to work.

Thank you in advance for any ideas and suggestions.

Posted by KGC

Alsenborn, Germany

10/28/25 05:16 AM

2351 posts

i think the biggest difference between American and European agriculture is that in the US people live on the farms and drive to town. In most of Europe farmers live in town and drive to the fields. That's why you have these small settlements with large outbuildings every 5-10 km.

Since you'll be in Basel i suggest you consider spending a couple days around Lake Constance. I think Swiss farmers have to be really well off, since they graze their cows right down to the lake in lots between the lakefront chateaus. it's also very interesting to see how apple orchards (a very big deal in that area) have changed from the old (large trees with spreading branches) to more modern patterns for mechanical harvesting (smaller dense bushes with carefully limited numbers of fruit).

You'll find regional foods (Bodensee cheese for example), slightly different cuts of meat, more wild game than is normal in the US, and similar, but different, cultures as you travel around the lake, which touches on Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. If you take the short drive to Lichtenstein from the south end of the lake you'll travel down an extensively farmed valley (and some beautiful scenery.)

Lake Constance is a major vacation spot for Europeans. You'll have fantastic scenery, castles, old cities, small towns, boating, beaches, mountains, spas, gardens (do visit Mainau), museums, Zeppelins; in short, pretty much everything folks look for in a place to get away to.

Here are some of my favorites from that area:

Mainau - an entire island turned into a private garden hideaway. Now open to the public. https://www.mainau.de/en/home

Meersburg - really good castle (much better than Neuschwanstein). https://www.burg-meersburg.de/en/home/

Konstanz - 1200 years old city with interesting old town.

Lindau - another island, this one mostly a getaway vacation spot on the German/Austrian border. https://www.lindau.de/en/

Dornbirn - smaller town on the south end of the lake (where i like to stay) has a cable car that takes you into the Alps and a good restaurant you can have a meal at while watching the sunset over the lake.

St Gallen - Swiss city with a old abbey. I like to visit because it's noticeably different than the other side of the lake.