Rapperswil sits at the eastern end of Lake Zürich, where a long wooden footbridge crosses the water to Hurden on the far shore, and it calls itself the Rose Town for the thousands of rose bushes that bloom in the gardens beside its castle. The old town climbs a small hill capped by a medieval castle with three towers, and its lanes are a mix of arcaded houses, small squares and lakeside terraces, with a view over the lake to the mountains. The lake here is about four hundred metres above sea level, and the air feels mild and soft.
The castle has a curious history. In the nineteenth century, Polish exiles who had fled their country after the failed uprisings of the 1830s and 1860s made Rapperswil their home, and in 1870 they founded a Polish National Museum in the castle, which housed Poland's treasures during the years when the country did not exist as a state. The collection returned to Warsaw in 1927. A column in the castle courtyard and a small museum still recall the connection, and the town has retained a quiet affection for Poland.
The wooden bridge across the lake, the Holzsteg, is a pilgrim path as well, part of the Way of St James that leads from the east of Europe to Santiago, and the original crossing dates back centuries. In recent times it has been rebuilt for walkers and cyclists, and the stroll across it at sunset is one of the nicest things to do in the area. The Seedamm, an embankment carrying the road and railway, runs alongside it.
For riders, Rapperswil is a gateway to the quiet hills of the Zürich Oberland and the Linth plain. The main roads around the lake are busy, but the lanes up toward Pfäffikon and the Etzel, or north toward Hombrechtikon, offer gentle bends, farmland and views of the lake. Rapperswil-Jona has over thirty thousand people, so fuel, cafés and shops are never far away, and parking for motorcycles is available near the old town.
Visit the Kinderzoo, the zoo founded by the Knie circus family, which keeps elephants and sea lions that spend winters here. A rose-garden stroll in June and a lake-side coffee are all you really need.