Paris has the Seine. London has the Themse. And St. Gallen has the Sitter.

The Sitter makes for a wonderful visit if you're in the area. Along the river, you find the St. Gallen Bridge Trail. It's an 8.2-kilometer hiking route that begins at the St. Gallen-Haggen train station and ends at Spisegg. The trail includes 18 bridges (viaducts, wooden, concrete, and suspension bridges). Each bridge has informational panels detailing its history and construction.

The hike starts at Haggen-Schlössli, a former Baroque estate now serving as a public restaurant. It descends into a ravine to Zweibrücken, crosses the 355-meter-long Haggen Bridge over the Sitter River, one of Europe’s highest bridges, then ascends and descends again into the Kubel district. Here, hikers cross a historic wooden bridge known as “the talking bridge” due to its inscribed sayings. The trail continues past the SOB-Sitter Viaduct, Switzerland’s highest railway bridge.

Following the river through the protected area, the path leads to Spisegg via various viaducts and bridges, including the impressive SBB-Sitter Viaduct. The hike concludes at Spisegg with options for public transport back to St. Gallen.

If you'd like a detailed map of this hike, you can check it out through this link.