If you are in Switzerland at the end of July, you can be in for a treat if you visit the Rhine Falls Fireworks. This yearly Fire On The Rocks event is always special to visit, with the most stunning (and loud) fireworks being showcased directly above the Rhine Falls waterfall in cantons Schaffhausen/Zurich.
Together with the Swiss Airforce PC-7 team and the Military Super Puma Display Team (in 2023), the event is the perfect evening of two shows plus fireworks in the air. Suitable for all ages, this stunning firework and air show is quite a treat to start the celebrations of the Swiss National Day of 1st August.
Read on to hear more about the event as well as our personal experience of our visit (with a car)!
Rhine Falls Schaffhausen
About
Even though the official birthday celebrations of Switzerland National Day is the 1st August of each year, the Rhine Falls Firework celebrations is held on every 31st July usually at 9:45pm.
The best part about this Rhine Falls Fireworks event is that it is FREE – so you and everyone else can visit, find a suitable spot to watch and enjoy the evening without any costs.
Based on the previous years, Schaffhausen usually expects around 10,000 visitors to the free event. Not only is this for the fireworks, but for 2023 this was also for a spectacular Swiss Airforce PC-7 plane show followed by a Military Super Puma Helicopter show. Both shows are impressive to see, with the Super Puma even shooting flares out!
Due to these earlier shows, it’s ideal to arrive earlier. You can then also admire the stunning waterfall during the lighter hours.
Of course, you can always consider visiting for a whole day to Neuhausen am Rheinfall and Schaffhausen enjoy the city best. Or to enjoy a few hours at the Rhine Falls waterfall with a boat trip. Our bigger focused post is coming soon!
Google Maps Address: MJH8+65 Neuhausen am Rheinfall
How To Get To The Rhine Falls Fireworks Event
The nearest train station to arrive at is Neuhausen Rheinfall. You can arrive at this station with a direct train from Zurich that takes less than an hour. There is also a few public buses you can take based on where you are coming from.
Alternatively if you are coming from far (like we did from Ticino!), you can consider driving to the location, where there many parking garages are available in Schaffhausen, such as;
- Rheinfall Parking P1
- Parking Laufen Castle (we parked nearby here in a local field which was organised and free!)
- Parkplatz Burgunwiese
Tips For Visiting
Here are some of our tips for visiting this wonderful event:
- Arrive early, such as to enjoy a day trip first else to get a good spot to watch the shows
- Bring suitable clothing based on the expected weather for the evening
- Arrive by public transport best, else by car is possible but expect traffic
- Bring snacks or a drink with you while you wait
Our Personal Experience of the Rhine Falls Firework Show
For our visit, we were arriving a little late around 8pm, but were able to find an easy parking spot (for free) in a local field near the Parking Laufen Castle. This was an organised parking location where there were people in orange jackets from the event assisting in making sure everyone parked correctly.
As we had arrived, we were able to watch the Swiss Airforce PC-7 team plane show while walking closer to the waterfall area. They flew so low and did a lovely performance for those already in the area.
We decided to stand on the Rheinbrücke bei Laufen bridge, which worked out perfectly for the view of the fireworks right opposite! It was already busy by the time we got there at 8.30pm, but still options of places to stand with a view. This bridge still has SBB trains moving along, which was quite weird to be less than 1 meter away from a train! But they were going slower based on the amount of people now standing tightly together.
We could see that the north side of the river was definitely the most popular place to stand, with it being absolutely packed with people! The train station is also on that side for easy arrival.
While standing on the bridge, the second show of the helicopter from the Super Puma display team was in motion. This was very cool and they flew along the whole area, so if you are standing on the bridge you still got to see this. They even used their flares for an impressive experience.
Within no time it was dark, it was super busy and everyone was ready for the fireworks. Since we had a great view, we really enjoyed the show and was very loud with the larger fireworks.
Based on being on the bridge, it was also very easy to head back to the car parking area and leave without too much traffic.
It was a great show of fireworks (and airshows) we would definitely enjoy again in the future, as well as to recommend for you as our readers!
We hope you consider visiting, especially if you love fireworks!
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