Smilestones

What Smilestones does

Smilestones AG is a privately held Swiss operator of a physical miniature world attraction located adjacent to the Rhine Falls in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Canton of Schaffhausen. The core product is a 1:87 scale interactive model landscape depicting Eastern Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland, featuring animated trains (including licensed SBB and Coop rolling stock), cable cars, vehicles, and thousands of miniature figures, with visitors activating scenes via push-button stations. The venue is climate-controlled, wheelchair-accessible, and operates year-round with a recommended minimum 1.5-hour visit.

The company's revenue model is anchored on per-visitor admission tickets (CHF 22 adults, CHF 12 children aged 6+, CHF 20 reduced) sold online via tickets.smilestones.ch and at the on-site box office. Ancillary streams include guided tours and corporate/private events, educational school programs (Suchspiele treasure hunts), on-site bistro and catering, and a one-time miniature vehicle sponsorship program (CHF 200–1,000 per wagon or locomotive). Distribution is omnichannel and primarily direct-to-consumer, with a multilingual website (German, French, English), a TripAdvisor listing with Traveler's Choice recognition, and an SBB RailAway partnership bundling rail travel with admission.

Smilestones serves four primary customer segments: families with children (the dominant persona), school and kindergarten groups, corporate and private event bookers, and individual tourists visiting the Rhine Falls area. The business is small-scale (11–50 employees), founder/privately owned with no disclosed institutional capital or subsidiaries, and the company has recently relocated to a larger venue at the Rhytech Areal, signaling continued operational investment. Technology is electromechanical rather than digital, with no disclosed AI, software platform, or API surface.

Name

Smilestones

Legal name

Smilestones AG

Website

https://smilestones.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smilestones AG operates a 1:87 scale interactive miniature world attraction in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland, adjacent to the Rhine Falls. It sells admission tickets, guided tours, school programs, and on-site catering to families, tourists, schools, and corporate groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family Entertainment Venue

NAICS

Museums (71211)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Monuments, Statues & Memorials (THAJACAB)

Keywords

• Miniature world exhibit
• Model railway attraction
• Interactive miniature displays
• Family tourist attraction
• Swiss heritage exhibits

Headquarters

HQ city

Neuhausen Am Rheinfall

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Admission Tickets: One-time admission fees for visitors of all ages. Adults pay CHF 22, children (6+) pay CHF 12, and reduced rate (seniors, students) costs CHF 20. Tickets are sold online and at the venue.
2. Group Tours and Events: Guided tours for corporate groups and private events, school programs with treasure hunt activities for children
3. Sponsorship (Miniature Vehicles): Companies and individuals can sponsor miniature locomotives, tank wagons, and freight wagons that display their name or logo at the entrance. Locomotive sponsorship costs CHF 1,000, tank wagon CHF 500, freight wagon CHF 200 (one-off fees).
4. Bistro and Catering: Food and beverage service available on-site in designated bistro areas. Eating and drinking is only permitted in the bistro and designated areas.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Smilestones operates a physical miniature world attraction at Rhine Falls in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland, featuring detailed 1:87 scale replicas of Eastern Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland. The exhibition includes animated trains, cable cars, vehicles, and miniature figurines activated by visitors at push-button stations, complemented by guided tours, educational school programs, group and corporate events, and on-site bistro and catering services.

Product overview

Smilestones is a physical miniature world attraction located at Rhine Falls featuring detailed model landscapes, buildings, and scenes of Eastern Switzerland and Bernese Oberland at 1:87 scale with animated trains and miniature figures. The core offering is the miniature world experience (Miniaturwelt am Rheinfall), complemented by guided tours, educational school programs with search games, group events and corporate functions, miniature vehicle sponsorship opportunities, and ticket sales. The company also operates a media corner for press materials. Visitors can purchase tickets online or on-site, with optional SBB RailAway combined travel packages available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smilestones Miniature World Experience A physical miniature world attraction at Rhine Falls featuring detailed 1:87 scale model landscapes, buildings, and scenes of Eastern Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland, with animated trains, cable cars, and miniature figures. Targeted at families, tourists, school groups, and corporate visitors.
• Guided Tours Behind-the-scenes tours offering visitors insight into the creation, construction, and technology behind the miniature world exhibits. Available to corporate groups, private occasions, and individual visitors.
• School Programs (Suchspiele) Educational search games (Suchspiele) designed for school and kindergarten groups, allowing classes to participate in themed activities while learning about Swiss geography and infrastructure, with prize competitions.
• Group Events and Corporate Functions Event hosting services for groups and corporate occasions at the miniature world venue, including private guided tours and custom group bookings suitable for team building, client entertainment, and special occasions.
• Bistro and Catering Food and beverage service available on-site in designated bistro areas for visitors of the miniature world attraction. Eating and drinking is permitted only in the bistro and designated areas.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SBB RailAwayminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) RailAway program offering combined travel and admission packages. This enables Smilestones to reach public transport users and tourists arriving by train, providing bundled ticket options.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Swissminiatur: Open-air miniature park in Melide, Switzerland, displaying scaled-down Swiss landmarks, buildings, and transport. Closest geographic and conceptual peer to Smilestones, sharing the Swiss-miniature-landmarks category and the Swiss tourist audience.
• Miniatur Wunderland: World's largest model railway attraction in Hamburg, Germany, featuring animated miniature worlds at large scale with interactive elements. The benchmark operator in the miniature world category; comparable in interactive miniatures, ticketed leisure, and extended dwell-time visits.
• Italia in Miniatura: Italian miniature theme park in Rimini featuring scaled Italian landmarks plus amusement rides. Comparable as a regional miniature-park attraction targeting families and tourists, combining miniature displays with add-on experiences.
• Verkehrshaus der Schweiz: Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne featuring large-scale model railways, Swiss transport history, and interactive exhibits. Comparable as a Swiss ticketed museum with prominent model railroading content, family/educational audience, and Swiss-tourism base.
• Madurodam: Famous Dutch miniature park in The Hague featuring scaled Dutch landmarks and stories. Comparable as a long-established miniature-park attraction monetized through ticketed visits, group bookings, and on-site F&B, with strong brand recognition in its home market.
• Bekonscot Model Village: Historic model village in Beaconsfield, UK, founded in 1929, depicting a miniature English country town with running trains. Comparable as a long-running ticketed miniature-village attraction with model railroading as a core element.
• Minimundus: Miniature park in Klagenfurt, Austria, displaying scaled world landmarks. Comparable as a European ticketed miniature attraction serving family/tourist segments with similar dwell-time and pricing model.
• Mini-Europe: Miniature park in Brussels displaying scaled European landmarks. Comparable in business model (ticketed miniature-park attraction, family audience, on-site F&B) and category (miniature landmarks).

Emerging players

• Northlandz: Large model railway attraction in Flemington, New Jersey, featuring one of the world's largest model railroads with interactive miniature worlds. Comparable in interactive miniature worlds and model railroading as core differentiator, but operates at a different scale and geography.

Broad incumbents

• LEGOLAND Billund Resort: Original LEGOLAND resort in Billund, Denmark, combining miniature landscapes, rides, and accommodation. Comparable as a large-scale family attraction featuring built miniatures; broader portfolio and significantly larger operator, hence broad incumbent rather than direct peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Smilestones1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smilestones