Sitting on a tram into the centre of Basel I get a reminder that, although the official language is German, the spoken language is Swiss German (or Schwiizerdütsch). The only person on the tram talking is a small child in front of me who is animatedly talking to his grandmother. I can catch about one word in ten. I’m not going to pretend that I am fluent in German: I get by But in Switzerland I resort to English.
Basel is in the top North-West corner of Switzerland at the border between France and Germany. It is often overlooked by travellers as it isn’t near the mountains and has somewhat of an industrial air – much of Switzerland’s pharmaceutical industry is based here. But skipping Basel would be a shame as it is a great example of a European city, and it has some truly world class museums.
How to spend a day in Basel
One of the first things you might visit in Basel is the Tinguely Fountain. Whilst not born in Basel, the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely was schooled here and the city claims him as one of their own.
The fountain, also known as the Carnival Fountain, is composed of 10 black sculptures, each one mechanised in a different way. It’s fascinating to watch the way the water reacts differently to each of the movements.
Not far from here is the tourist office, who can help with any information you might need about the city. They have free maps (useful as the steps in the city make Google maps difficult to use) and some links to the free audio walking tours you can get on your smart phone.
Just around the corner from here is the Historisches museum, covering the history of Basel. This sits on Barfüsserplatz which is the site of the main Christmas market in Basel. Unfortunately I was there a week early (the Basel Christmas market starts on the first weekend of Advent) so all I saw were the chalets going up. This did give a feel for the size and importance of the market.
From here it is just a short 5 minute walk to Andreasplatz, a delightful courtyard with a fountain and an excellent little coffeshop Angel oder Aff. You pay at the counter, and they do some rather good savoury pastries.
Walking round the corner brings you face to face with the town hall or Rathaus. One might be forgiven for thinking this means red house given the colour of the facade, but in fact it just means council house. Guided tours are available if you want to visit the council rooms, but you can visit the courtyard with its painted Frescos for free.
The main road leading from the town hall, Freie Strasse, is one of the main shopping streets in the city, but if you turn left and head up some steps you end up in an older part of town and can walk up to the Munster. This is an emblem of the city, and is visible from many parts, particularly along the river. Built out of a pink coloured stone in a gothic style it is quite distinctive. You can visit the crypt but you can’t climb the towers. Go round the back of the building however and you will get a good view of the Rhine.
From this point, climb down some steps to the riverbank and get on of the small ferries that cross the mighty Rhine. (I’m not using that term lightly, it really is quite and impressive river even here, 668km from the point where it enters the North Sea.) The ferries are not powered and use the force of the river to make the crossing. A ticket costs 2CHF (cash only).
There is a rather nice promenade that takes you from the ferry dock on the opposite bank along to the Tinguely museum, going past the two white skyscrapers that dominate the Basel skyline.
Basel is not a high-rise city, so these two buildings, with their striking architecture, really stand out. They are in fact home to the headquarters of the Roche pharmaceutical company. The walk alongside them is very pleasant, with joggers and dogwalkers all sharing the view along the river.
This walk leads to the Tinguely museum, home to many works of kinetic art from the aforementioned Jean Tinguely. Tinguely created sculptures out of scrap metal and mechanized them. The results are a mesmerising mix of cogs and chains and levels and wheels. Many of the sculptures work on a timer that you operate with your foot. A red light means you have to wait, a green one that you can go ahead and push the button. Importantly this means that not all the sculptures in a room are moving at once, so you can appreciate the sound element of them which Jean Tinguely considered as important as the movement.
The largest of the sculptures, Grosse Méta-Maxi-Maxi Utopia, features a theatre curtain that opens and closes on a carousel horse. You can climb on the structure allowing you to see the inner workings from various angles.
A combination of bus and tram takes you back across the river and into the heart of the city. For lunch there are many options, surprisingly perhaps many featuring vegetarian and vegan food. In particular, the Swiss restaurant Tibits, which is a wholly vegetarian and vegan restaurant featuring a buffet where you pay per weight of what you put on your plate. This reminds me somewhat of the pick and mix sweet counter of my youth, where it all seems reasonable until you get to the end and weigh your choices. They do, however, offer an all you can eat brunch on a Sunday which is a good deal (or what passes for a good deal in Switzerland).
Another good lunch option is Unternehmen Mitte, a former bank’s cashier hall that has been converted into a coffee shop. It is popular with nomadic workers and mothers with small children.
Several museums caught my eye for the afternoon, the Natural history Museum for instance or the Cultural museum, both near the Munster, but I chose something more childlike.
The Toy Worlds Museum or Spielzeug Welten Museum has a collection of 2500 teddy bears as well as dolls houses and toy displays. The miniature fairground attractions are particularly eye catching and the 4 floors of toys seemed to be keeping the younger visitors amused, though I confess to finding the number of dolls and teddy bears staring at me somewhat creepy.
By this point in the day I will confess to feeling a little jaded. But what followed was a lesson in the restorative powers of art. It was 5pm and I was tired, my hand hurt because of a wasp sting I got the day before and I may have taken one too many antihistamines because of said wasp stings.
But I hadn’t yet visited the art museum, and I really wanted to check it out while I was in Basel. And it’s free after 5pm (and there is very little that is free in Switzerland).
So I went. And hour later I left the building knowing that I will always remember this day.
The Kuntsmuseum in Basel is one of the best art galleries I’ve ever been to (and I’ve been to a few). It’s huge. It houses some really important pieces from the 19th and 20th century. And I had the place almost to myself. At one point I was alone in a large room with a Picasso. Then I went down a floor, got a bit lost (it really is very large) turned into a side room, and found myself face to face with Van Gogh (literally- it was a self portrait) again I was alone. And I don’t mean alone except the museum guard, I mean alone.
The next room had 4 Cezannes and 5 Pissarros, the following had several Monets and Renoirs. If I had someone to speak to I would have been rendered speechless.
There’s loads of other great art there too, from people I haven’t heard of but now need to research. My favourite was Rest outdoors by Albert Muller.
The building is in two parts, with the more modern part being the one you notice from the street. It is from the brutalist form of architecture that does nothing for me. But the older building is a delight. The floors are beautifully polished wood, the rooms well appointed and there is an overall feeling of peace. As I had gone so late I didn’t get chance to visit the more modern side of the building, I won’t make that mistake next time.
In the evening I took a walk along the river, past the river cruise ship that was docked (they really are quite big) to see the Dreilänereck or three country point. This marks the tripoint where the borders of France, Germany and Switzerland meet. I was hoping it would be lit up in the dark, alas it is not.
Just next to the Dreilänereck is Sandoase. In the summer this is a beach themed cocktail bar with deckchairs and palmtrees, but in winter it turns into an alpine themed Fondu restaurant, complete with cabins and cablecars. You have the choice of either Cheese fondue, or Chinese fondu (where meat is cooked in a broth) or a Tatarenhut which is a sort of conical metal shape which is placed over the fondue burner and has small spikes which you attach meat to cook it.
We (my brother and I) chose the cheese fondu, which was served with a plate of new boiled potatoes, some cubes of bread, and my favourite some chunks of Bretzels. This was washed down with a bottle of Swiss white wine which was the perfect accompaniment to the cheese.
How to get to Basel Switzerland
Getting there couldn’t be easier. You can get a direct train from Paris which will take 3 hours, it has an international airport which it shares with Mulhouse and Freiburg and is well connected to the rest of Switzerland by road and rail.
If you stay at a hotel within the city you should get a Basel card included, this will give you free public transport within the city (the tram service is truly excellent) and 50% off the entrance fee to most museums and attractions.
Is Basel worth visiting?
I would have to say a resounding yes. The art museum alone is worthy of a detour without all the other museums on offer in the city. It doesn’t have the prettiness of Lucerne nor the grandeur of Zurich, but it deserves its place on a European Itinerary.
If you are planning your first trip to Europe then make sure your read How to plan a trip to Europe: the 3 essential first steps
If you need help with planning your trip then check out our services
If you have any questions about travel itineraries in Europe then drop us a line. We are happy to help.
If you want more tips and ideas for visiting Europe then FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM