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Basel
Basel, this is our first stop on an 80-day adventure through France. We arrive in Basel first week of April, cross the border and start our holiday in the Alsace Region for 10 days. But I’m ashamed to say I never really thought much about Basel except to land until now. I welcome any recommendations!! Thanks so much in advance!
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The airport of Basel is in Alsace. There are regular airport buses to Basel (Switzerland), to Freiburg (Germany) and to St. Louis railway station (France). At St. louis you find frequent trains to Mulhjouse - Colmar - Strasbourg.
The city of Basel https://www.basel.com/en is famous for it's many outstanding museums, the gothic cathedral in the medieval city center and the Roman theatre of Augusta Raurica .neartby. |
We had family living there, and took the train down from Frankfurt, so no advice about travel from the airport.
Basel has a very, very pretty river front and city center. It is also quite expensive, but if you have a free day, and if it is easy, you might as well see a bit while you are there. |
Originally Posted by lilyr2000
(Post 17334738)
Basel, this is our first stop on an 80-day adventure through France. We arrive in Basel first week of April, cross the border and start our holiday in the Alsace Region for 10 days. But I’m ashamed to say I never really thought much about Basel except to land until now. I welcome any recommendations!! Thanks so much in advance!
https://flic.kr/p/7pG4nn If interested in modern art, the Fondation Beyerler at the end of one of the tram lines: https://flic.kr/p/7pL4aS and just outside Basel but in Germany, there is the Vitra chair museum housed n a Frank Gehry building: https://flic.kr/p/7pKZbd |
The best known museums of Basel are:
Antikenmuseum Fondation Beyeler Kunstmuseum Tinguely Museum Museum der Kulturen Jewish Museum Historic Musesum Open air Roman museum of Augusta Raurica Museum für Musikautomaten Seewen In addition, there are more than other 20 minor museums. About 10 castles are less than 1 hr away. |
Hopefully, WeisserTee will see and respond to your post since she LIVES in Basel
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Yes, just seeing it now. Naturally I do think Basel is worth at least overnight, but rather than simply giving you a laundry list of sights, what are your interests? For example, if you are interested in the decorative arts, you would enjoy the Haus zum Kirschgarten (one of our favorites). https://www.hmb.ch/en/museums/haus-zum-kirschgarten/ If you like exploring historic neighborhoods, then have a poke around the St. Alban area. Whether you would enjoy the well-known Fondation Beyeler depends on your interests. For example, the main exhibition during your visit features Georgia O'Keeffe. This one doesn't appeal to us as my husband's parents lived in Taos and we've already seen her works in Santa Fe etc.
The most interesting pair of museums, in our opinion, is the main art museum and the antiquities museum across the street. Unfortunately, the absolutely terrific Pissarro exhibition ended in late January, but the museum's own collections are excellent, especially if you have an interest in Swiss and German paintings (we like them a lot). The museum's collections are quite extensive and cover a wide range of artists and periods -- it definitely punches above its weight, considering that Basel is not that large a city. At the antiquities museum across the street, there is an exhibition going until June on how animals and "hybrid" creatures were portrayed in antiquities -- that is on our list to visit. Regarding places to stay, we highly recommend the new Hotel Maerthof right by Marktplatz. It also has a popular bistro. https://www.hotel-maerthof-basel.ch/de.html Just down the block is an adventurous new restaurant, The Alchemist. Looks like fun; we haven't tried it yet but friends who have give it high marks. https://www.alchemistbasel.ch/en/ For people who'd like a more traditional dining experience, we recommend the Brasserie at Les Trois Rois or Schlüsselzunft, which has just re-opened. https://schluesselzunft.ch/en/ There are plenty of others worth trying like Gasthof zum Goldenen Sternen https://www.sternen-basel.ch/ or Sperber at the Hotel Basel https://www.hotel-basel.ch/de/restaurants/sperber/ If you're interested in shopping, although chain stores have a growing presence here, there are plenty of independently owned stores and galleries worth exploring. Anyway, you get the idea -- if you come back and post your "wish list" for sights, dining, etc, we can come up with something that best fits your interests. By April, I suspect that locals will working back in their offices as least on a hybrid level. I happen to work in the tallest currently occupied building in Switzerland (will be moving offices to the even taller building across the street later this year), so depending on when your visit takes place, I could take you up to its top floor cafe with views of Basel, the nearby countryside, the Black Forest in Germany, Alsace and beyond. |
(Hi Weisser Tee!)
Excellent suggestions - I just want to add that I loved Haus zum Kirschgarten and the Art museum. Since Basel is also known as "pharmacy of the world" you might want to see the pharmacy museum - pharmaziemuseum.ch - a bit quirky, but very interesting. I also enjoyed the museum of musical instruments very much. Very much off the beaten path is the Orphanage (former Carthusian monastery, a late Gothic ensemble) - you can see the fountain with the Caritas figure (1677), the church and remains of the cloisters with impressive frescos, the dining hall (Refektorium) and the unique Zschekkenbürlin-room. Ask the friendly lady at the entrance and she will give you the keys for the church/cloisters, the dining hall and the Zschekkenbürlin room - and go on exploring on your own! www.waisenhaus-basel.ch Another favourite of mine is museum Kleines Klingental where the original sculptures from the Münster church are on display, where you can see a city model and some remaining rooms of the nunnery like the large and small refectories and even a cell of a nun. www.kleines-klingental.ch Don't miss to see some of the major churches - Minster, St. Peter an St. Leonhard are *must sees* IMO. If you don't want to spend a fortune I recommend hotel Rochat www.hotelrochat.ch If you are into chocolate don't miss Confiserie Schiesser with cafe/tea room Confiserie Schiesser |
[QUOTE=lilyr2000;17334738]Basel, this is our first stop on an 80-day adventure through France. We arrive in Basel first week of April, cross the border and start our holiday in the Alsace Region for 10 days. But I’m ashamed to say I never really thought much about Basel except to land until now. I welcome any recommendations!! Thanks so much in advance!
|
Originally Posted by neckervd
(Post 17335068)
The airport of Basel is in Alsace. There are regular airport buses to Basel (Switzerland), to Freiburg (Germany) and to St. Louis railway station (France). At St. louis you find frequent trains to Mulhjouse - Colmar - Strasbourg.
The city of Basel https://www.basel.com/en is famous for it's many outstanding museums, the gothic cathedral in the medieval city center and the Roman theatre of Augusta Raurica .neartby. |
Originally Posted by neckervd
(Post 17335175)
The best known museums of Basel are:
Antikenmuseum Fondation Beyeler Kunstmuseum Tinguely Museum Museum der Kulturen Jewish Museum Historic Musesum Open air Roman museum of Augusta Raurica Museum für Musikautomaten Seewen In addition, there are more than other 20 minor museums. About 10 castles are less than 1 hr away. |
Originally Posted by Ingo
(Post 17335639)
(Hi Weisser Tee!)
Excellent suggestions - I just want to add that I loved Haus zum Kirschgarten and the Art museum. Since Basel is also known as "pharmacy of the world" you might want to see the pharmacy museum - pharmaziemuseum.ch - a bit quirky, but very interesting. I also enjoyed the museum of musical instruments very much. Very much off the beaten path is the Orphanage (former Carthusian monastery, a late Gothic ensemble) - you can see the fountain with the Caritas figure (1677), the church and remains of the cloisters with impressive frescos, the dining hall (Refektorium) and the unique Zschekkenbürlin-room. Ask the friendly lady at the entrance and she will give you the keys for the church/cloisters, the dining hall and the Zschekkenbürlin room - and go on exploring on your own! www.waisenhaus-basel.ch Another favourite of mine is museum Kleines Klingental where the original sculptures from the Münster church are on display, where you can see a city model and some remaining rooms of the nunnery like the large and small refectories and even a cell of a nun. www.kleines-klingental.ch Don't miss to see some of the major churches - Minster, St. Peter an St. Leonhard are *must sees* IMO. If you don't want to spend a fortune I recommend hotel Rochat www.hotelrochat.ch If you are into chocolate don't miss Confiserie Schiesser with cafe/tea room Confiserie Schiesser |
Originally Posted by WeisserTee
(Post 17335523)
Yes, just seeing it now. Naturally I do think Basel is worth at least overnight, but rather than simply giving you a laundry list of sights, what are your interests? For example, if you are interested in the decorative arts, you would enjoy the Haus zum Kirschgarten (one of our favorites). https://www.hmb.ch/en/museums/haus-zum-kirschgarten/ If you like exploring historic neighborhoods, then have a poke around the St. Alban area. Whether you would enjoy the well-known Fondation Beyeler depends on your interests. For example, the main exhibition during your visit features Georgia O'Keeffe. This one doesn't appeal to us as my husband's parents lived in Taos and we've already seen her works in Santa Fe etc.
The most interesting pair of museums, in our opinion, is the main art museum and the antiquities museum across the street. Unfortunately, the absolutely terrific Pissarro exhibition ended in late January, but the museum's own collections are excellent, especially if you have an interest in Swiss and German paintings (we like them a lot). The museum's collections are quite extensive and cover a wide range of artists and periods -- it definitely punches above its weight, considering that Basel is not that large a city. At the antiquities museum across the street, there is an exhibition going until June on how animals and "hybrid" creatures were portrayed in antiquities -- that is on our list to visit. Regarding places to stay, we highly recommend the new Hotel Maerthof right by Marktplatz. It also has a popular bistro. https://www.hotel-maerthof-basel.ch/de.html Just down the block is an adventurous new restaurant, The Alchemist. Looks like fun; we haven't tried it yet but friends who have give it high marks. https://www.alchemistbasel.ch/en/ For people who'd like a more traditional dining experience, we recommend the Brasserie at Les Trois Rois or Schlüsselzunft, which has just re-opened. https://schluesselzunft.ch/en/ There are plenty of others worth trying like Gasthof zum Goldenen Sternen https://www.sternen-basel.ch/ or Sperber at the Hotel Basel https://www.hotel-basel.ch/de/restaurants/sperber/ If you're interested in shopping, although chain stores have a growing presence here, there are plenty of independently owned stores and galleries worth exploring. Anyway, you get the idea -- if you come back and post your "wish list" for sights, dining, etc, we can come up with something that best fits your interests. By April, I suspect that locals will working back in their offices as least on a hybrid level. I happen to work in the tallest currently occupied building in Switzerland (will be moving offices to the even taller building across the street later this year), so depending on when your visit takes place, I could take you up to its top floor cafe with views of Basel, the nearby countryside, the Black Forest in Germany, Alsace and beyond. |
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