Hi, <BR>I am currently in Cologne, Germany and <BR>I am heading down to Nice, France. I <BR>want to make a stop in Switzerland and <BR>Basel seems the easiest. Is Basel a <BR>city to visit?? Any replies are appreciated...thanks <BR>mike

Mike, <BR>I've never been there, but if half of what I read about Basel is true, it's worth a visit. Plenty of history, culture and great food. <BR>

I spent a few hours in Basel on the way into Germany once. I think there are many better cities to visit in Switzerland, but if your route puts you much closer to Basel, I believe it is worth a stop. I didn't really get a chance to visit the cathedral, which is supposed to be nice. It is pretty easy to walk the old town in a short period of time. I much preferred Freiburg, Germany, which is just a little to the north, and Basel doesn't really hold a candle to Bern as far as sightseeing goes. Still, Basel does have a Swiss feel to it, so it doesn't feel like you are in another city in Germany. This was the first place I had visited in Switzerland, so I could say I had been to Switzerland. However, I didn't really feel that I had been to Switzerland until I saw the Alps on a later trip. The bottom line is, I think it is worth visiting. Hope this helps with your decision.

Mike: Basel certainly is worth a visit. It may be Switzerland's most underrated attraction. The old town still is one of the largest in the country and the public art gallery probably is the best in Switzerland. <BR> <BR>The reason Dan didn't find it interesting may be due to the fact that the railway station is rather a long way from the city centre (he told that he hadn't seen the cathedral...). <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip to Europe and don't miss Basel. <BR> <BR>Phil.

Didn't mean to suggest that I didn't find it interesting. I didn't have enough time to see as much as I would have liked. Actually we did walk around much of the old town (past the Rathaus) but admittedly and unfortunately didn't get to the cathedral. We were in five countries on this trip before our first real destination, so we were pretty exhausted - bus from Madison, WI to Chicago, flight to Brussels (3-4 hours walking around Brussels on layover), flight to Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (technically in France), shuttle to Basel, train to Freiburg; plus, we were with in a group of 5 people (business students). If by myself, I would have made the effort. In fact, we actually stopped in Basel because we learned from the professor on the way over to Europe that the Basel part of our trip was cancelled (ie., we wouldn't make the daytrip from Freiburg). <BR> <BR>To make a long story short, Basel seems to be a nice place to visit (clean, attractive, interesting architecture), but if given a choice, I prefer other nearby cities of similar size (Bern, Luzern, Freiburg). Of course, Bern and especially Luzern may be out of the way for Mike. Mike, I don't think you will be disappointed with Basel, and it is is very convenient if you are travelling by rail.

It also has a very good art museum, which is worth visiting.