Basel area for three nights.. suggestions, please?
Sep 11th, 2008, 01:07 PM
#1
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Basel area for three nights.. suggestions, please?
A friend and I are off to basel switzerland on cheap tickets for a three night getaway.. nice to have a break from this heat! ( Ryanair´s 30 euros round trip bargains are hard to resist!)
Having never been to this area, and seeing that the airport is in between fribourg, basel and mulhouse, do you have any suggestions as to the highlights of the area, and which town would be the best base? i am leaning towards basel. teh art museums all look very interesting.
Colmar also looks interesting.. but i do not know how to calculate what we shouldn´t miss.
any b+b ideas under $120 would be appreciated, or restaurants, special sights also.
perhaps france or germany would be a less expensive base? thanks for any suggestions.
Having never been to this area, and seeing that the airport is in between fribourg, basel and mulhouse, do you have any suggestions as to the highlights of the area, and which town would be the best base? i am leaning towards basel. teh art museums all look very interesting.
Colmar also looks interesting.. but i do not know how to calculate what we shouldn´t miss.
any b+b ideas under $120 would be appreciated, or restaurants, special sights also.
perhaps france or germany would be a less expensive base? thanks for any suggestions.
Sep 11th, 2008, 01:38 PM
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I don't know Basel, but Schaulager is there and it's known for contemporary art. I've been to Colmar for a few hours and the Unterlinden Museum there should be on your itinerary. It has a very important work from the German Renaissance by Gruenewald called the Issenheim Altarpiece. I actually went there in February to see this in a special exhibition on Gruenewald. The town itself is also quite charming.
Strasbourg is close to Colmar and well worth a visit too.
Strasbourg is close to Colmar and well worth a visit too.
Sep 11th, 2008, 01:38 PM
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Hi lincasanova,
I think Basel itself should be your base. It's a lovely city right on the river with a fascinating historical core and a lovely medieval old town. The city is often overlooked! The first time I visited, I only stayed a few hours; the second time I stayed an afternoon; the third time I stayed three days. And the next time I visit, I'll stay a week. There is a lot to do.
If you enjoy history, definitely see the Augusta Raurica outside of town. Otherwise, make sure you spend time at the medieval town hall and of course the Münster. And, yes, there are just a whole range of museums to visit.
You can find out more information about the city and all accommodation at its tourist site,
www.basel.com
Have fun!
s
I think Basel itself should be your base. It's a lovely city right on the river with a fascinating historical core and a lovely medieval old town. The city is often overlooked! The first time I visited, I only stayed a few hours; the second time I stayed an afternoon; the third time I stayed three days. And the next time I visit, I'll stay a week. There is a lot to do.
If you enjoy history, definitely see the Augusta Raurica outside of town. Otherwise, make sure you spend time at the medieval town hall and of course the Münster. And, yes, there are just a whole range of museums to visit.
You can find out more information about the city and all accommodation at its tourist site,
www.basel.com
Have fun!
s
Sep 11th, 2008, 02:00 PM
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Sounds like fun! We went to Basel for a day while staying in the town of Badenweiler Germany, about 15 miles from Basel. We rented a little apartment at the Hotel Rebekka mit Haus am Brühl website is: www.hotel-am-bruehl.de. They also had just rooms. It was comfortable and quite simple with all that we required. Plus, the added bonus of being across the street from a cow pasture, we love cows.
The biggest drawback to Badenweiler was that it was astronomically high to take our rental car into Switzerland. So, I’d either stay in Basel or find another mode of transpo to go in.
While in Basel we went to the Museum Tinguely and it was well worth our trip but he's an artist that we already loved his work (and that of his wife Niki de Saint Phalle).
We also went to the Vitra Design Museum in in Weil am Rhein. Unless you love architecture and design, it may not shoot to the top of your must see list.
The biggest drawback to Badenweiler was that it was astronomically high to take our rental car into Switzerland. So, I’d either stay in Basel or find another mode of transpo to go in.
While in Basel we went to the Museum Tinguely and it was well worth our trip but he's an artist that we already loved his work (and that of his wife Niki de Saint Phalle).
We also went to the Vitra Design Museum in in Weil am Rhein. Unless you love architecture and design, it may not shoot to the top of your must see list.
Sep 11th, 2008, 02:15 PM
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From my trip report, which is not yet posted:
When we arrived in Basel at 5:30 a.m., the flight leaving at the ungodly hour of 3:25 a.m. from Istanbul. The bus to the train station was right there, so we grabbed and it was only after we were on the bus that my wife told me that I was supposed to purchase a ticket from a machine on the platform. I suspect that many tourists do the same thing. We were not checked and arrived at the Basel train station where we stored our luggage (6 or 8 CHF depending on the size of the locker). This time we had to use a bigger locker because we had a third bag containing our Turkish purchases. Compared to the standard prices we had found in Great Britain (6 GBP per piece of luggage), the storage was a deal.
While in Basel we visited several museums: The <b>Basel Art Museum</b> ($35) for an exhibit of Soutine whom we had discovered in the Barnes Collection, the <b>Fondation Beyerler</b> if only for the Renzo Piano building (half price entry because half the museum was closed for installation), and the <b>Basel Historical Museum</b> which has a great watch collection, period rooms, children's toys and doll houses in the attic, and other historical artifacts. To get around, we purchased a day pass (I don't recall the cost but it is cheap) and we received a great gift of a free streetcar map from a passer-by who was helping us find the location of our hotel. We used it constantly, hopping on and off the street car without worries, whether we had to go two blocks or to the end of the line.
We stayed at the <b>easyHotel</b>. In another trip report (http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35050229) I described the easyHotel in London. We were a little apprehensive, but it turned out that this room was bigger with a decent size bathroom. The lack of window was OK for an overnight stay, but I would not want to stay in such a room for more than one or two nights. The bathroom door is built out of translucent plexiglass, so that there is little privacy when using it. Taking a shower is a noisy enterprise, as the water falling on the plastic floor sounds like a thundershower on a tin roof. The lighting is all or nothing even though there are recessed lights behind the bed, but they are not on a separate switch from the overhead light. But the place was very clean and cheap. My recollection is that the room cost 42 CHF which was surprising because the easyHotel price in Zurich listed on the Internet was twice as much. The price includes a <b>free transit pass</b> for both days. They are strict about checking out on time and I suspect that the electronic codes are automatically changed at 10 a.m., which means that if one leaves the room at 10:05, one cannot get back in until 2 p.m. when the front desk is manned again.
With our free pass we simply checked out of the hotel--it's on a regular streetcar line--and went to the train station to use the lockers. We then spent the morning in the Basel Historical Museum, purchased items for a picnic lunch (there is a Migros supermarket in the train station), had one on a park bench and then took the public transit bus to the airport (using our transit pass). A word of <b>warning</b>: while we were not checked when using the bus from the airport at 6 a.m., we had our passes <b>checked</b> the next day. My wife and I were separated in two different cars, and I had the passes, but we were able to straighten everything when we got off the tram. We walked over to the French side of the airport and picked up our car from the Europcar agency. By reserving the car from the agency on the French side of the airport, we avoided cross-border drop-off fees since the car was to be returned in Brive-la-Gaillarde. However, we did have to pay a $52 airport fee (billed through our credit card), but taking the bus to Colmar or Mulhouse would have cost almost as much.
When we arrived in Basel at 5:30 a.m., the flight leaving at the ungodly hour of 3:25 a.m. from Istanbul. The bus to the train station was right there, so we grabbed and it was only after we were on the bus that my wife told me that I was supposed to purchase a ticket from a machine on the platform. I suspect that many tourists do the same thing. We were not checked and arrived at the Basel train station where we stored our luggage (6 or 8 CHF depending on the size of the locker). This time we had to use a bigger locker because we had a third bag containing our Turkish purchases. Compared to the standard prices we had found in Great Britain (6 GBP per piece of luggage), the storage was a deal.
While in Basel we visited several museums: The <b>Basel Art Museum</b> ($35) for an exhibit of Soutine whom we had discovered in the Barnes Collection, the <b>Fondation Beyerler</b> if only for the Renzo Piano building (half price entry because half the museum was closed for installation), and the <b>Basel Historical Museum</b> which has a great watch collection, period rooms, children's toys and doll houses in the attic, and other historical artifacts. To get around, we purchased a day pass (I don't recall the cost but it is cheap) and we received a great gift of a free streetcar map from a passer-by who was helping us find the location of our hotel. We used it constantly, hopping on and off the street car without worries, whether we had to go two blocks or to the end of the line.
We stayed at the <b>easyHotel</b>. In another trip report (http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35050229) I described the easyHotel in London. We were a little apprehensive, but it turned out that this room was bigger with a decent size bathroom. The lack of window was OK for an overnight stay, but I would not want to stay in such a room for more than one or two nights. The bathroom door is built out of translucent plexiglass, so that there is little privacy when using it. Taking a shower is a noisy enterprise, as the water falling on the plastic floor sounds like a thundershower on a tin roof. The lighting is all or nothing even though there are recessed lights behind the bed, but they are not on a separate switch from the overhead light. But the place was very clean and cheap. My recollection is that the room cost 42 CHF which was surprising because the easyHotel price in Zurich listed on the Internet was twice as much. The price includes a <b>free transit pass</b> for both days. They are strict about checking out on time and I suspect that the electronic codes are automatically changed at 10 a.m., which means that if one leaves the room at 10:05, one cannot get back in until 2 p.m. when the front desk is manned again.
With our free pass we simply checked out of the hotel--it's on a regular streetcar line--and went to the train station to use the lockers. We then spent the morning in the Basel Historical Museum, purchased items for a picnic lunch (there is a Migros supermarket in the train station), had one on a park bench and then took the public transit bus to the airport (using our transit pass). A word of <b>warning</b>: while we were not checked when using the bus from the airport at 6 a.m., we had our passes <b>checked</b> the next day. My wife and I were separated in two different cars, and I had the passes, but we were able to straighten everything when we got off the tram. We walked over to the French side of the airport and picked up our car from the Europcar agency. By reserving the car from the agency on the French side of the airport, we avoided cross-border drop-off fees since the car was to be returned in Brive-la-Gaillarde. However, we did have to pay a $52 airport fee (billed through our credit card), but taking the bus to Colmar or Mulhouse would have cost almost as much.
Sep 11th, 2008, 03:28 PM
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i keep coming back to this lovely place..
so reasonable. ( about 88 euros/night per double room)
http://www.hotels-francepatrimoine.c...y/en/acces.htm
so reasonable. ( about 88 euros/night per double room)
http://www.hotels-francepatrimoine.c...y/en/acces.htm
Sep 12th, 2008, 01:40 AM
#10
We are staying just for one night in Basel in a few weeks. Our hotel is right next to the train station as we leave the next day for Lucerne.
http://www.schweizerhof-basel.ch/
Our hotel booking includes a free transit pass for the Basel area, apparently we can also get free transport from the airport to our Basel hotel but not sure how this works as all we will have is a printout of our booking. I was pretty amazed to get free transport included in the cost of a hotel, have never heard of that anywhere before.
Kay
http://www.schweizerhof-basel.ch/
Our hotel booking includes a free transit pass for the Basel area, apparently we can also get free transport from the airport to our Basel hotel but not sure how this works as all we will have is a printout of our booking. I was pretty amazed to get free transport included in the cost of a hotel, have never heard of that anywhere before.
Kay
Sep 12th, 2008, 02:42 AM
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Hi again,
Well, this place in Basel may be more than you want to spend -- I stayed there and really enjoyed its location. It's not particularly charming or cozy though. The hotel is also a housing center for missionaries --
http://www.bildungszentrum-21.ch/english/10-hotel/
Have fun!
s
Well, this place in Basel may be more than you want to spend -- I stayed there and really enjoyed its location. It's not particularly charming or cozy though. The hotel is also a housing center for missionaries --
http://www.bildungszentrum-21.ch/english/10-hotel/
Have fun!
s
Oct 29th, 2008, 12:56 AM
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There are many things to see in Basel, the old town with Münster and many museums like Kunstmuseum, or Foundation Beyeler.
The zoo in Basel can be recommended to visit, if someone likes zoos.
I stayed in a castle hotel some minutes outside of the city.
http://www.schlossbinningen.ch/hotel...binningen.html
The zoo in Basel can be recommended to visit, if someone likes zoos.
I stayed in a castle hotel some minutes outside of the city.
http://www.schlossbinningen.ch/hotel...binningen.html
