Ediee

My husband and I are taking a cruise on the Rhine River next month (beginning Monday, October 12) departing from Basel Switzerland. We could use a little help as to where to stay in Basel for a night or two before the cruise begins. Would like to get a hotel fairly close to where the cruise ship (Grand Circle Travel) departs from if that is possible. Does anyone know that location? Would like a hotel in the price range of under $150/night.

Prior to our arrival in Basel, we will be spending a few days in Paris - arriving there late afternoon Tuesday, October 6. So another question is, having never been to either Paris or Switzerland would spending 4 nights in Paris and 2 nights in Basel work well? We would take a train from Paris to Basel late Saturday afternoon so we would have all day Sunday and part of Monday in Switzerland. I know spending that little time in Basel would only allow us to see a very small portion of the area. What would some suggestions be as what we could do in that amount of time? Or maybe it would it be better to have an extra day in Paris(?) and arrive in Basel on Sunday afternoon the day before our cruise begins. I guess I am torn between seeing a bit of Switzerland, and wanting to see as much of Paris as possible.

Any suggestions you can provide will be very helpful. Thanks!

swandav2000

Hi Ediee,

The docks are actually a bit on the outskirts of town (haven't been there but have seen them on a google map). I think it would be more convenient to stay in the city for your few days and then make the move out to the docks when you leave. It's an easy move by bus or by taxi, but I just think it would be nicer to stay in the city and not have to travel back and forth during your stay.

Also, $150 per night isn't very much for a hotel in the city; that converts to about 155 chf. I just got a hotel through the hrs.de site, and a single for a 3-star was 125 chf without breakfast. I chose a hotel close to the train station for this visit because I'll only be there for one night, arriving and leaving by train, so it's more convenient for me.

On another visit, I stayed at the Hotel Bildungszentrum 21

www.bildungszentrum-21.ch/english/10-hotel/

and I liked it very much. It's run as accommodation for travelling missionaries, and it's just about a ten-minute walk into the old town. Of course it was clean, and the staff were all pleasant. The restaurant was a cafeteria though, which I just don't like.

The hotel shows 200-280 chf for a double on their website, but you may be able to get a better deal if you e-mail them.

Sorry I can't advise you on how to split your days -- I'd want about a week in both! Have you ever been to Paris before?

There's a poster here who lives in Basel who I hope will post some good advice for you. In the meantime, I can say to spend a lot of time in the old town to see the cathedral and the Rathaus at the very least. Walk down the river. If you like history, you may enjoy going to the Augusta Raurica roman ruins outside of town. More information at

www.basel.com

Have fun!

s

sssteve

Ediee,

Great question. We'll probably be in Basel at the same time. We get off the same cruise (Viking?) in the opposite direction on October 11 in Basel.
We plan on spending Sunday (the 11th) in Basel and then going to Luzerne for 3 days.

lincasanova

I enjoyed a long weekend with some friends awhile back.Here is my report if you care to read it.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

Travelnut

We stayed in the Hotel au Violon in Basel in 2003, very nice low/mid-priced and on the Alstadt. I think we had a category B room, modern shower, wooden floors, looked out over the Alstadt. We didn't eat in the restaurant but it was busy both nights we were there.

http://www.au-violon.com/

nytraveler

If you've never been to Paris before I would spend as much time there as I could and just jump over to Basel to pick up the boat. The latter really isn't a tourist city. It has a cute, small old town and not much else (I go there for business) and hotels are mostly expensive for what you get. Also, Basel isn't in the mountains that you really go to Switzerland for - and just a one day trip into them won;t give you the time to really see much.

Ediee

Thanks for all the advise! We have decided to spend one night in Basel instead of two. Having never been to Paris it will be nice to have one more day there. Also, since we are coming in by train we decided to stay close to the train station.

Sssteve - that is funny, we will be in Basel at the same time!

Thanks again for the help!

Michael

You could stay at the easyHotel whose room was of a normal size, unlike the easyHotel in London, but whose en suite bathroom was a translucent pod in the room itself (see picture 042 in this album: http://www.photoworks.com/members/sl...837&key=mksfca). Taking a shower sounded as though one was standing under a tin roof during a thunderstorm. No windows in the room, but on the other hand, it might get you used to the more cramped quarters of a ship.