Hi, will be spending 6 nights in Switzerland in August before heading down to northern Italy. After arriving in Zurich, 2 nights, and spending a day in Lucerne, we have one night open before heading to Geneva.

Bern and Basel both seemed appealing. Which would you recommend for a day visit with an overnight. We are interested in museums, culture, shopping and the old world atmosphere that both seem to offer. I am leaning towards Bern with its old medieval town, but Basel seems interesting as well in the guidebooks

Thanks for any input from those that have been there.

Safariguy, you're missing the best part of Switzerland, namely the mountains. Unless there's a reason to avoid our beautiful mountains, I wish I could talk you out of staying in Zürich two nights and avoiding Geneva altogether.

Places to see:
Rigi
Titlis
Berner Oberland (Wengen, Schilthorn, Kleine Scheidegg, etc.)

My vote: neither. Go to the mountains!

It is difficult for me to advise which of them is better. Bern is smaller, nice old town. Basel is larger, the Rhine there is nice, the cahedral and art museums are interesting.
Did you plan a trip from Zurich to Stein am Rhine (small, small town with beautiful painted old houses) and to Schafhausen (to see the Rhine falls)?

Are you spending 2 nights in Zurich, Luzern only in transit, 1 night Bern or Basel, and 3 nights Geneva?

Where is your first destination in Italy?

jean, we arrive in zurich at 9 a.m. after an overnight flight from the west coast, so don't know how exhausted we'll be, but yes, we are planning on 3 nights in zurich, with one of the days an all day excursion by train to lucerne, leaving 1 1/2 or 2 days for zurich, then one night in bern or basel, and then 2 nights in geneva.

we'll then take a train to lake como for 2 nights, then to florence for 3 and finally venice for 4 nights at the end . although i'm sure the mountains are fabulous as everyone recommends, we wanted to focus more this trip on museums, old world atmosphere, culture, shopping etc. and not hiking, and also wanted to keep the train transfers to a minimum. just can't decide whether bern or basel would be more rewarding for one day.

Bern is a pretty, charming place and I do like their art museum (I'm less fond of that bear pit). The old town is very picturesque.
However, I would still opt for Basel. Its old town is also very attractive, the shopping is excellent (esp. for bedlinens, housewares, chocolate [Schiesser], gourmet foodstuffs, shoes, and jewelry), and it has several highly regarded museums.
While visiting Basel, I usually stay in the Hotel Basel, very comfortable, contemporary 4-star hotel located in the heart of the old town and a stone's throw from the Marktplatz. Plus has a bar, Sperber, that gets some very good musicians (mostly jazz).

I completely agree with the above posters that Switzerland is all about the scenery, NOT the towns. Much as I like Berne and Basel and I lived in Zurih, I would not chooose Berne OR Basel over an opprtunity to get into the countryside. There are some good art musuems, but you are going to Italy where you will really have access to some of the finest. You will be blown away by Venice, just the art in the churches alone. Basel has a good modern art museum, but would I give that up for the mountains, esp when you are going to Italy? No. And as nice as the old towns are in Berne, Basel and Zurich, there really are nothing compared to the countryside, IMO. You have 6 nights in Switzerland, which is a fantastic opportunity. Even if you spent 2 in Zurich and spent time in the museums there, you could get to the countryside. Skip Lucerne. You could go to the marvelous Engadine by train from Zurich, an easy and very beautiful train ride (St Mortiz and that area) and then get to Como very easily from there (combo of train and bus, or you could take the fantastic Bernina Express Train ride up and over the glaciers and down into Italy to get to Como).

Even if you stick to your original plan, at the very least please skip Geneva and stay down the lake in a town with mopre charm and better mountain views. Vevey, Lausanne, Montreux or even smaller villages. You can go into Geneva for the day if you want. But you can also get to mountain areas like Chateau D'ouex easily if you change your mind when you see those mountains....

Would agree that Stein am Rhine may be better than either Basel or Berne in terms of "old world culture" and "atmosphere".

While Bern is more "old world atmosphere," I would pick Basel for the culture. The Beyeler Foundation art museum is fabulous as is the Tinguely museum. The contemporary gallery along the river is a very nice space, too. I agree that Stein am Rhein is great for old world charm, but in the opposite direction if you are heading next into Italy. Also, you get more of a feel for the place staying over at least one night and walking around after the day-trippers leave.

I also vote for Basel over Bern since museum & culture are important to you. Both places have adequate shopping. As a student, I spent a summer in Basel and did several easy daytrips into Zurich, Lucerne and even Bern.

Schuler is right that the best part of Switzerland is the countryside, however for people who enjoy travelling into cities/towns, there are plenty to enjoy as well. Staying in Bern & Lucerne will however give you easy access to the Swiss Alps or at least give you the alpine views. In case you enjoy visiting small towns with old world atmosphere, you may also consider: Murten(intact citywall fortification), Biel/Bienne(nice architecture), Aarau(oldtown).

If one is into museums, culture, shopping then definitely Basel. Old world atmosphere is to find in both cities.

However, there is one fact to consider: Bern is right on the way between Zurich and Geneva. Basel is a small detour. It would save travel time (and cost) if you opt for Bern. Honestly, you cannot go wrong either way.

In addition to DAX's recommendations I would highly recommend Solothurn. Really old world ambience! Even doable as a two- or three-hour stop on the way to Geneva from Basel.

Ingo

Been to both and both are wondrous but prefer Bern - one of Europe's most underrated cities to me. But culture factor is not important to me.

With that type of train travel be sure to investigate the Swiss Railpass - it also acts as a Museum Pass to over 400 Swiss museums, which can be real pricey. Swiss passes sold in Switzerland but at quite a bit higher than in US for some reason - i just compared prices at www.swisstravelsystem.com and in US - about 20% difference it seems - sinking of the US dollar in part the cause i think as Swiss Passes have not increased in price in $ even though dollar has plunged vs Swiss franc like Euro. I always recommend BETS www.budgeteuropetravel.com for their Swiss rail expertise and willingness to answer questions by phone - and unlike raileurope.com they would have no mail fee except on rush orders - RE charges $18 fee for orders under $399 - which the usual 3-day Swiss Flexipass Saverpass would be. Flexipass is good for one-month period and you have 3 unlimited travel and museum days and on the non 100% travel days in between you get 50% off everything that moves in Switzerland - pass is good on city buses and trams like in Bern or Basel, lake boats like on Lake Geneva, postal buses, trains... Almost a no-brainer for the type of train travel you indicate. Take you to Italian border for cheap Italian trains where point-point tickets are better deal than passes. (Buy supplemental ticket for Italian portion in Switzerland so you need not get off the train at the first Italy station to do so.)

Ingo is spot on with Solothurn, it's a fun lively town for a lunch stop. I originally had Solothurnt on my list to recommend to you in my previous post but removed it thinking that it felt more like an alsatian town rather than a swiss town. My favorite is however Murten because it has the most medieval ambiance and the least tourist crowd.

I stayed in Solothurn a couple years back. It is a wonderful city. Very easy to get lost in the old town as you follow the winding streets! (But we had fun finding our way out!)

I would suggest rather than making Lucerne just a day trip, you spend at least one night there, using it as your base for a day in the mountains instead of doing Bern or Basel. (BTW, I'd vote for Bern, as I find it to be a wonderful city. If you go, pay the couple francs to go to the top of the big church. Fabulous views of the city.)