linda_e

Hi,
My husband and I will be in Basel on business in late March. We have two or three free days to tour the area. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Linda

linda_e

I've heard that Luzern and Strasborg may be possible to do in a day. What do you think??????????

Patrick

Yes, both are good possibilities.

Are you traveling by car or by train?

Baden-Baden is another interesting day trip. Or you can head to Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls.

linda_e

We will be traveling by train. How long would it take to get to Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls? Would March be an OK time to do that trip?

Thanks,
Linda

Patrick

There are a couple of ways to go. You can take a train direct from Basel (Swiss station) to Shaffhausen in about an hour and three quarters. It actually goes through Zurich, but no change. Or you can go over the river in Basel to the German train station (Basel Bad) and take a direct train in less than an hour.

While it would be cold out -- it's still quite a sight. And there is a loop walk you can do in about an hour, crossing the river on the bridge downriver of the falls and circling back around. You can also take a boat out to the falls -- I'm assuming that it runs in March.

rex

Here's a thread on the French towns of Colmar and Mulhouse:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1363347

Best wishes,

Rex

linda_e

Thanks Patrick and Rex. Colmar sounds like it might be better (and less touristy) than Strasborg.

Linda

rex

You're welcome. But nothing I said should be construed as suggesting that Strasbourg is an "inferior" desination (in fact, did anybody even mention it, in comparison to other choices available to you?)

Of course, it it is quite a bit further from Basel than Colmar or Mulhouse.

But the northern end of Alsace - - say, Riquewihr to St. Hippolyte - - is really quite excellent, and does not mean going "all the way" to Strasbourg.

macanimals

Hi,
It's a perfectly good idea to try to get to Colmar or Baden-Baden as a day trip as both are great for wandering around, sampling the cuisine and checking out their history and architecture. But don't overlook the offerings right there in Basel. On our trip there last summer, we thoroughly enjoyed visits to the Kunsthistoriche Fine Arts Museum downtown and the Beyerle in the suburbs. Those, in addition to others of very specific interests-Puppenhaus Museum, will provide lots of interest in this very compact city. BTW- the local metro system is wonderful.
Have fun,
Paul

Budman

If you have a car, take off for 2-3 days and do the wine route in Alsace. There are 3 sites worth seeing -- Hohneck at the top of the mountain with views for miles, Haut Koenigsbourg Castle, and Mont Ste Odile.

I would stay away from the big cities. Colmar was nice, but another big city and inside, Petit Venice. It was just OK in my opinion.

We preferred the smaller towns along the wine route such as Kaysersberg, Riquewihr, Ribeauville, St Hippolyte, and Obernai.

Baden-Baden would be a stretch for a day trip, but I would only go there if you were going to spend the day/night and enjoy the spas -- and only if you enjoy co-ed nude bathing. I could never get my wife in one of those places, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Michael

The Fondation Beyeler (contemporary art museum) and the Vitra chair museum in Weil will take a leisurely half day.

linda_e

Thanks all. Any ideas about Luzern? Is it a good day trip?

Linda

rcc

I've daytripped Luzern and Strassbourg on more than a couple of occasions from Colmar.
Perhaps, we just didn't get around enough, but Luzern struck us as less off-the-beaten-path and more modern. It's probably better for shopping compared to Alsace.

If given just a couple of daytrips, I'd go with the previous suggestions and go to Colmar, Riquewihr and other nearby Alsaatian wine towns - they're really beatiful

BTilke

Budman, you can wear your bathing suits at the Caracalla spa in Baden-Baden. You can even wear regular old baggy bathing trunks, not Euro Speedos. The Friederichsbad Roman/Irish spa is nude (or FKK as the Germans say), but a couple of days a week, it has separate bathing areas for men and women.

Elainee

Having been to Basel many times while my husband was there on business, there are lots of areas for day trips, but my favorite while he was working was to go to the Handro factory's outlet. I took a train and then a taxi. Call the factory for directions. I still wear my favorite short nightshirts I got for $6 and they sell for $80 in the US.
Kaiseraust (sp?) is a suburb of Basel, it has the ruins of the large Roman outpost on the Rhine. Remember your history class about the Visogoths crossing the Rhine...well, that's where it happened. Excellent amphitheatre, houses, etc. Well worth the time. They might even have the boat trip there in late March. Basel is an excellent city... lucky you!

linda_e

Thanks all.

Elainee,
Do you have any other suggestions? Nice place for lunch or dinner in Basel?

Thanks,
Linda

BTilke

Schlüsselzunft and Zunfthaus zur Saffran are two of the best restaurants in Basel. I also really liked Pomo Doro, an Italian restaurant that has great risotto and past dishes, good salads too.
A hip and trendy spot to have coffee is Fumare/Non Fumare (Smoking, Non Smoking). Although it's one cafe, the smoking and non smoking sections are completely separate, split by the entrance of the building. A former colleague from Basel (where I worked for several weeks) said that all the *cool* people were in the Fumare side, but I'm not so sure about that.
Don't miss the opportunity to do some gourmet food shopping in the ground floor and basement of the Globus department store on the main square. Every time I'm in Basel, I stock up on eaux de vie and liqueurs from Etter brand (a distillery from Zug, Switzerland). The Schiesser family chocolate makers, with a cafe and shop on the Marktplatz, has some of the best (IMHO) chocolate in Europe.

waggis

Hi linda,
You've received some excellent suggestions. To follow up on Elainee's tip, here are the details:
Hanro of Switzerland, Factory Shop in Liestal, Benzburweg 18. Tel. 061 926 55 60. Tuesday through Friday: 10 am to 6 pm. Saturday 9 am to 1 pm. Closed Monday & Sunday. It's a short trip by train or bus from Basel. Once in Liestal, I would also take a taxi. There's a nice coffee shop near the train station in Liestal. Have fun!

linda_e

Thanks everyone. Just printed out this thread to take with us. I'm going to visit the suggested museums on the days my DH is working. We'll try some of the day trip suggestions before and after. We're hoping for decent weather so we can enjoy the countryside.

Linda