nikhilsharma

Hi all,

I will be spending 2 weeks in Basel, Swizterland where I will be on an official visit, with 1 weekend to spare to roam around.

1. I am planning for Jungfrau (or Titlis) on Saturday (16-Jan).
2. Zurich city on Sunday (17-Jan)

Any other ideas or suggestions?

Also, a friend of mine will be on a tourist visa and staying in Basel with me for 1 week. He plans to make Basel his base and then see places in Germany & Switzerland.

1. What all should my friend see in Switzerland. He will use only day trips and day tours. No overnight stays outside Basel.
2. What day trips can he take from Basel and see in Germany?


Thanks a lot!
Nikhil.

nytraveler

Sorry - but you can;t just pick a day to go to the mountains. You may get there and find the weather good or you may get there and find the whole area socked in with snow and not be able to see much of anything at all. SO you really need to decide what day to go to the Jungfrau in the am when you see the weather (there is a site online which shows the weather there live).

As for Zurich, IMHO this is really a busines city and I wouldn't bother unless you want one of the specific museums. Do Lucerne instead if you want a much more charming city.

As for day trips from Basel into Germany - it is right near the border so there are easy train trips available to Strasbourg (france I know but a great city) and there are numerous places to visit in the Black forest as well as up to Baden Baden. I suggest your friend get a Michelin green guide for Germany and check out the options near Basel - it rates sights by stars and also gives into on how long it takes to see the sights. (I am assuming your friend will use train so info on bahn.de will give all the transit info they need).

sla019

Ad 2. Freiburg is accessible by train within 40 minutes, some parts of the Black forest (e.g., Zell im Wiesental) within 1 hour. In Alsace (France), Colmar, Sélestat and Strasbourg are easy day trips from Basel.

nikhilsharma

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies. Am a little delayed in updating this thread, but this is what we did during our 2 weeks in Switzerland:

1. Weekdays - as we were there on a Business Trip, morning 8.00am to 5.00pm was spent in office, and in the evening explored Basel, and saw most of it except certain places which closed down earlier.

2. Saturday - took an early morning train to Neuchatel, and its old world charm impressed us. The cobbled streets, the snow-front lake, the Funicular train, the Woodward cafe etc. Then we left for Bern and walked around to our heart's contentment. We also saw the Kunst Museum, which had art exhibitions going on.

3. Sunday - started early morning from Basel towards Engelberg to see Titlis. Had a blast of a time in -20 degree Celsius up there, and then warmed ourselves at the base with Glühwein. We had the Glühwein mixed with a shot of Rum, and in no time were we warm as rabbits. Then we headed for Lucerne, and saw all the famous tourist places there. Lucerne was serene, however, as it was Sunday, even the restaurants were shut.

So though it was a short trip, I guess we made the most of it.

Thanks
Nikhil.

bandiroot

nikhilsharma, did you buy train tickets in advance or purchased them on the date of travel? My husband and I will be visiting Basel and we also plan to make day trips to Lucerne, Strasbourg and perhaps Neuchatel.Any additional tips you can share would be highly apreciated. Thanks