Things to do in Basel, Switzerland
Aug 28th, 1998, 06:31 AM
#1
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Things to do in Basel, Switzerland
I will in Basel on 5th to 7th of October. Any suggestions for sightseeing, museum visits, day trips. How is the weather at that time? Is one day trip by rail possible to Jungfraujoch? I will have a Swiss Pass. Are all the train rides included in that?
Aug 28th, 1998, 08:09 AM
#2
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I have spent a little time in Basel. There are many good day trips from there. Basel is a major rail center. Freiburg, Germany is only about an hour or so away and is easy to see in a day trip - great cathedral and pretty town. Colmar, France is not very far away either and is a terrific old Alsatian town. You could probably get to Strausbourg, France in a couple of hours or less. In Switzerland, Bern would be a good choice from there for cities. You could do the Jungfrau. I would suggest taking the first available train all the way to Grindelwald (you may have to change at Bern and/or Interlaken) and then up to Kleine Scheidegg to get on the Jungfrau train. I think it will take you about 3 hours to get to Kleine Scheidegg. Go to the deutsche bahn site to get specifics on time and schedules. There are many places in French Switzerland that would be nice too, but I haven't been to any of those. <BR> <BR>My suggestions are one day in Basel, one in Bern, Freiburg, or Colmar, and one around the Jungfrau. <BR> <BR>Basel isn't as nice as Bern, but it is a nice clean city that is good for a short visit. Make sure to see the Catedral there. <BR>
Aug 28th, 1998, 01:31 PM
#3
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Hi! Basel is a very pleasant town, I've been working there now for a couple of months. Great museums are the Kunsthalle downtown and the Beyerle-Foundation in Riehen (very close). Don't miss city hall, and as mentioned the cathedral. For cafes, pubs, etc. the area around the Barfuesserplatz is great.
Aug 29th, 1998, 06:07 AM
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Anu, <BR>In addition to the sites mentioned above, consider the Paper Mill Museum. Located in a charming section of the city with 14th century buildings and one of the few remaining town gates, also 14th century, the museum is devoted to paper-making, a once thriving industry in Basel. The Kunstmuseum, by the way, dates to 1662 and has a superb collection of 15th and 16th century paintings as well as works by Renoir and Van Gogh.
Aug 30th, 1998, 06:03 AM
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Anna, <BR> <BR>Thanks for your response! <BR> <BR>I got further information about validity of SwissPass from Swiss Railways after sending an E-mail to them at http:www.sbb.ch. They stated that Swiss Pass covers all the train travel to Jung fraujoch except for journey from Wengen to Jungfraujoch. They also stated that SwissPass covers trains, buses, boats except for some mountain railways. They did not state that discount will be given on Jungfrau journey from and to Wengen. I am sending another E-mail to confirm the availability of discount for SwissPass holders. <BR> <BR>Thanks again, <BR> <BR>Anu
Aug 31st, 1998, 05:32 AM
#8
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The Swiss Pass will get you a discount on the rest of the trip to the Jungfrau. I used one last August. I wish I could remember the exact discount - I believe it was 25%. This would apply to the route from Wengen or Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg and then Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfrau. <BR>
Sep 7th, 1998, 01:04 PM
#9
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Hello---I'm the editor of our Switzerland guide, and visited Basel just a few months ago. The posted suggestions have been good ones, but I do have a couple of cents to pitch in. If you like museums, I'd definitely recommend spending your whole time in the city. The new museum, the Fondation Beyeler, is phenomenal. It's a private collection in a modern, beautifully subdued building. The building's large windows create some stunning images, like the room where huge Giacometti statues seem to almost walk out into the garden, or the room where large panels of Monet paintings are visually echoed by the pool of water seen to one side. In contrast to this modern art/architecture is the rural neighborhood; I heard cowbells ringing from the neighboring fields. It's very easy to get to the museum; you can catch a tram right by the western end of the Mittlere Rheinbrucke bridge, near a visitors' info center. The Kunstmuseum, Paper Museum, and Cathedral are all wonderful as well; there's also a museum for the offbeat work of Jean Tinguely (you can see one of his metamecaniques in the train station). For Roman ruins, you can take a boat to Augusta Raurica. And simply walking along the shady promenades on the edge of the river is a pleasure. In short: don't rush. It's a great city, and you'll have more than enough on your sightseeing plate. <BR>
