Where to stay? Colmar or Basel?
 

Hi! Im in the planning stage of visiting charming towns and villages in Europe next year. My husband and myself will arrive in Mulhouse Basel Airport. We plan to visit Colmar, Strasbourg, Eguisheim all in France and Freiburg in Germany. We plan to see each of these places for a day trip. My dilemma is where to base ourselves, preferably with good train connections to get to these places mentioned. Should we base in Colmar? or Basel? Our last stop before going home is Zurich.

Well I think you need to look at the train schedules to make sure which of these makes the most sense.

Frankly I don;t care for Basel - I had a client there and was numerous times and the whole place closes up at about 9 pm. On the other hand we loved Colmar and found a ton to see and do there.

I loved Colmar, but I spent only a night there. I was headed (eventually) to Berlin mostly by train over two weeks. I stopped in Strasbourg for a few hours on the way to Colmar, and I took a bus/train from Colmar to Freiburg im Breisgau where I spent a few more days.

I haven't been to Basel.

Colmar is small and a little touristy, but it is cute. It's the kind of place full of crooked roads and easy to get lost - charming in that way. Strasbourg is a bit bigger. Before making plans to base yourself in Strasbourg, check hotel reservations; the European Parliament meets there, and if they are in town rooms can book up and/or be expensive.

To day trip to Freiburg from Strasbourg, there's a direct bus (MeinFernBus). Taking a train requires more time and a connection as I recall. The bus/train connection from Colmar to Freiburg works well - a few times a day. Actually, I didn't love Freiburg - it was OK. I enjoyed a day trip (from Freiburg) to the little town of Straufen, easy to reach by train.

We have been to Colmar twice and love it. It's low-key, cute, pretty.

I loved Basel! I haven't yet been to Colmar.

I suspect it depends on what YOU want to see and experience. You might want to spend some time with guidebooks that are more comprehensive than RS -- you can do that in your local library or order a few (always a good investment, IME).

Public transport from Colmar to all places you mention is pretty good and distances are much shorter than from Basel. Threfore, it would make more sense to stay at Colmar.

Basel is much bigger than Comar. It has a charming medieval city center with a beautiful gothic cathedral, tons of outstanding museums, a ancient roman theatre (at Augst nearby), boats plying the Rhine river up to the small medieval city of Rheinfelden....
Basel is a transport hub for day trips to Switzerland, Alsace, Black Forest, Rhine Falls.....
You will pass through Basel on your way to Zurich airport.