I'm taking my father on a river cruise which departs from Basel and we have two days free before boarding the ship. Where would you go for two nights which is reasonably convenint to Basel? Not excited by Zurich for some reason and happy to take a train for a few hours to get to Basel. Thanks

The Music museum in the old jail, the Fondation Beyeler for modern art, the Vitra Chair museum in Weil, Germany, the history museum which has a branch in an old mansion--it has a great collection of watches, old store signs in the basement, a doll collection in the attic, and some rooms in their original state.

Starting with this picture, the set is of Basel.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622927438333/

We went from Basel to Lucerne by train, a very easy journey. Lucerne is very pretty, it's set on a lake with historic covered bridges and mountains in the background. There is a trip you can do to the top of one, I think it's Mt Pilatus. We ran out of time but it sounded good. The visitors centre offered guided walks around the town which we enjoyed.

Kay

Hi TJinSOMA,

I second the idea of Luzern. In addition to ascending Pilatus, you can ascend Rigi and Titlis. You can also visit the mountain village of Engelberg under Titlis, or visit the lakeside villages of Weggis and Vitznau. one of my favorite things to do is to cruise the lakes there, too.

You can find pictures, walks, lists of sights at

www.luzern.org

Have fun!

s

I would spend those two days in Basel. That city is far more interesting than you'll probably think.

I am also wondering why you don't spend the two days in Basel. I've been there for a long weekend end of October last year and found plenty of things to do in and around Basel - and it wasn't my first visit!

Riehen with Fondation Beyeler is very nice, an excursion to the ancient Roman ruins of Augst is interesting, the Jura mountains are just a tram ride away (monastery Mariastein e.g.) ... and so on.

Sounds like we can't go wrong and we've narrowed it down to Basel, Freiburg or colmar. Let us know if one is a stand out over the others. Thanks.

Freiburg is one hour by train, Colmar should be similar. In other words, both make easy day trips from Basel. Staying in Basel means you don't have to drag your luggage along and deal with hotels, and it allows flexibility so you can decide on the spot.

Basel has more to offer in terms of museums than either Colmar or Freiburg.

Thanks all. Not a big museum person but love architecture Agree Basel makes sense and then do a day trip if we want.

Final question - any recommendations on hotels near the old town? I can't really tell from the maps on where is good to stay (prefer some charm in old town but not sure we want to spring for three kings). Thanks

We went to Basel and Freiburg, and two of the group went to Colmar for the day and said they liked it more than Freiburg.

There may be something in my short report that can help you organize your time there.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

You can take the train to Strasbourg.

www.hotelrochat.ch

Here is my review: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/a919b/3/

We stayed at the same place and found it to be the best choice for our budget also.

I'd agree to spend the nights in Basel. We'd been through it several times, and finally stayed for a couple days one year and LOVED the city.
For a wonderful little hotel in an old jail in the heart of the old town:

http://www.au-violon.com/

very quaint atmospheric hotel.. au violin. It was more than we wanted to spend but it certainly would be the IDEAL place if it is in your budget. It's just a couple blocks from Hotel Rochat.

Thanks all. Glad to hear Basel is worth a couple days. I have to say the pics I've seen aren't exactly inspiring. My only other thought is should we just spend the two nights in Colmar since it appears to be very cute. There appears to be a non-stop bus from the Basel airport to Colmar so if people think it would be better for a couple days, seems pretty painless.

Appreciate the hotel recs. I'd love to try the three kings but I think my dad would have a heart attack when he saw the price so glad to have a couple other recs.

Basel's old town is picturesque also. Just different - no timber-framed houses, stone instead. Basel is of course larger than Colmar which cannot compete with Basel when it comes to museums/attractions/sights.

Of course Colmar is an option if you feel drawn to it. No problem to keep you busy there for a full day, either. But if you ask for my opinion - I'd stick with Basel.

For more pictures of Basel see my page on Virtualtourist.com:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/a919b/

And this is my Colmar page:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/1f59f/

I.