Basel is Switzerland’s third-largest city and a cosmopolitan destination offering a wide variety of attractions, excellent shopping, and the best in arts and culture.
The city boasts almost 150 museums and galleries, including the renowned Kunstmuseum, the oldest museum in Switzerland, featuring an impressive collection of artwork by Picasso, Chagall, Gaugin, Klee and others. Fondation Beyer is another must-see gallery, with a phenomenal number of works by great masters, including Warhol, Cezanne and Bacon.
The red sandstone Münster Church was constructed in the latter half of the 12th century, and is notable for its two slender towers and a Roman gate adorned with many ancient stone figures. West of the university, the 14th century Spalen Gate, or Spalentor, marks the end of the medieval quarter. The gate has a notable oak portcullis and is adorned with beautiful glass tiles and 15th century figures.
The Basel Zoo is one of the finest zoos in the world, with over 9,000 animals and 650 individual species. The zoo extends over a 10.5-hectare expanse, and is famous for breeding animals in captivity.
Basel has shopping, dining and nightlife to match the excellence of its cultural attractions. The city is permeated with bars and restaurants, speciality food shops and designer clothing stores. The Läckerli-Huus sells Basel’s famous, traditional spiced biscuits. The Flohmarket takes place every week on Petersplatz, and is an excellent place to pick up a bargain.
If you need some respite from the hustle and bustle of the city, then just outside of Basel are some wonderful hiking trails, known as the Wanderweg. Head for Reigoldswil, where you can catch a cable car up to the Wasserfallen mountain peak. From here, you can set off on trails leading in many directions.
Alternatively, in nearby France is the Vosges region, and just over the border with Germany is the famous Black Forest.
Due to the high quality and expansive network of the Swiss, French and German roads, Basel can be reached effortlessly from almost any direction. From Bern, head north on the N1, continuing north on the N2. From Zurich, drive west on the N1, turning north on to the N2.
The city is linked by rail and bus to most major European cities. If you are flying into Basel, you will land at the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, which is eight kilometres over the border in France.
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