Our Switzerland – Basel travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

Located on both sides of the Rhine, Basel is an interesting arty city  offers its visitors diverse cultures, modern arts, an interesting history and a magnificent architecture. It’s known for its spectacular carnival ranks with those of Venice and Rio de Janeiro and which has grown to be one of the biggest in the whole of Switzerland. Basel is the third  largest Swiss city and one of the country’ major tourist destination. Its medieval past is endowed with some of the greatest minds of European history, including Erasmus, Friedrich Nietzsche and Hermann Hesse.

Basel has a beautiful medieval old town center – Grossbasel, ruled by the Monster cathedral where the bones of the reformist Erasmus are buried. Rich in old architecture, Basel welcomes you with plenty of historical landmarks include the richly decorated red sandstone town hall (Rathaus), the late Romanesque-Gothic cathedral (Münster) etc. There are also and various examples of high quality contemporary buildings, designed by renowned architects such as Herzog & de Meuron, Mario Botta, Diener & Diener and more.

 There are almost 40 internationally known museums make Basel the city with the highest density of museums in the country. Museums Highlights: Basel Art Museum boasts one of the oldest public art collections in the world, Jean Tinguely Museum houses the unique metal sculptures by Tinquely, Fondation Beyeler Museum where special exhibitions are displayed in the 127-metre-long modern building designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano and more more.

There are plenty of excellent ways to cool off in the summer and numerous visitors to Basel choose to relax onboard a boat trip along the River Rhine, enjoying the views and the gentle breezes. Excursion boats provide opportunities for views of the city from the Rhine. Basel is also a gateway to the Swiss Jura Mountains and nearby cities of Zurich and Lucerne.