Days Out in Switzerland – Trip to Basel
If you fancy a day trip from Zurich, Basel is close enough for a day trip yet different enough to feel really interesting. It’s easily accessible by train, about 55 minutes from Zurich HB with two non-stop trains every hour, as well as additional stopping trains. By car it’s just a little more than an hour. Photographer Alexandra Mizrahi who is based in the city, took time out the other weekend to share some of her photographs of the key sights of the city and to show us some of its beauty.
Bordering both France and Germany Basel is in a unique position with the nearby beauty of the Jura hills surrounding it. The EuroAirport is only 15 mins from the city centre making it a great transport hub. It is also well known as a trade fair and congress city and Basel’s Congress Center is in fact the largest congress centre in the whole of Switzerland.
Basel is of course well known for its Pharma connections, headquartering two of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, Roche and Novartis. Basel is also famous for its arts connection and in particular «Art Basel» has established itself as the leading trade fair for contemporary art in the world. In the realm of jewellery and watches, “BaselWorld” has turned Basel into one of the most important centres for the watch and jewellery industry and BaselWorld is a real event highlight, which takes place every year at the Messe in Basel. Read our latest article about BaselWorld here.
The Jean Tinguely Fountain
Basel is also home to a number of great museums including the Paper Mueum and the Jean Tinguely museum, which is located at Paul Sacher-Anlage 2, close to the river and which offers a fascinating collection.
You can buy a “city to city” ticket costing an extra 5 CHF on top of your rail fare allowing you to use unlimited public transport in the city – however, if you decide to stay overnight at a Basel hotel you get a free “Mobility” public transport ticket included in the price for the duration of your stay. Very handy if you want to explore the city.
Basel Fasnacht
Basel is of course very well known for it famous Carnival or Fasnacht as it is called here. Read here to find out more.
Basel Fasnacht
We’ve just highlighted a tiny number of the attractions and things to do in the city and there are lots more. So if you’re looking for a great day out in Switzerland, why not try a trip to Basel? For more information on Basel please visit the Basel website.
With special thanks to Alexandra Mizrahi for all the wonderful photos shown in this article.
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