Discover Basel

About Basel

Basel is Switzerland's most cosmopolitan small city — a wonderfully cultured Rhine river town on the country's far northwest corner, where the Swiss, French, and German borders meet within sight of the cathedral (you can literally walk between the three countries in 20 minutes), with the highest density of museums per capita of any city in Europe (40+ museums for 175,000 people). The compact medieval Old Town climbs steeply up from the Rhine to the dramatic red sandstone Basel Minster (Münster, 12th-15th centuries, where the great Renaissance humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam is buried) and the cobbled Market Square with its riotously colourful Rathaus (16th-century town hall covered in painted decoration). The Rhine itself is the city's spine: in summer, locals swim downstream in the fast clean current carrying their clothes in waterproof Wickelfisch bags — the city's most beloved tradition. The headline museum is the Kunstmuseum Basel (the oldest public art collection in the world, opened 1671, with major Holbeins, Witzs, Böcklins, and a brilliant 20th-century collection including Picasso, Käthe Kollwitz, and the Cubists). The Fondation Beyeler in suburban Riehen (15-min tram) is one of Europe's finest private collections, in a stunning Renzo Piano building set in a tulip-field garden. Don't miss the Tinguely Museum (the kinetic sculptures of Basel-born Jean Tinguely), Vitra Design Museum just over the German border, and the famous Art Basel fair every June.