Basel Wrap-up

15 October 2025.

Schweizerdeutsch and Italian mix with occasional Chinese and other tongues and reverberate off the buildings in our neighborhood. Children play outside and even adults glide by on scooters and bikes, laden with packages from the nearby Migros. Apartments blocks are six-stories high and and tightly packed, as with any high-density city. Parking is scarce. This normal, middle-class neighborhood in a vibrant city has been our home these past two weeks.

We chose Basel as a base for two reasons: (1) It is somewhere we have never spent any time and (2) its location in the tri-country region, the Dreiländereck (border triangle) of Switzerland, Germany and France, offered the opportunity to explore a small part of Germany, the French Alsace, and this pocket of Switzerland.

Ric at Cité du Train, the largest railway museum in Europe, with a vintage carriage; One of many vignettes staged in older railroad carriages, this one depicting an Italian family in 3rd class early 20th century. The oldest locomotive in the collection.

This year’s plan is to spend two weeks in each of three mostly new-to-us locations, establish a base, and explore the area. Samedan, our earlier stop, we had passing familiarity with as we had stayed in nearby Pontresina twice (see On the Road Again). Our familiarity with Basel extended to changing trains here several times over the years and grabbing a coffee in the station.

Our apartment is on the 3rd floor (4th American) of a late 20th century building: in other words, modern. Jennifer, our kind host, fully remodeled the unit a couple of years ago so it is quite comfortable and easy to live in. The windows have great soundproofing and automated shutters, critical as those charming neighborhood sounds become annoying when the gathering across the street, watching a match on Saturday night, cheering and jeering, are still doing so at bedtime. There are three grocery stores within easy hoofing distance, and the tram stop is the next block over.

Basel is a nice, medium-size city with a charming Alt Stadt (old city). People slip in-and-out of German, Swiss German, French, Italian, and English seamlessly. As a crossroads for centuries (the Mittlerebrücke is one of the oldest bridges on the Rhine and in the 14th  century became a significant crossing for international trade) the residents are accustomed to foreigners, although these days many visitors are here to take a Rhine River cruise, or to finish one.

The Basel Rathaus, 500 years old. The Swiss pronounce it ROTE-haus which is a play on the color red; Halloween window decor; My delightful Pacific omelet at Sunday brunch

Exploring has been challenging without a car. I thought briefly about renting one for two or three days, but I find that stressful overseas. I do not even like driving at home so one of the benefits of our travel method is not having to drive AT ALL. The trains are, of course, amazing, but transit times can be frustrating. It takes 1.5 to more than 2 hours each way for some of the places I had scoped out to visit. That’s fine a couple of times a week, but not daily.

Scenes from Freiburg im Breisgau: The Munster from the top of the Schlossberg; The unique channels in the street to manage water accentuated with little figures in front of a toy store.

Still, we found things to do and visited some lovely and interesting places.

• Our path to lunch “art” walk (Crossing Borders) was obscure but lovely and so very close to the city yet far away in atmosphere.

• A circuit through vineyards above Turckheim and lunching on an Alsatian specialty, the Tarte Flambé.

• Visiting the old towns of Solothurn, Freiburg im Briesgau, Neufchâtel, and Rheinfelden, each with its own character and few tourists.

• The largest railway museum in Europe, the Cité du Train at Mulhouse (muh-LOOZ) France. Unbelievably well curated and interesting.

• An informative and free city walking tour in Basel (tips appreciated and well worth it).

• The Basel Zoo where we were introduced to species with which we were unfamiliar. Black-and-rufus Sengi, anyone?

• A walk in an Alsatian wetland La Petite Camargue Alsacienne, just a quick train ride into France, near the airport, but a world apart.

Cute little Turckheim top row: Gate, once imposing now welcoming; Main square with church; my Alsatian Pizza, aka Tarte Flambé. Bottom row: Vineyards surround Turckheim. We saw almost no one on our walk, just farmers in their fields. Last photo, the Collegiate Church at Neuchǎtel.

We are not museum people, as a rule. These days they are places to go when there is bad weather or there is a particular show or collection to view. (Although, I would go the the Orsay any day, if only for the Van Goghs.) The Tinguely Museum, with creations from the mind of an innovative mid-20th century artist, Jeannot Tinguely, was well worth our time. That said, there are abundant museums of interest and one could fill two or three days. But we had good weather so ventured out.

Tinguely Fountain, Basel

We missed several places I had hoped to go in the Alsace due to travel times. 2.5 hours each way to Ribeauville was not happening. Ditto the long ride to Strasbourg. The best parts of the Black Forest were just awkward and lengthy to get to from here without a car.

Should we have rented a car? It would have cut travel times but added expense. The train fares, even with a Swiss Half Fare Card, added up quickly. Nothing is cheap in Switzerland, although it was a pleasure to pay in Euros when we ate in France and Germany.

Would we come back? Not for such a long stay, but should an itinerary require a night or two in Basel, gladly.

A two-week stay gives you the chance to get to know a place in a way you cannot in short stay. Not every sight is a Rick Steves Triple Diamond must see, but then we are not fighting the hordes in Europes hot spots. There’s a lot of pleasure in that.

Now we are in Ferrara, Italy, another town that is not on the itinerary of most travelers. So happy to be back in Italy! More to come…

Cin Cin from the land of aperitivi!

Tags: Basel, Cité du Train, Freiburg im Briesgau, Germany, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Tinguely, Turckheim