Unsettling (Basel (Basle))

Member Name: Belgian999

Product:	Basel (Basle)
Date:	07/06/01 (156 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cathedral, old town, plenty to keep you occupied

Disadvantages: I just didn't feel at home

Basel is a curious city – despite visiting several times over the past year, I still haven’t been won over by its charms, and I don’t really know why! Maybe it’s the strange mix of cultures that exist in this city that sits a little uncomfortably on the Rhine, within a stone’s throw of both Germany and France: Everything is in German, the locals speak their own local dialect of Swiss German, while you are just a short bus ride from the French border, and it feels as if Basel cannot make up its mind just where it belongs.

It’s not as if there isn’t much to do here, either – there is a lovely old town to be explored on the hillside, where you can quite happily while away an afternoon wandering round, and the shopping centre has plenty to offer (with a good selection of British/Irish pubs, which is always a bonus for expats on their travels!). The main squares in the city are Claraplatz and Barfusserplatz, and the Marktplatz is also worth a look, firstly for the market (as the name suggests) but also to see the brightly-painted facade and courtyard of the Rathaus (town hall). A visit to the Munster (cathedral) is well worth it - this was originally built by the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich II in the 13th century, and contains the tomb of Erasmus, the Renaissance scholar.

Every autumn, there is a big Herbstmess (autumn fair) in Basel, and the big wheel is always put up in the cathedral square. As this is already an elevated position, a ride on the wheel gives you fantastic views over the city centre, and back north and west into Germany and France respectively. The rest of the fair is pretty typical; plenty of beer and food stalls interspersed with fairground rides, scattered throughout the pedestrianised areas of the city.

You can also take a boat trip on the Rhine, which is a very pleasant way to while away an afternoon. The services take you up river to Huningue (in France) or Weil (in Germany)
, and further on as well, and you can get a good look at the old buildings in the town centre, or the factories on the French bank of the river, if such things take your fancy!

What I didn’t particularly like was the way that the industrialised areas of Basel lie quite close to the city centre – your first view of Switzerland is not especially impressive, dominated as it is by the container station and sidings, and the chimneys of various chemical factories that huddle near the French border in the suburb of Kleinhüningen. This appears to be a deliberate ploy by the Swiss authorities, as the French part of the border is characterised by run-down buildings and factories, and it looks they have decided to combat like with like, with none-too-pleasant effects.

Basel is favoured by excellent transport links, being extremely easy to reach by road and rail, and it is also served by the Euro-Airport Basel-Mulhouse, which is actually in France. If you are coming from Germany, a good tip is to leave the A5 motorway at the last exit before Switzerland (signposted Weil-am-Rhein), as there are often quite lengthy queues at the border crossing. From Weil, the main road takes you directly to the centre of Basel, and this means that you also do not have to buy an Autobahnvignette (motorway pass), as you cannot cross the border on a motorway without one of these attached. This is a good way of avoiding extra expense on a day trip, but if you are intending to travel further in Switzerland, it is advisable to buy a pass as the fines for not having one are very steep and the traffic police are always on the lookout – and foreign cars naturally come in for special attention on the motorway!

Travelling by train is just as easy, but watch out for one of Basel’s idiosyncrasies – there are two main line stations in the city, Basel Badischer Bahnhof (which is technically part of Germany, and is administered by Deutsche Bahn) and the S
chweizer Bahnhof, which is where all trains from France arrive, as well as the internal Swiss services. This can cause some confusion if you’ve never been to Basel before! However, it’s nothing major to worry about as the city does boast excellent bus and tram connections between the two terminals. Just look out though, as the announcements on the trams are given in Swiss German, which is still almost incomprehensible as far as I’m concerned.

All in all, this is a strange place, it has plenty of things to see and do, but there just seems to be something missing, for me at least. So, if you do decide to go and see for yourself, I have just one piece of advice: Don’t forget your passport! Switzerland is not in the EU, and the border guards are notoriously unforgiving...

Summary: