Basel is often overlooked for other Swiss cities, but this art capital has plenty of style.
Here’s how to make the most of your trip.
My Swiss husband, Ralph, and I play a game we call “That’s so Basel.”
From left: The twin spires of the Basel Cathedral loom over busy Steinenvorstadt, with the sleek black façade of the Art Hotel at left; Life, Olafur Eliasson’s 2021 installation at Fondation Beyeler.Mark Niedermann
Basel just takes some unpacking.
In the past decade, an explosion of architecture has transformed Basel’s skyline.
WHAT TO SEE
In the past decade, an explosion of architecture has transformed Basel’s skyline.
Markthalle Basel, where vendors serve international dishes.Mark Niedermann
The complex teems with scientists, scruffy artists, and bespectacled architects.
A third will surpass that by more than 50 feet when it’s completed in 2023.
I wandered around, marveling at the floating cloud mezzanine, trick mirrors, and precision parquetry.
From left: Hamachi crudo at Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogi; festivalgoers at Art Basel.Mark Niedermann
I often tell friends that Switzerland’s food is better the closer you get to the French border.
Judged by this standard, Basel’s culinary scene is arguably the best in Swiss-German-speaking Switzerland.
It’s home toListe, one of several satellite art fairs that coincide with Art Basel.
Naturbad Riehen, a public pool designed by Herzog & de Meuron.Mark Niedermann
(After watching it for a few minutes, a tourist asked me whether it was broken.)
But I saved the best for last:Fondation Beyeler, set in the wealthy suburb of Riehen.
Judged by this standard, Basel’s culinary scene is arguably the best in Swiss-German-speaking Switzerland.
From left: the lobby of Basel’s Les Trois Rois hotel; lamb in yogurt, tortellini with apples and sour cream, and beets at the popular Roter Bären restaurant.Mark Niedermann
Volkshaus, a Kleinbasel brasserie and beer garden shaded by fig trees, exemplifies Basel’s Franco-Teutonic duality.
I’d dined there many times, but couldn’t resist the urge to return.
For more haute fare, hop on a Rhine-powered cable ferry to the riverside terrace of the Michelin-starredroots.
From left: Cocktails at Roter Bären; one of Basel’s motorless reaction ferries, which cross the Rhine using only a cable and the river’s current.Mark Niedermann
Eventually, we began comparing Basel with its biggest rival,Zurich.
“What’s the best thing about Zurich?”
“The train back to Basel,” he said with a laugh.
The main staircase of the Stadtcasino Basel concert hall, which reopened after an extensive renovation by Herzog & de Meuron.Mark Niedermann
“It’s theexpresstrain back to Basel.”
I was keen to check in to theVolkshaus, a 45-room property that opened at the end of 2020.
Its Michelin three-starred restaurant,Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl, is tastefully swathed in lavender and gold.
A guest room at Volkshaus, an H&deM-designed hotel in Old Town Kleinbasel.Mark Niedermann
One morning, I went for a ride on aWeidling,a traditional gondola-like boat.
Like many Swiss waterways, he explained, the Rhine was heavily polluted in the 1960s.
“How do you know they really cleaned it?”
The Roche Towers, Switzerland’s tallest buildings, preside over the Rhine River.Mark Niedermann
I asked, suspicious of big industries with pollution issues.
“The pharmaceutical CEOs live in Basel, too,” he said.
“Their kids also need to drink this water.”
Arlt’s words in mind, I decided to get to know the river more intimately.
And I thought to myself,That’s so Basel.
