Travel+Leisure India & South Asia – August 2019

S

preadpicturesquelyalong
theRhineriver,Baselisthe
quintessentialSwisscity
thatcharmswithitslooks.But
itscharacterisdefinedbythe
cultureandhistorythatbrews
initsnooksandcrannies.With
nearly 40 museums(themost
inanycityinSwitzerland),
plentyofartshows,thesummer
dedicatedtoculturalfestivals,
andarchitecturalmarvels
sprinkledalloverthecity,Basel
isadreamdestinationforart
andhistorybuffs.(Fortennis
fans,itisthebirthplace
ofRogerFederer!)
Whilethemuseumsnarrate
significanteventsfromthe

For more information, visit http://www.basel.com

PROMOTION

Asacitythatbordersthreecountries—Switzerland,France,andGermany—Baselisperfect

forthosewhoseekagreatmixofbeauty,culture,andhistory.

past,themodern-artgalleries

andimpressiveurbanartspots

singasongofthefuture.From

thelargemarketsquarewith

itsintricatelydecoratedred

sandstonetownhallandthe

lateRomanesque-Gothic

cathedralinBasel’sOldTown

tomodernstructuresby

renownedarchitectssuchas

Herzog&deMeuron,Mario

Botta,Diener&Diener,and

RichardMeier,thearchitecture

ofthecity,too,isafascinating

blendoftheoldandthenew.

Someoftheinternationally

knownmuseumsarethe

KunstmuseumBasel,the

FondationBeyeler,theMuseum

of Cultures, and the museum

Tinguely. This museum is

devoted to sculptor Jean

Tinguely—one of the greatest

20 th-century Swiss artists. One

of his most popular works is

the Fasnacht Fountain from

1977, which has become a

landmark in Basel. Also unique

to the city is the Toy World

Museum, which boasts the

largest collection of teddy bears

in the world, and the Paper

Mill Museum, which offers

a hands-on experience of a

medieval paper mill. The music

and theatre scene in Basel is

equally enchanting, and the

Basel Theatre is one of the best

venues to experience it.

You can catch the city at

its peak thrice a year—during

Art Basel; the three-day Basler

Fasnacht or Carnival of Basel;

and around Christmas.

Beautiful Basel

Clockwise from left: Enjoy Basel passenger cruise

services from April to October; The Spalentor

is one of the three gates left from the city

fortifications of the 15th century; a trip is

incomplete without a visit to Rathaus,

the historic city hall that stands out with its red

façade; Hotel Les Trois Rois teamed up with

students from FG Basel to transform a 2006

Bentley Arnage into a rolling graffiti.

AllhotelsinBasel

offeracomplimentary

BaselCard,whichallows

accesstopublictransport,

guestWiFi,anda 50 percent

discountonadmission

toBasel’smuseums,

BaselZoo,Theater

Baselandmore.