Basel, Switzerland

A Basel-ing (bustling) little city!

Everyone always visits Geneva and Zurich when in Switzerland, but Basel is a city that is just as vibrant with their modern architecture accompanying their centuries-old ones.

There are many museums in Basel, ranging from big to small, traditional to contemporary, and with beautiful architecture to admire.

I want to share my story of my time there and to recommend some places that I think are worth going.

The main thing I wanted to do in Basel was visit the Paper Mill Museum but that was only opened at 11am and I had arrived at 10.

I wanted to utilize this one hour I had by going sightseeing around the city; I first headed to the famous Tinguely Fountain which was sculpted by Swiss artist Jean Tinguely in 1977.

The fountain is not just any old fountain that has an angel or some hedonistic person on top spilling water down, rather it is an interesting one with 10 figures playing in the pool.

The figures are mechanical, which makes them constantly moving and are powered by low-voltage currents.

It was an interesting fountain to observe and if you want to see more of Tinguely’s works, there is a Tinguely Museum for you to visit. I didn’t visit it because I wasn’t too interested in these machinery types of art.

Having taken videos and pictures of the fountain, I moved on to find the Basler Münster (Basel Minster), which is a Gothic cathedral.

On the way to the cathedral, I passed the Kunstmuseum (art museum). There were many exciting exhibitions on display, which seemed more significant than most art museums in Switzerland; typically, art museums here are smaller than the ones in London.

It houses the oldest public art collection in the world, from the Renaissance to Surrealism, and is considered Switzerland's most important art museum.

It’s a shame I had to miss it because of the lack of time (I spent half the day there). I was more interested in the Paper Mill, and you’ll know why soon.

I found my way to the beautiful cathedral, but the architecture didn’t seem gothic (at least to me, but what did I know about architecture) because the building was red, as if it was from another time.

I quickly found out that it was actually brick Gothic or Romanesque, a popular style of architecture in 12th-century Europe.

It was so detailed and beautiful—the red bricks made it stand out from the traditional Swiss buildings surrounding the area, so you can’t miss it.

Just behind the Basler Münster is the Pfalz, a platform that overlooks the Rhine River and the other side of Basel.

From there, you can also view the Mittlere Brücke (Mittlere Bridge), one of the oldest bridges over the river.

The scene is just spectacular, and there are binoculars installed there where you can insert coins to get a better view of the city.

Not long after, I noticed the time was reaching 11 and decided to take a pleasant stroll towards the Paper Mill Museum.

While on the way, I passed by the Cartoonmuseum. I wish I had known about this museum sooner, as it sounds interesting.

It is the only museum in Switzerland that curates works and knowledge of different types of cartoon styles, from comics to animated films.

I was so happy to find a museum solely dedicated to these genres but saddened that I did not have enough time for it. I even thought that after the Paper Mill Museum, I could visit it before heading off, but I spent a lot of time in the Paper Mill.

So, I arrived at the Paper Mill Museum. Fun fact: Basel was one of the first 10 printing centers because the city was perfect for papermaking and printing.

The museum building is a four-story medieval Swiss house with a large mill wheel rotating outside. It showcases papermaking, inking, printing, and bookbinding, and tickets are CHF 17.- (£15.11) for students.

They have interactive workshops for each topic; for papermaking, you get to make your own paper to keep.

The inking workshop allows you to channel your inner Shakespeare. You can try writing with a quill dipped in ink and sealing it with your chosen color of wax and stamp.

There are also ones for printing and bookbinding, although the latter doesn’t actually involve bookbinding. Instead, you marble a piece of paper with your desired colors and design.

The staff there were really friendly and knowledgeable, too. The one working on the printing floor was a nice one who switched on one of the old machines to show us how it was done back then.

I think it’s a fun experience for all ages.

The Old Town of Basel is also a must-see. I took the bus from the Paper Mill to the Old Town, which is some distance away.

The Town Hall is the highlight of the Old Town with its bright red exteriors, colorful roof, and paintings on the building walls.

It is 500 years old and is situated at Marktplatz (literal translation: Market Place).

True to its name, Marktplatz had many stalls selling food, which you could buy while admiring the Town Hall.

Unfortunately for me, when I arrived, the stallholders were packing up their things to leave, so I suggested checking the market's opening time before going.

 I decided to have a Brezel (pretzel filled with ham, salami, or cheese) for lunch at Brezelkönig (a popular chain Brezel store) near the Town Hall.

I ordered one with salami for CHF 7.50 (£6.67), and it was so tasty.

The pretzel is not like ones I’ve ate before (maybe because I don’t come from a country where pretzel is popular). It was soft peppered with salt grains which gave it a nice texture and pleasant saltiness.

The inside was spread with cream cheese, and the salami was generous. I ate that as I took a short stroll around town.

My stroll ended when I saw the Spalentor, a historical landmark consisting of the remains of the city’s ancient walls from the 15th century.

It was such a cool leftover from the past, showing how rich with history the city is.

From there, I took the bus back to the Bahnhof (train station) and journeyed to another town.

It was an interesting tour of the city, and I covered so many places in a short span of time; there were still many places to see, such as the Museum of Cultures, Toy World Museum, and many more, but I guess that’s for another trip.

Written by Althea Scully