Portal North. ISSUE 2 - Magazine - Page 15
Basel
BASEL, SWITZERLAND
Basel is a Swiss city but you can easily walk to France
or Germany in a day. In fact, on a wander through a city
park, you may well accidentally cross an international
border like we did.
Home to the annual Art Basel exhibition, Messeplatz is
a vast public square where you can 昀椀nish your walking
tour with a rooftop cocktail at Bar Rouge. The walk
back to the train station takes around 3,000 steps and
30 minutes on foot.
With the mighty Rhine River running through its
centre, Basel is separated into distinct neighbourhoods. Step count: 7,500
The Kleinbasel, or Little Basel, was historically the less
well-off area, where the factories 昀氀ourished. Now,
Getting there: Fly to Zurich and take the train into
it’s a delightful rabbit warren of dimly lit restaurants
Zurich city centre. The direct connection on to Basel
and bars. Try Ueli Brau Bar, with its 127m underground
takes less than an hour.
pipeline that transports beer directly from the brewery.
On the opposite side of the river, you’ll 昀椀nd the Old Town,
or Altstadt, with buildings harking back to the 11th and
12th Centuries. Well-heeled residents were attracted to
this hillier part of town by its distance from the old open
sewer systems. Taking a walk along the cobblestone
streets and through inviting plazas is a great way to
enjoy the riverside vistas.
For a panoramic overview, climb the 250 steps to the
top of the towers at iconic Basel Münster cathedral
where you can see beyond the city to the mountains of
France and the Black Forest of Germany.
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