SWITZERLAND
A few hours
around Basel
he morning found us in Basel, our last stop in our Switzerland tour. The city is the cultural capital of the country, with 40 museums spread throughout, but our very short time there made it impossible to visit and enjoy any of it. So we chose to walk around instead.
Rathaus made me pause, not just because of its bright red color but also for the murals and the architectural details
On your first glance, Basel is very modern; you need to walk to Basler Münster (Cathedral) to meet the old city. The cathedral, (built between 1019 and 1500) with its red sandstone walls and colourful roof tiles is probably the most famous landmark in Basel – do take a look at the sun clock.
When I was there in mid-October, the square outside the church had already set the Ferris wheel and other games for the Christmas period, so we couldn’t really grasp at the beautiful façade but we did get inside, and the hall has some beautiful, stained glasses, that make you stare in awe.
If you walk down, in the alleys between the houses the road will take you to Markplatz. The Markplatz, full of kiosks selling everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to local, homemade sweets, in front of the 500-year-old Town Hall (locally known as Roothuus).
The German term “Rathaus” literally means “council house”, while the local Basel German dialect term “Roothus” means both “council house” but also sounds like “red house”, a clever pun referencing the red sandstone facade of the building. The building made me pause, not just because of its bright red color but also for the murals and the architectural details. Do take a minute to step in the courtyard, there are more to look at, and the white part of the building looks pixelated. An interesting building through and through.
As the cultural capital, Basel has the famous Art Basel, world’s most prestigious and influential international art fair, though we didn’t have time for a visit. Basel is also the city closest to the border of France; from there, we drove over the border to get to our next destination: Colmar.
