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Basel vs Zurich

Basel vs Zurich

Old May 6, 2017, 4:05 pm
  #1  
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Basel vs Zurich

I am taking a river cruise down the Rhine in October. I have the ability to pre-night for 2 nights in Basel (where the cruise starts) or I can pre-night in Zurich. Which do people recommend and why?

For background I did a tour group of northern italy and switzerland: Milan 2 nights, Stresa 2 nights, Zermatt 2 nights, Lucerne 2nights. Zermatt and lucerne were both lovely but there was nothing like staring at the Matterhorn from my balcony. I enjoy photography, food, art/architecture, history, nature.

I appreciate your replies. Thanks.
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Old May 7, 2017, 5:13 am
  #2  
 
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Tough choice for you. Both would be good.

Given the art slant, I'm going to surprisingly recommend Basel. The reason is that there are a lot of really nice museums there:
  • Foundation Beyeler
  • Jean Tinguely musuem
  • Musical instrument museum
  • Paper museum
  • Basel Art museum

Just a ways out of town in Seewen is the museum for automated music, which houses a bunch of giant music boxes. They even run a good number of them for you to listen to.

The drawback to Basel is that there really aren't any mountains to look at.
greg5 is online now  
Old May 7, 2017, 3:46 pm
  #3  
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Is bsl photogenic or is it mostly museums?
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Old May 7, 2017, 7:28 pm
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Originally Posted by met19
Is bsl photogenic or is it mostly museums?
As far as photogenicity (or is it photogeny?) is concerned, Zurich has the lake and mountains in the far distance while Basel has the Rhine and hills close by. The centres of the city are equally nice (or not). Basel is smaller than Zurich and, to answer your specific question, don't worry, there are more buildings there than just museums. I love Basel (I lived there for two years back in the late 70s), but my son who recently lived in Zurich for 3 years loves that.

Conclusion: Toss a coin!
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Old May 9, 2017, 7:20 am
  #5  
nrr
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I vote for Zurich:
(1)Kunsthaus Art Museum
(2)Mt. Uteliberg (20 minutes ride from main station), nice view of Zurich
(3)Boat ride on lake Zurich
(4)Bahnhof Strasse nice to do window shopping
(5)Porcelain museum
(6)A few "art deco" museums
A 24 hour Zurich card covers transport and most museums BUT (1)is now only discounted, (3)they add a 5SFR "surcharge" for everyone, there are about 10 other museums included free with ZC; there is a North American Indian museum--lots of nice "NAI" stuff.
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