A week in Switzerland arriving April 16 — can I still go?
#31
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that maybe true but according to most when you mention BSL, its Basel,CH that comes to mind and not say Mulhouse,Fr . then again its alot closer to Basel then Mulhouse
I highly doubt most folks who work 1` way or another for an airline will have any idea that BSL isnt in CH but is physically in FR, just as some wont know that GVA has a Swiss and a French section
#32
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Pre EU, the Basel SBB station had an SNCF area (tracks were numbered 30+), you had to do passport control to enter. Was that section in FRANCE?
#33
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#34
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#35
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Was in Basel in September and the SNCF part of the station was cut off from the rest of the SBB station, but this is(was?) because the whole station is under renovation. To enter or exit the SNCF portion, you have to pass through a customs post which was unstaffed when I was there. I guess there are now ID checks at the customs post, if non-Swiss cannot enter Switzerland.
Some trains from Basel SCNF have their first stop at Basel St Johann which is still in Switzerland. How did that work if you passed into French customs territory once you got on the train?
What about all those trams and buses which cross the borders? Basel tram 10 and bus 55 start in Switzerland, then cross the border to France / Germany respectively then go back to Switzerland again, and you hardly notice unless you are following the route on your GPS in real time
There are so many tiny roads and paths crossing the Swiss borders, I struggle to see how these were patrolled before Schengen, which was not that long ago. Were they all barricaded or policed and what is happening now?
Some trains from Basel SCNF have their first stop at Basel St Johann which is still in Switzerland. How did that work if you passed into French customs territory once you got on the train?
What about all those trams and buses which cross the borders? Basel tram 10 and bus 55 start in Switzerland, then cross the border to France / Germany respectively then go back to Switzerland again, and you hardly notice unless you are following the route on your GPS in real time
There are so many tiny roads and paths crossing the Swiss borders, I struggle to see how these were patrolled before Schengen, which was not that long ago. Were they all barricaded or policed and what is happening now?
#36
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In normal times there are SBB trains going through the Badischer Bahnhof, but because SBB runs the local S-Bahns instead of DB to Lörrach and further. These trains stop at a couple of stops before they cross the border though. I've taken them a few times.
Last edited by greg5; Apr 2, 2020 at 3:09 am Reason: edited to reflect that this was how it was before the current state of affairs.
#37
Join Date: Jun 2008
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You cannot cross the border into Switzerland from France unless you have a Swiss passport or a work permit allowing you to cross into Switzerland for your essential work. In addition, those coming from France will have to have an Attestation de déplacement dérogatoire, signed, dated and timed each day for each journey to and from work ... plus their French ID.
And little tracks etc can be closed by barriers (firmly embedded) or nasty things that will rip your tyres to shreds ... not to mention official police cameras.
If you are not going for essential work, or are returning as a national to your country to live (and go into quarantine) the Swiss border is closed to you. Switzerland may not be shouting from the rooftops, but has plenty of COVID-19 problems within its borders. Tourism is CLOSED for the moment, and probably for several months at least to come.
And little tracks etc can be closed by barriers (firmly embedded) or nasty things that will rip your tyres to shreds ... not to mention official police cameras.
If you are not going for essential work, or are returning as a national to your country to live (and go into quarantine) the Swiss border is closed to you. Switzerland may not be shouting from the rooftops, but has plenty of COVID-19 problems within its borders. Tourism is CLOSED for the moment, and probably for several months at least to come.
#38
Join Date: Jun 2017
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Schengen basically codified what was already common anyway. I have never in my life shown a passport at a Swiss (or French or German) land border. The only time I have ever been stopped at the Swiss border was when a border guard needed to explain to me that my trailer needed the highway sticker too.
#39
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#41
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#42
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Was in Basel in September and the SNCF part of the station was cut off from the rest of the SBB station, but this is(was?) because the whole station is under renovation. To enter or exit the SNCF portion, you have to pass through a customs post which was unstaffed when I was there. I guess there are now ID checks at the customs post, if non-Swiss cannot enter Switzerland.
Some trains from Basel SCNF have their first stop at Basel St Johann which is still in Switzerland. How did that work if you passed into French customs territory once you got on the train?
What about all those trams and buses which cross the borders? Basel tram 10 and bus 55 start in Switzerland, then cross the border to France / Germany respectively then go back to Switzerland again, and you hardly notice unless you are following the route on your GPS in real time
There are so many tiny roads and paths crossing the Swiss borders, I struggle to see how these were patrolled before Schengen, which was not that long ago. Were they all barricaded or policed and what is happening now?
Some trains from Basel SCNF have their first stop at Basel St Johann which is still in Switzerland. How did that work if you passed into French customs territory once you got on the train?
What about all those trams and buses which cross the borders? Basel tram 10 and bus 55 start in Switzerland, then cross the border to France / Germany respectively then go back to Switzerland again, and you hardly notice unless you are following the route on your GPS in real time
There are so many tiny roads and paths crossing the Swiss borders, I struggle to see how these were patrolled before Schengen, which was not that long ago. Were they all barricaded or policed and what is happening now?
#43
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I think they've got the right to effect controls anywhere they want at any time they want. It happened to me a couple of times on the Luxembourg train, and also by car well inside the French border having crossed from Germany. There is nothing pleasant about these people, mostly they appear to be thugs in a uniform.
#44
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I think they've got the right to effect controls anywhere they want at any time they want. It happened to me a couple of times on the Luxembourg train, and also by car well inside the French border having crossed from Germany. There is nothing pleasant about these people, mostly they appear to be thugs in a uniform.
#45
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I've even been checked by the Swiss version on a domestic train from Zürich to Basel. I'd been listening to music so it took me a minute to understand that they asked me where I was traveling. The officer decided to switch to French just before getting a stern Geography lesson from me of the greater Basel area in Swiss-German. He jumped as though I'd just bitten him.