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Sailboat on the Rhine, Basel

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Switzerland

Things to see in Basel

Tourist information: 

Basel Tourismus
SBB railway station
Tel: (061) 268 6868.
www.basel.com

There is also a tourist information office in the Stadtcasino at Barfüsserplatz. As well as general tourist information, both offices also offer visitors help with accommodation bookings and tickets.

Passes: 

The BaselCard includes free entrance to several museums and the zoo, a free city sightseeing tour and free ferry boat rides. There are also reductions on car hire, discounts in certain restaurants and a handful of other offers. The card is available for 24, 48 and 72 hours from tourist information centres, the airport and some hotels.

Basel Paper Museum

Housed in a medieval paper mill, this museum traces the development of paper, writing, printing and bookbinding. Paper is still made here using the old devices and machines on display, and visitors are encouraged to make their own.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: St Alban-Tal 35-37, Basel, Switzerland
Telephone: (061) 272 9652
Website: www.papiermuseum.ch
Basel Zoo

Basel's zoo, fondly referred to as the zolli by locals, was established as long ago as 1874, and it is one of Switzerland's most popular attractions. Over 6,000 animals (including lions, giraffes, gorillas and kangaroos) attract around a million visitors each year.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Binningerstrasse 40, Basel, Switzerland
Telephone: (061) 295 3535.
Website: www.zoobasel.ch
Beyeler Foundation

A public home located in parkland in the suburb of Riehen, this art venue was designed by architect Renzo Piano. On display is the amazing art collection of Ernst and Hildy Beyeler: it contains some 200 modern works of art and offers an interesting and personal take on modern art history. Artists represented include Cézanne, Picasso, Rousseau, Mondrian, Klee, Ernst, Matisse, Giacometti, Newman and Bacon.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Baselstrasse 101, Basel, Switzerland
Telephone: (061) 645 9700.
Website: www.beyeler.com
Kunstmuseum Basel

The oldest art museum in Switzerland contains the world's largest collection of works by the Holbein family as well as many works by other Swiss Renaissance artists, and an impressive collection of modern art, from impressionism to cubism, German expressionism and abstract expressionism.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: St Alban-Graben 16, Basel, Switzerland
Telephone: (061) 206 6262.
Website: www.kunstmuseumbasel.ch
Münster Cathedral

Basel's cathedral, the impressive münster, dominates the Old Town with its combination of gothic and romanesque features, red sandstone walls, colourful roof tiles and twin towers. Inside the cathedral is the tomb of the greatest of the European Renaissance humanists, Erasmus of Rotterdam. The views from the Pfalz terrace alongside embrace the Rhine, the Vosges Mountains, the Black Forest and the Jura.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Münsterplatz, Basel, Switzerland
Telephone: (061) 271 2182.
Museum Tinguely and Tinguely Fountain

Devoted to the work of local kinetic artist Jean Tinguely (1925-1991), this museum is as unusual as his art, and is full of objects that move, rattle, crash and jump. You can see one of his creations, the Tinguelybrunnen (a fountain with moving sculptures and waterpipes), in the city centre, in front of the Stadttheater (Theaterplatz).

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Paul Sacher-Anlage 1 (Museum), Basel, Switzerland
Telephone: (061) 681 9320.
Website: www.tinguely.ch
Swiss Architecture Museum

With its abundance of striking modern architecture and several internationally renowned architects' offices, it is only fitting that Basel has a world-class architecture museum. It focuses primarily on modern Swiss architecture (including Le Corbusier) and international contemporary architecture as well as connections between architecture and other arts.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Steinenberg 7, Basel, Switzerland
Telephone: (061) 261 1413.
Website: www.sam-basel.org
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