Blissful Culture Overdose in Basel, Switzerland
The airport is in France - but your ticket says Switzerland - and the official language is German. Carmen Sandiego, where are we now?
Located on the river Rhine in the northwestern corner of Switzerland, where the borders of Switzerland, France, and Germany meet, Basel is, fittingly, a nexus of Swiss, French, and German culture. With suburbs in all three countries (and that airport on French soil), Basel represents a kind of postmodern EU, where ideas and cultures are as fluid as Schengen Area border crossings.
Since its inception during the Roman Empire, Basel's position on the river Rhine has insured that cultural exchange has long been a part of Basel's character. Illustrious thinkers such as the sixteenth-century humanist, Desiderius Erasmus, as well as Carl Jung and Friedrich Nietzsche, settled in Basel - and, more recently, since 1970, Basel has been the host city for Art Basel, the world-renowned contemporary art fair. Often called the "Olympics of the art world," Art Basel's global reputation (alongside that of its sister exhibition, Art Basel Miami Beach, initiated in 2002), has kept the city of Basel synonymous with art and culture. Which, of course, is to be expected from a city that formed the world's first public art collection in 1661.
In order to get our bearings amidst this polyglot city, we took the elevator to the top of the Basler Messeturm, which, at 31 stories, is the highest building in all of Switzerland. A glass-sheathed Leviathan in aquamarine, the Messeturm is Basel's own Loch Ness monster, appearing to rise out of the River Rhine.
Atop the tower, on the 30th and 31st floors, Bar Rouge affords splendid views onto Basel, as well as its tri-country locale. "I see Germany. I see France - and Switzerland. And there in the distance?" Nothing less than the snow-capped peaks of the Alps!
As Switzerland's third most populous city, Basel is nearly 80% German-speaking - with nearly everyone using English as the lingua franca in dealing with tourists from around the world. Nearly forty museums and many theatres insure a steady flow of visitors - while Basel's position as a chemical and pharmaceutical center means that there's always a plethora of business people and conferences.
Approximately the size of the state of Maryland, Switzerland has a population less than New York City - and yet, what an inordinate amount of influence Switzerland has had on European and world culture. As the birthplace of the Red Cross, Nestl�, Swatch, among other multinational corporations, and one of the richest countries in the world, Switzerland has had 113 Nobel Prize winners (including nine Nobel Peace Prize winners). Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1942, and gay people are allowed to serve in the military as well as register their partnerships for the same rights as heterosexual marriages.
Once you've returned to terra firma, you can wander Basel on foot - or by tram or Segway. Or take a city bus across the border to Germany to see the Vitra Design Museum. No matter where you wander, whether it's Old Town Basel, with its medieval M�nster (cathedral) or the Renaissance palace that is Basel's Town Hall, or out to the Basel Zoo (the largest in Switzerland), you'll encounter an impressive amalgam of European and world culture.
More than 160 nationalities live and work in Basel (with only one in three citizens born in Basel). Take a swim in the Rhine with some of the locals at one of the Art Nouveau lidos - or merely ride one of the four passenger ferries from one side of the Rhine to the other. Get close to the city through its people.
As valuable as the treasures within the museums, it is Basel's spirit of acceptance and hospitality to all peoples that serves as a hopeful harbinger for the global future.
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(Story continues on next page: What to Do, Where to Eat...)
What to Do:
Vitra Design Museum: Never mind that it's actually located on German soil, the Vitra Design Museum is one of Basel's most popular cultural sights, attracting architecture aficionados from all around the world. It was in the early Eighties that Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum began collecting the works of modern furniture designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Alvar Aalto, and Jean Prouv� - but a fire in 1981 proved oddly serendipitous as it caused Fehlbaum to begin reaching out to architects to re-design the Vitra campus.
A cultural institution of design, culture, furniture, and interior design, the Vitra opened in 1989 with Frank Gehry's first European work (before Bilbao even, which appeared in 1997). A building by Nicholas Grimshaw (also his first realized project) was followed by Claes Oldenburg's "Balancing Tools," which caused a reconsideration of the master plan, resulting in a world-class campus of buildings from architects such as Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando, R. Buckminster Fuller, and Herzog & de Meuron (whose architectural practice is based in Basel).
The deconstructivist Fire Station by Hadid (also the first work of hers to be realized) is a marvel to behold (and to imagine filled with firemen - check out the shower stalls) while Ando's Conference Pavilion is a meditative sanctuary whose serene presence might make even a conference alluring. The demi-geodesic dome by Fuller would be perfect for a gay wedding reception - with bartenders manning the bar over at Prouv�'s Thirties petrol station. This is a mecca for architecture - and everyone you meet on the grounds has a kind of awed reverence for being amidst such world-class buildings all located in such a relatively compact space.
LINK: Vitra Design Museum
Kunstmuseum Basel: In keeping with Switzerland's democratic spirit, the city of Basel purchased the art collection of a well-heeled lawyer, thereby forming the core of the world's first public art collection - in 1661.
Now housed in a 1936 neo-Renaissance palazzo that is organized around two courtyards, Kunstmuseum holds the largest collection of works by the Holbein family in the world. Equally interesting for the LGBT community is the vast trove of German museum holdings that had been defamed as "degenerate" by the Nazis, which were purchased by Kunstmuseum in 1939.
With a courtyard bistro, as well as a bookstore, shop, and library, and works by 20th-century masters such as Picasso, Braque, and Leger, Kunstmuseum serves as a prime example of Basil's myriad cultural treasures.
LINK: Kunstmuseum Basel
Segway Tour of Basel: While Segways aren't the common means of transport for the average Swiss commuter, there's no question that a Segway tour through Basel is exhilarating - and even something of a challenge. A homophone of "segue," the two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicles are classified as light motorcycles in Switzerland, which means license plates are mandatory, as is driving on highways and roads. Segways can hit speeds up to 12.5 miles per hour, which is one good reason they are not allowed on sidewalks or in pedestrian zones. Zipping around Basel on a Segway (particularly as part of a parade of American tourists) produces a series of bemused reactions from the Swiss who, invariably, break into big smiles.
LINK: Segway City Tours
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Where to Eat:
Restaurant Kohlmanns: Furnished with long tables and hard-backed chairs, Kohlmanns has the feel of a refectory, perhaps from Hogwarts or Frank Wedekind's "Spring Awakening" - albeit one where everyone is happy, hungry, and beautiful. The tony clientele of bohemian youth and fashionable artists is as lovely to look at as the huge floral arrangements - and the atmosphere is as seductive as the lighting and the chill vibe music.
Kohlmanns' inspired menu takes its cues from the eponymous German engineer, Johannes Kohlmann, who recorded regional recipes of traditional food from the radio during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Influenced by French, German, Swiss, and English culinary traditions, Kohlmanns' menu includes homemade breads - and "flammk�chen," a thin-crusted flatbread, topped with sour cream and local produce. This is Basel's twist on Neapolitan pizza - and it's delicious. Eat at Kohlmann's once - and you'll be thinking about returning, even before you're finished with dessert.
LINK: Restaurant Kohlmanns
Restaurant Atelier: The French word for "studio," Atelier connotes art and the spaces in which it is created - and is, therefore, entirely apt as the name of the new restaurant in Der Teufelhof Basel.
More than twenty years ago, in 1989, Der Teufelhof opened as a means to express the connections between theatre, visual arts, and gastronomy. Housed in two interconnected historic houses in Basel's Old Town, the well-loved and wildly successful complex includes two hotels, two restaurants, a theatre, a wine shop, a cafe, a bar - and an archeological cellar. In other words, a meal at Atelier is a cultural experience.
Atelier considers itself the workplace of a creative culinary staff - and the menu showcases the interconnectedness of regional culinary traditions in this northwestern corner of Switzerland bordered by France and Germany.
In between courses, you might consider a wander through the Art Hotel, where the eight rooms and one suite are all created as works of art in which to live. Or descend into the subterranean archeological cellar to view artifacts from Basel's medieval period, many of which were found in the backfill of a former moat.
As convivial and stimulating as it is cultural, a night at Atelier is immersive theatre - with the added benefit of dessert.
LINK: Restaurant Atelier
Acqua Osteria: Perhaps on an afternoon when you've found yourself at the Basel Zoo, you might wander past a converted waterworks, only to realize that this former pumping station is now an Italian osteria with garden.
Local nighthawks could've told you that Acqua Osteria is also a hipster hangout for an after-work "apero" (a Swiss-French word for "cocktail") and that the leather banquettes, at that hour (and through much of the night), are as crowded with glamazons as is the giardino in clement weather.
Serving simple and fresh Italian cuisine, Acqua Osteria is a taste of Tuscany - and particularly when seated outside in the giardino. Extended families congregate alongside film industry heavies and art mavens for an afternoon meal in the Swiss sun.
Inside, behind the leather banquettes, huge bouquets of seasonal flora line the industrial windows, while candles and chandeliers provide rendez-vous lighting, making Acqua Osteria the sort of place where you might want to flaunt an illicit romance.
Scrawled across an antique mirror is an Italian aphorism, which translates to "The appetite is to the stomach what love is to the heart." Acqua Osteria is a lounge, bar, restaurant, caffe cum club - but most of all, it's a recipe for living la dolce vita.
LINK: Acqua Osteria
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(Story continues on next page: Where to Drink, Where to Stay, Getting There...)
Where to Drink:
Bar Rouge: So perhaps you want to know where Basel's most chic peeps go for an after-work apero? Your first stop might be atop Switzerland's highest building, the Basler Messeturm. Completed in 2003, the Messe Tower is as imposing as it is recognizable from anywhere in Basel - and Bar Rouge is located at the very top, on the 30th and 31st floors. If you've been to lounges in other world capitals, you've been here before - the music, the lighting, the signature cocktails - but nowhere else do you get these stunning views. As with all top-of-the-world landmarks, everything is a little overpriced - but consider it the price for a taste of penthouse living.
LINK: Bar Rouge
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Where to Stay:
Hotel Ramada Plaza Basel: At 344 feet, the 31-story Basler Messeturm (Trade Fair Tower) is the tallest building in all of Switzerland. Completed in 2003, the glass-sheathed leviathan in shimmering aquamarine appears to rise from the Rhine. And while it might seem incongruous to those who know Ramada Inn from its stateside locales, the hotel chain runs a four-star, 224-room hotel in the Messe Tower.
Hotel Ramada Plaza Basel was completely refurbished in 2011 - and the 224-ensuite bedrooms (199 of them non-smoking) are more stylish than ever. Rooms are available in four categories, all with free internet.
Sleek Italian chairs complement a classic contemporary desk - and the bathrooms are as futuristic as "Barbarella" and "Sleeper," complete with under-floor lighting that brings Tony Manero to mind.
The most obvious attribute, of course, is the stunning view through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Blinds are available but who would want to block out these views - and especially at night when Basel becomes a glittering urbanscape of flickering light.
A sumptuous breakfast buffet is served in an all-white dining room with views onto the Messeplatz (Exhibition Square). There's something soothing about taking breakfast in this monochromatic room, the sun pouring in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and where the only color is provided by a single calla lily atop the tables - and the ties of the power brokers who are fortifying themselves for another IPO.
Messe Tower is also an office building and the hotel provides extensive complimentary leisure facilities, including a Finnish sauna, aromatherapy steam room, solarium, and gym. A streetcar station is located directly in front of the tower.
There's also the 30th-floor Sky Lounge, an idyllic pinnacle atop the world, which might be perfect for romantic proposals - or merely afternoon tea on the weekends.
Most thoughtful gesture? A ribboned box of the local confectionery specialty, Basler Lackerli, awaiting in one's room. This spicy confection made of honey, hazelnuts, candied fruit peels, and Kirsch was just perfect for munching in bed while admiring the vista.
If this is life in an aquarium, we'll take it.
LINK: Hotel Ramada Plaza Basel
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Getting There
Swiss Air: One of the nicest ways to fly across the pond from New York is Swiss Air's Business Jet. All 56 passengers on the Boeing B737-800 are Business Class, making the entire eight-hour experience akin to flying on a private jet. Even with sleeper seats that recline into beds, you'll be tempted to remain awake for much of the journey, thanks to the surfeit of culinary offerings. Delicious meals and a wide array of in-flight entertainment on your own DVD player make the entire flight equivalent to a flying hotel. Warning: you'll be spoiled.
LINK: Swiss Air
Swiss Pass: As soon as you land in Switzerland, you're going to want to ride the trains and the trams. Taxis in Switzerland are prohibitively expensive - and besides, the trains and trams are as punctual as a Swiss watch. Furthermore, you've never been on such clean trains. Sit back and relax - and marvel at the beauty of the Swiss countryside as you travel from city to city. Rail Europe allows you to purchase your tickets online, in advance of your trip, thereby saving you money.
LINK: Swiss Pass
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Tourist Information:
Basel Tourismus
CH-4010 Basel
Tel. +41 (0)61 268 68 68
Basel Tourismus
PHOTO LINK: Capturing Switzerland's Charms in Photos