Nice experience!…read more Entry is uncomplicated and lockers are provided for large bags/purses. Bathrooms are easily accessible. There's also a restaurant on the premises, which is really convenient. Great place to visit, especially if you're an art lover.

"Give me a museum and I'll fill it." -Pablo Picasso…read more It took a bit to find the galleries that I wanted but once there, wow. This is the art I love to see - impressionists galore! On a Tuesday morning, it was pretty quiet without schoolkids or large groups. There was nothing distracting me from enjoying the art. The exhibit of existentialist Bernard Buffet works was magnificent with a number of his pieces. Andy Warhol considered Buffet the "last great artist of Paris." Beyond that, Cy Twombly, Edgar Degas. Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh (I've never seen "Marguerite Gachet at the Piano" before and the "Self-Portrait with a Japanese Print" was amazing) , Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian, Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Henri Matisse (paintings *and* sculpture!), Alexej Von Jawlensky's "Self-portrait") and more. What museum would be complete without works by Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder and Salvador Dali? So much to see, so much to enjoy, so much to appreciate. It is one of the greatest art museums in Switzerland and I had a tremendous visit. Gift shop has lots to purchase but the prices for even the smallest prints are very high. I didn't even get a postcard today. [Review 21230 overall - 78 in Switzerland - 195 of 2024.]

Beautiful botanic garden in Basel. What a pleasant surprise to stumble across this garden while we…read morewere visiting for two days.

How is this free? This was such a delightful part of a day sightseeing and exploring Basel. The…read morebotanical garden at the University of Basel is located right next to a public transit stop by Spalentor Gate, which makes it quite easily accessible. I was surprised to learn that it's one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world! There are multiple greenhouses to explore and some nice outdoor areas to look at. There's one greenhouse that is quite large and it feels like you're walking through a jungle when you're exploring it. It even has a glass spiral staircase where you can go up and get a better view of the flora. There were several birds inside this greenhouse also and it was fun trying to spot them. I think that it's wonderful that the university offers this experience to anyone who wants to visit. Definitely check it out if you're in Basel.

This carnival is the highlight of this plucky city. The…read moremasks, the costumes, and the endurance of the performers, who parade around the city playing their piccolos, trombones, and heavy drums, are equally impressive. Regardless, you will not be slow to notice that confetti is by far the main character in this event. Tons of confetti. Numerous tons of confetti. So much that a few hours into the parade -which extends for all 3 days- a one-inch layer of colored paper will accrue on the ground all over the city. The ubiquitous confetti segues smoothly into people considering the whole town is basically one giant trash can and the confetti is soon sparkled with shattered bottles and glasses, tissues, napkins, pretzels, you name it. As you can guess most of this trash is blown away by the wind into the Rhine and the whole thing is just gross. You would think that the Swiss of all people would be more aware of the environment. Apart from this huge detail, the event is nice although the city isn't at all. It's an industrial rundown city with little to offer to the tourist that you can't find in any other old European town. Plus people aren't that friendly; as a tourist, I didn't feel expected. Shopkeepers do not speak English and the prices are ridiculously high.

Gotta try it once!! Amazing atmosphere around the City.read more

Constant banging, ringing bells, and clattering sounds, the Museum Tinguely features the works of…read moreSwiss artist Jean Tinguely. Famous for kinetic sculptures, some of them are quite small and many are massive complex installations with many moving parts. With anything that moves, they are constantly breaking down. The museum does everything possible to ensure the longest life of these artworks. They do not run constantly, instead there are pedals or buttons to push that will activate the sculptures. It was a quiet and rainy Tuesday afternoon so the museum was not at all busy. This gave me nearly exclusive access to the artworks and the small theatre. I particularly enjoyed the movie showing the falling and crashing fluorescent lights. You can expect to spend at least two hours here. Don't miss the upside-down biplane hanging from the ceiling or the fountain in the courtyard! [Review 21233 overall - 81 in Switzerland - 198 of 2024.]

This is without a doubt the strangest museum I have ever been to. In Basel we visited Tinguely…read moreFountain. It's a fountain filled with the craziest contraptions that are almost like perpetual motion machines. They're moving iron sculptures that continuously loop through a short range of motion so it looks like they're walking, bobbing, etc. It was intriguing enough to make me want to visit the museum devoted to the works of this artist. If you have a Basel City Pass (which our hotel provided for free) you can use it to get half off of the admission price. I was not prepared for how large the museum was. I was expecting a little place but this museum is enormous! It houses everything from Tinguely's low-tech earlier works (like a moving hammer that keeps smashing a stuffed animal) to huge contraptions. You can even walk inside the machine with a carousel horse attached to it. It was really interesting reading about this artist and how he came to such prominence. With such strange art exhibits it's not a surprise that the layout of this museum is also strange. That's not necessarily a good thing. For some reason the section at the beginning with the majority of printed signs that tell about Tinguely's history isn't air conditioned. There is a roof to provide shade but it still felt like a sauna and was quite uncomfortable. After that you go through some glass doors and the rest of the experience is air conditioned. Why? Also once you wind your way to the innermost part of the museum we were quite surprised to find that you hit a dead end. You have to backtrack all the way back to get out. Really strange design but I guess not surprising. This was a fun visit that definitely gave us something to talk about!

Insane! would be my first adjective. If you're an art fan, it's definitely worth visiting. As it…read morewas our first visit to Art Basel, we had no idea what to expect. Basically, it's galleries from around the world showing and selling their wares, all in one giant building. It's more than three floors of art from antiquities worthy of being in the Louvre to modern art (also worthy of the Louvre) but also meant to evoke a feeling. In the end, it was kind of stimulation overload. Too many people, too much to look at when you're unprepared and 'just looking' and I think we were just toast. There's quite good food and coffee available in various places throughout the event... something I consider of utmost importance, especially for an event of this caliber. A piece of advice, go early. We were there when it opened on Sunday morning which gave us a couple of hours to look around without constantly bumping into people. By 14:00 it was like a sheep pen. It's fun to see that people still dress up to go to events like this and that younger people are also still interested in art. Lastly, it's expensive. Entry was 50 CHF per person plus parking and food... just to wander and look at art. We were curious where all that money goes... anyway, I digress. On the other hand, if you plan on buying an original Keith Haring (of which there were many), that cost is probably minimal to you.

From the owner: Since 1970, Art Basel's goal has been to connect the world's premier galleries and their patrons,…read moreas well serving as a meeting point for the international art world. Now, over forty years later, its three fairs - in Basel, Hong Kong and Miami Beach rank as the premier shows of their kind, presenting 20th and 21st century art with a strong curatorial perspective.

my only complaint is that i wish it was bigger! the exhibitions change quite frequently, so i hope…read moreto return a few times.

We recently went on a Viking cruise, which embarked from Basel. We decided to go in a couple days…read moreearly to adjust to the time change, and to wander around the city of Basel. And in a stoke of luck, it just so happened to be during their annual Autumn Fair. We learned that it's the oldest fair in Switzerland, and has been running since the 15th century. It was awesome. They actually hold it in several different areas of the city (6, I think), but we only visited three of them. Tons of local things to eat, handmade crafts to buy, entertainment here and there, and plenty of carnival type rides. If you plan a trip to Basel, plan it around the beginning of November so you can check this out. It may just be on our list for a trip to Switzerland that we would start or end in Basel....during this fair.

I happened to be in Basel for work in early November, and happened upon the Autumn fair. I learned…read morethat this is an annual tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years. I am rating this fair 'five stars' primarily due to all the foods I've tried. While many cuisines from around the world are represented, I just loved trying out some of the Swiss snacks! There was this small raclette stand at the messeplatz that I must have visited 4 times in 2 days. Then there was the sausage stand and the risotto and sautéed mushroom stalls. Also for the first time, on a super cold sprinkling night, I tasted warm sweet Gluhwein and it definitely made me feel toasty inside! The fair is literally everywhere throughout Basel. You can literally just walk around town and find yourself running into different squares and streets blocked off with stalls, booths and stands. Other than food, you can pretty much find all sorts of craft items, books, kitchen stuff, etc.. I really enjoyed waking through the different areas throughout my two nights there and would so recommend it for people to visit if you happen to be in Basel during that time of the year.

From the owner: We specialize on traditional festive customs which include drums, flutes and dance, mainly from…read moreEast Asia (Korea, Japan, Okinawa).