- Welcome to Basel everybody.
(upbeat music)
- Basel just might be the most unique city to visit in
Switzerland.
We spent three days exploring this historic city on the
Rhine River and discovered that while Basel has an
incredible old town filled with beautiful architecture,
it also has one of the kind attractions.
In this video, you're going to discover all
the reasons to fall in love
with Basel, Switzerland,
and put it at the top of your travel list.
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- I'm ready. I got my knee pads on, my life vest.
Ready to head out on the Rhine River. Awesome.
- Woo.
- A Weilding is a traditional boat that
dates back 2000 years.
We took a trip up and down the Rhine with Weidling
Basilea where we learned how to row a Weidling boat
and learn to spike our way upstream.
It's a fun way to see Basel from the river while learning
about the city's history.
- Well, this is one of the most
unique experiences I think I've ever done.
- Yeah, for sure
- I love doing traditional ways of traveling
and I love that
here in Basel, they're bringing it back.
- I think it's great that you get to be part of the history
rather than just read about it or look at it. That's it.
You got to do this when you come here.
- This is gonna be fun, Dave
- Oh yeah
(laughter)
(mumbles)
- I got us through the hard part.
So now Dev can take over and stock along the easy part,
yeah.
(laughter)
- Yes, we're so lucky to have Dave here.
- That should be on a t-shirt.
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- Wow. You're really moving against the current.
- Mm-hmm
- That's impressive.
- Yeah it goes pretty fast
The current's really high right now.
- It's really impressive because we're going against the
current right now and they're just pushing by hand.
There's a lot of skill and strength involved, I think,
but they're making it look so easy.
- Way easier
- It's not gonna be the same when we do it.
(laughter)
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- I really love it.
It's such a great way to see Basel from
an original way of transport and you get
to see it from a different angle.
And I think that's another great thing about doing this
activity here is that you see the whole city from a
completely different way than you would
if you're just walking along the shoreline.
Get on the water when you come here.
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- Oh, wow.
That was so much fun. I'm telling you, look at this river.
Like what a one of a kind thing to do to go Weidling on the
River Rhine here in Basel, Switzerland.
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- We are E-biking around Basel this morning and we're
going across center bridge.
And right behind me is a little historic site where
women were thrown from the bridge when
they thought that they were
witches or sorcerers and they were tossed
over to their death. However,
there were some rebellious nuns who would save them
once they were down river before they drowned.
So it's a pretty neat little spot here on middle bridge.
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- While getting an E-bike is a great way to
just get out of the main area.
I'm going to places I wouldn't have gone before.
This is really fun.
We're heading out to where the three countries meet
and the E-bike makes it so easy.
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We've made it out to where the three countries meet.
We are standing in Switzerland everyone
and right behind me is both France and Germany.
This is a really cool place to come out to,
get yourself an E-bike and ride around.
And we're doing the grand tour everyone.
This is so cool.
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- I really love E biking.
It's such an easy way to get around,
you don't break up too much of a sweat,
especially in some hot weather here.
And it's just a great way to cover a huge distance in the
city and see everything there is to see.
Now let's go.
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- I would say that one of the coolest museums you have to
visit here in Basel is the Beyeler foundation.
It's a little bit out of the downtown core.
And we got here by E-bike and it's a great place to visit.
It has a modernism art, you'll see Andy Warhol,
you see Suzanne,
you see Monet and
Picasso even.
It's really spectacular.
It was the private collection of
Ernst and Hildy Beyelor and
they made it available to the public.
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We're just riding along the river on a private bike path and
we're heading off to our next beautiful museum stop.
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The Vitra museum is in Germany actually,
and it is connected by a trail that has all
these art installations.
There's a path that connects the two museums together.
And this is a very cool museum because
you cross the border into Germany and there's so many
amazing art installations.
It's really worth coming over on your E-bike.
- This is the way to get around. I love it.
Nice and easy.
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- Well, we're taking the ferry here
across from the cathedral side
over to the other side of Basel
and it's cool cause there's a cafe down here.
You can grab a drink or something to eat before you head on
over. So let's go.
- Okay, one of the things you have to do is take the ferry
across, there's no motor.
They used just a line and let the current move them across.
I think as they use their rudder to steer, maybe.
- Yeah I think so, see how it goes.
- Yeah
- A unique mode of transportation in Basel is the reaction
ferry located between Basel's five bridges
are four reaction ferry terminals that take passengers
from Grossbasel to Kleinbasel.
Instead of using a motor, ferrys use a cable
and rely on the river's current to propel it across
positioning the rudder to allow the current
to push it in the right direction.
It costs just 250 Swiss Francs.
And we caught the ferry from the river path just behind
Basel Munster.
- Cool, the most silent crossing I've ever been on.
- Well, normally the river is
packed with people swimming this time of year,
but there was a lot of rains this year.
So it's not recommended to swim. However,
some of the locals are getting in there.
I guess if you've been doing it all your life,
you feel comfortable, but the current's pretty high.
There's a lot of logs in the river right now.
If we were here on any other time,
except for after the rains,
this would be full of people swimming. But as you can see,
there are some hearty people going in.
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- Basel is a city of fountains that you can drink out of,
but that's when you actually don't drink out of,
it's just a work of art.
Fountains play a huge part in daily life in Basel used as
cooling stations and places to fill up
water bottles.
But the tingly fountain is a unique work of art where iron
figures mimic the motions of actors and dancers that once
occupied the stage at the old city theater on this site.
We were told that one of the favorite pastimes of the people
of Basel, is fountain swimming.
And we've seen quite a bit of it since being here.
They treat the fountains like a public pool.
It's really great to see everybody just splashing around in
the summertime.
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Make sure you come to the Basel Cathedral and go inside and
go to the back and check out the Crypts.
Basel Minster was built between 1019 and 1500
in the Romantic and Gothic styles.
It is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city
with its two towers standing tall over the River Rhine.
It's beautiful cloisters in the back are a serene escape
from the hustle and bustle of the old town.
If you find yourself at the Basel cathedral,
make sure you walk down a little alley to the cultural
museum.
It's a really beautiful blend of the medieval
structures around me, but they have built a new addition,
a hanging garden, and a modern piece of art.
Check it out.
Basel used to be a fortified city and it was surrounded
by a city wall. As it expanded they took down the walls,
but there are still three gates in the city that are intact.
and there are some remnants of the wall.
If you walk down to the area of the paper mill on the river,
you will see a great gate and part of the city wall that is
still intact.
It's one of the three and it's not only a great stroll by
the river. It is really a beautiful little park here.
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Make your way to the city gate.
This is considered one of the most beautiful city gates in
all of Europe. And when you see it, you can believe it.
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The Kuntsmuseum is one of Europe's biggest art museums.
The combination of stunning architecture with modern and
contemporary art on display makes visiting the museum
one of the most popular things to do in Basel.
When you purchase a museum pass,
you get 50% off entry to the museums and you definitely want
to do that because there are so many of them.
I really enjoyed my time in the Kuntsmuseum.
There's several levels.
My favorite are all of the sculptures and the modern art.
It's really fantastic.
Make sure you walk down the street Imbergasslein,
because right behind me is the smallest museum in Basel
and there's a lot of them. So this is cool.
Basel has a gorgeous old town and taking a walking tour is
a must. Start at the red facade of city hall and make your
way around the cobblestone streets
as you get lost in the historic alleyways.
Basel may have a rich history,
but it also has a very urban vibe.
Make sure to seek out some of its more modern architecture
and contemporary designs.
Well, one of the most Instagram worthy
spots in all of Basel is at
the convention center, on the other side of the river.
It's a very modern building where all of the conventions
happen and it's pretty quiet right now.
So it's a great time to come first thing
in the morning to get your shots.
One of the great ways to see Basel
is to take an Artstubli street art tour.
It really takes you to different parts of the city to see
all of the hidden street art throughout the town.
And then you end here by the train station
and this is one of the coolest pieces of arts.
It is a face that is smashed in a big pane of glass.
When you walk by the glass looked like it's just completely
broken, but when you look at it through a cell phone,
it is a face. And when you look at it from afar,
you can tell it's the face. But if you're just walking by,
it looks like a smashed window. It's incredible.
- So much street art here in Basel.
It's kind of interesting cause it's all commissioned,
but it's also somewhat hidden.
So I do highly recommend a tour to find it because it is so
hidden and they know exactly where all the spots are.
- One of the bucket list things to do here
in Basel is to come to Les Trois Rois,
The Three Kings and have a little
aperitivo on the terrace.
Having a cocktail or dining on the river is a must
and Les Trois Rois is one of the grandest hotels
in Basel with a 300 year old history.
Don't let its grandeur intimidate you.
They are friendly and welcoming.
Basel is a city you will fall in love with.
And if you are in Switzerland,
make sure to add this cultural capital of the country to
your itinerary.
You'll enjoy the perfect mix of history and contemporary
travels. In a nutshell, Basel has it all.
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you next week when we put up our native travel video.