Hey all, i'm planning to take a for-the-hell-of-it trip to Basel tomorrow, and i have a day pass for all the public transit, and my handy GPS. i'm also planning on bringing my camera for some photography.

Does anyone have some suggestions of what i ought to do, where i ought to visit?

Stick around the centre of town and the river. The old town (just up from Marktplatz) is lovely; the river will be full of people sitting around and swimming; walk up the small street (between Mittlebrucke and marktplatz) to the Munster and either down to the temporary bar by the river and/or further upriver to the St Alban area.

Yes, definitely they are the places to be done first. After that, if you have time, there are many old and interesting buildings the other side of the Marktplatz as you walk up the opposite hill. It really is a beautiful city.

My explanaion wouldn't win any Tourist Board awards but that's what I mean when I mentioned "old town" It's one of the best areas to walk around on a Saturday when all the small independent shops are open.

well we're not writing ad copy here..the advice is definitely appreciated.

If you have a map then you want the west side of Gerbergasse which is where the more artisan shops are.

If you get to SBB before 10 you can take the shuggi tram (for a small fee) which will take you on a tour of the city...

If you like I would be happy to take you for a walk round, I know the city quite well.

i'm planning to get there around 10 - i got a day pass as part of my city-city ticket, do you think that would be included?

And i would definitely appreciate the guide!!! i'm sure that's worth a round.

This weekend is Basel Tattoo, so there will be a lot of marching bands and parading in town.

Head for Mittelbrucke and walk up towards the Kaserne, which is where they have the tattoo.

Have fun, this will be a good weekend in Teh Big Tomato.

Weather tomorrow might be a bit rainy, so if you don't get a chance to swim in the Rhein don't be too upset

There's a nice cafe by the Tinguely Fountains not far from a bar/cafe/restaurant area called Barfüsserplatz.

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/W...el_Switzerland

Tons of things to look at in Basel, in addition to the great suggestions above me, one of the things I loved when I first moved here was the Martinskirche which is located as soon as you cross the Rhein next to Shifflande (where the boats are that can take you for a ride down the river - which might be nice too).

- the street that you need to go up is small, but detectable by the coffee/restaurant "Spillmann" (which has fantastic views of the Rhine) next to it is the lane you need to walk up (Martinsgasse)

- The church has great views of the city, Rhine and it's a perfect place to watch the sun set. You can go into the Church if you'd like and read up on a few historic events as well (it's all in German though).

Enjoy your vist! Hope you like our little city!

That's the little street which goes up to the Munster (church) that I mentioned earlier.

I really should have added street/road names to what I mentioned

Unfortunately, both the Munster and town hall (Marktplatz) are covered in scaffolding. You can walk behind the scaffolding of the town hall into the courtyard though, which is wonderful.

Ah...it's coming together now...i'm sure i can find a few places to put a lens that won't show the horrors of renovation.

The courtyard is one of my favorite Basel spots.

Definitely take Adrian's advice and walk up the hill to the Muenster (or, if you prefer, when you take the tram from the train station, take one that stops around Bankverein or the Kunstmuseum walk to the Muenster and then walk down the hill)

If you have time, you can wander down the river to the Dreiländereck - the industrial buildings towards the harbour offer some nice photographic opportunities. Also there is the Dreiländerbrücke; you cross over the border to Germany and then over the bridge to France. You can then wander along the river back to Switzerland.

If art is your thing, check out the Jean Tinguely museum, or further afield in Riehen the Beyeler.

Cheers,
Nick

lol I went through trying to check if someone did mention it. Don't worry, went to map.search.ch for all my information, I'm not too good with names myself

But thanks for the scaffolding tip, I know not to venture up for awhile...

Be careful coming around Riehen, currently the tram 6 which takes you to Riehen is stopped in Messeplatz and then you have to take a bus which takes you to another station and then back onto Tram 6 to get down to Foundation Beyeler...it wreaks havoc on my everyday commute and would perhaps get confusing along the way...

Some small but important points, if no one has hit them yet:

Take the little ferry across the river. It only costs a frank or so, and from the other side of the Rhein you can see the silhouette of the old town and cathedral. Very nice!

While on the Kleinbasel side, why not take an afternoon swim to cool down?

When at the Munster, make sure to climb the tower and see the view of Basel from above. Climbing the tower is also the best way to get a close look at the in situ sculptures on the cathedral. If you like what you see, the originals are on display at the Museum Kleine Klingenthal at the Rhein, kleinbasel side, between the Mittler- and Johanniter bridges.

If you have more money than sense you can always visit Bar Rouge at the top of the Messeturm - you get a great view of Basel and surrounds if you go to the loo there.

Cheers,
Nick

I think a beer there is 10Fr - not cheap, but if you need a break and fancy walking around the bar taking photos through the windows it's not bad.

And when you've finished all that, the penguin parade at the zoo is worth a look