Day trip via train from Basel?
April 10, 2023 7:04 AM Subscribe
I will be in Basel, Switzerland for a conference in a few weeks, and have a day free for a quick day trip somewhere. Where should that be?
I have choice paralysis and would love some opinions! I would love to basically hop on a train, see some of the countryside and visit someplace cool, and then train back to Basel. Preferences lean towards the German side of things rather than the French, but if there's a "can't miss" something I should absolutely see, let me know, whether that be a city, a particular building/museum, restaurant, or a geographic area.
Right now my leading contender is to take a train up to one of the cities around the Black Forest, but even that is more of a general direction than an actual plan.
I have choice paralysis and would love some opinions! I would love to basically hop on a train, see some of the countryside and visit someplace cool, and then train back to Basel. Preferences lean towards the German side of things rather than the French, but if there's a "can't miss" something I should absolutely see, let me know, whether that be a city, a particular building/museum, restaurant, or a geographic area.
Right now my leading contender is to take a train up to one of the cities around the Black Forest, but even that is more of a general direction than an actual plan.
Yeah, Lucerne is incredible. German-speaking, beautiful, and small enough to get around it in a day.
I'll put in a word for Bern as well. The old town is quite nice, the bears are fun, and there's a lot of good food.
If you're feeling outdoorsy, Interlaken has a ton of fairly easy stuff to do within a quick walk of the train station. You could arrive at Interlaken Ost, take the Harder Kulm tram, then hike down. Or take the boat (departs from Interlaken Ost) to Brienz and take the Brienz Rothorn Bahn (old steam train) to the top of the mountain. Great views, and good ice cream. If you do that, bring some cash. There are people who sell homemade cheese on the way up.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:59 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'll put in a word for Bern as well. The old town is quite nice, the bears are fun, and there's a lot of good food.
If you're feeling outdoorsy, Interlaken has a ton of fairly easy stuff to do within a quick walk of the train station. You could arrive at Interlaken Ost, take the Harder Kulm tram, then hike down. Or take the boat (departs from Interlaken Ost) to Brienz and take the Brienz Rothorn Bahn (old steam train) to the top of the mountain. Great views, and good ice cream. If you do that, bring some cash. There are people who sell homemade cheese on the way up.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:59 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
The biggest geographical can't miss in Switzerland just had to be the Lauterbrunnen Valley.
800 meter high sheet cliffs, with the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains towering high above that. Take the ride up to Mürren, find lunch or a picnic, and the (flat) walk through town to the next cable car ride down.
Looks like just over two hours each way, but it's a beautiful train ride. You'll cry when you have to leave.
posted by Tunierikson at 9:18 AM on April 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
800 meter high sheet cliffs, with the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains towering high above that. Take the ride up to Mürren, find lunch or a picnic, and the (flat) walk through town to the next cable car ride down.
Looks like just over two hours each way, but it's a beautiful train ride. You'll cry when you have to leave.
posted by Tunierikson at 9:18 AM on April 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
I don't know how far it is, but I really enjoyed Fribourg for a day.
posted by melamakarona at 11:26 AM on April 10, 2023
posted by melamakarona at 11:26 AM on April 10, 2023
We took a day trip to a little mountain valley town on the outskirts of Basel called Bubendorf. It seems to have become a middle- to upper-middle-class bedroom community, but back in the 1850s, it was where some of my ancestors emigrated to the U.S. from. Not sure how interesting you'd find it, but they have a pretty little cemetery, and a nice Italian restaurant with a Michelin star. We got there by car, but I believe there's a tram you can take from Basel.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 2:03 PM on April 10, 2023
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 2:03 PM on April 10, 2023
Besides the Swiss Fribourg, Germany's Freiburg is an hour north of Basel and a good Hub to get into the Black Forest, as it's right on the edge. (Be certain to verify which Fribourg/Freiburg your train is headed to before you board!) Charming college town. West of Freiburg is Colmar in France, where you can get by with German, and Strasbourg north of there if you're up for a longer trip.
posted by Theiform at 4:27 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Theiform at 4:27 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I can vouch for all of the above (except Bubendorf, haven't been there) however, a lot will depend on the weather. I assume that there are wonderful views from the Brienz Rothorn Bahn, for example, however, the time I went up you couldn't see anything due to mist. So if you want to book something in advance (advisable for fast trains, not necessary for the regional ones), I would probably go for one of the larger towns like Lucerne, Bern, Freiburg(DE) or maybe Fribourg(CH) where you can still see something even if it's raining and damp. Most of them also have options to get a funicular, or mountain train or something up a mountain if the weather turns out good. (Rigi in Lucern, Schauinsland in Freiburg(DE), the Gurten in Bern (from which you can see the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau on a good day))
Otherwise, I'd also suggest Schaffhausen, to see the Rhine Falls, and the old town. Maybe even get a boat along the Rhine to Stein am Rhein? You can get a direct train to Schaffhausen from the German train station in Basel (called Basel Bad, or Badischer Bahnhof) along the north bank of the Rhine, and then get a bus or train to the waterfall. (Or it's a 45 minute or so walk) Again, though, this is probably better with good weather.
(The weather is not all that predictable either - my Rothorn Bahn experience was in August, whereas I went up the Gurten in January...)
posted by scorbet at 2:14 AM on April 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
Otherwise, I'd also suggest Schaffhausen, to see the Rhine Falls, and the old town. Maybe even get a boat along the Rhine to Stein am Rhein? You can get a direct train to Schaffhausen from the German train station in Basel (called Basel Bad, or Badischer Bahnhof) along the north bank of the Rhine, and then get a bus or train to the waterfall. (Or it's a 45 minute or so walk) Again, though, this is probably better with good weather.
(The weather is not all that predictable either - my Rothorn Bahn experience was in August, whereas I went up the Gurten in January...)
posted by scorbet at 2:14 AM on April 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
Aside from Basel itself, my favourite memories from Switzerland are of the Rhein Falls (Rheinfall), an immensely powerful waterfall that you can get right up close to, and of Lucerne (Luzern), with its astonishing covered bridge and its city walls.
If you take the waterfall option, the Rheinfall is a pleasant walk from Schaffhausen. Schaffhausen itself has some very pretty houses, and a fortress with good views. However, if you can make the timing work, as scorbet says, it also has a boat that will take you to Stein am Rhein. And Stein am Rhein is absolutely stunning. (Also, it's got a railway station with trains to Schaffhausen, so if it proved impractical to take the boat both ways, no problem.)
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:38 AM on April 11, 2023
If you take the waterfall option, the Rheinfall is a pleasant walk from Schaffhausen. Schaffhausen itself has some very pretty houses, and a fortress with good views. However, if you can make the timing work, as scorbet says, it also has a boat that will take you to Stein am Rhein. And Stein am Rhein is absolutely stunning. (Also, it's got a railway station with trains to Schaffhausen, so if it proved impractical to take the boat both ways, no problem.)
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:38 AM on April 11, 2023
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posted by koahiatamadl at 7:51 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]