Cosmopolitan German-speaking Basel is located on the Rhine River close to Switzerland's Northwest border, near where France and Germany come together. This has been a university town since the Middle Ages; the modern economy of the city is based on banking, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Basel has 27 museums, the finest of which is the Kunstmuseum, the Fine Arts Museum, the oldest museum in Europe. Its collection contains work by European artists dating back to the 14th century, as well as more modern works by Picasso, Braque, Klee, Gauguin, Rodin, and Chagall. Basel's Munster, or cathedral, dates back to 1019, though it has been rebuilt several times. The Dutch humanist Erasmus, who died in 1536, is buried in the cathedral. Those who want to get away from the urban experience can hike nearly 750 miles of walking trails on the edge of the city. In February or March, the people of Basel celebrate the Lenten festival of Fasnacht. Masked and costumed revelers throng the streets, and there are parades, music, and general merrymaking for three days. Western Switzerland South and west of Basel are the cantons of Fribourg, Neuchatel, and Jura. Here, on the French border, are some of Switzerland's least touristy areas. Here are found the Jura mountains and the foothills of the Alps. These areas have excellent bicycle routes. Visitors may inquire at local tourist offices. Fondue was developed here, as was Gruyere cheese, named for one of the towns in the region. In fact, the castle village of Gruyeres, with its lone cobbled street and perfectly-restored Medieval cottages seems to embody the entire region. Nearby is a fromagerie, or cheese dairy, where visitors can see cheese being made in a modern setting. The city of Neuchatel, a jewel at the foot of the Jura mountains, enjoys magnificent views of Lake Neuchatel, the largest lake in Switzerland, of the Bernese Oberland, and of Mont Blanc. The city became well-known for watchmaking in the 18th century. In fact,in the city's museum of Art and History, visitors can see three "automates," mechanical people built in the 1760s and 1770s. |
