Art (in) Basel

One of my free days in Switzerland was spent in the border town of Basel; perhaps most famous for the art exhibition, Art Basel. I was able to make 3 stops after catching an early train from Zurich: Fondation Beyeler (sadly installations limited the experience inside), Kunstmuseum Basel (an excellent 3rd building was setup for an exhibit on African painting), and the Vitra Design Museum (located across the border in Germany).

Fondation Beyeler in Rheien, near Basel, is one of the most beautiful museums in the world. The adjacent restaurant was excellent as well (I had the risotto).

Kunstmuseum Basel occupies two main buildings connected by a tunnel.

Vitra Design Museum has a collection of buildings designed by star-chitects such as Zaha Hadid. It also houses an extensive collection of all of Vitra’s historical designs since 1800, across three buildings (2 museums and a showroom).

Gotthard Express

Switzerland can feel like someone took the most uptight French and German people on the continent and put them in the mountains. Sure everything runs on time but you’ll get fined 100CHF for exceeding your bus ticket by 2 minutes… This is where the only Italian canton, Ticino, really shines with the efficiency of Switzerland and the charm of Italy.

I woke up early in Zurich and took the train to Lucerne where I boarded the steamboat section of the Gotthard Panoramic Express journey across Lake Lucerne. The boat journey took 3 hours and was very picturesque — lunch in the upstairs restaurant was very good!

At the end point, Flüelen, I boarded the panoramic train with its glass cabins and made my way to Lake Lugano. My days in Lugano felt very much like I was in a different country, like Naples without the chaos. This region is a place I would love to come back to in the future.