Basel

Basel is well worth its nickname of “City of Museums”. Indeed, this mid-size municipality in northern Switzerland can proudly claim one of the highest inhabitant/museum ratios in the world and it is widely regarded as one of the most lively capitals of contemporary art, architecture, and design in the Western hemisphere.

Maybe because of its peculiar position, in the precise spot where three European countries – France, Switzerland, and Germany – merge, perhaps due to its historically being a city of mercantile and industrial business and mentality, Basel has become a city wide open to modernity and to the most diverse influences from the rest of the planet.

A character which Basel’s museums, cultural venues, exhibitions, and creative events clearly express: from the Vitra‘s built architecture and design museum (which is at the same time officially located in Germany and very Basler), to the inspiring Schaulager contemporary art depot designed by Herzog & de Meuron, from the imposing Kunstmuseum to the Beyeler Foundation by Piano, from the Kunsthalle to the renowned Art Basel fair, and much more…

Banner image by Donald Ogg