Basel

Basel is situated on the banks of the fast flowing River Rhine. It is famous for its industrial importance in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The city is very multi cultural 
and whilst German is still the predominant language you will here French and Italian spoken here. The Swiss dialect can be a little difficult for German speakers to understand although being understood does not pose any problems.

Basel is right on the borders of Germany and France and indeed the local airport is called Basel - Mulhouse - Freiburg Airport and has seperate entrances for each country. Switzerland is not part of the European Union. It still has its own currency the Swiss Franc. People from Switzerland were known to the Romans as the Helvetians or Helvetii. This is why Switzerland carries the prefix CH as its country tag. Essentially this means the Confederation of the Helvetians.

Basel is a mixture of old and new. It is a particularly clean and pleasant city with organised streets and pedestrian walkways. It is an important cultural centre for Switzerland with a number of theatres, museums and art galleries. The Red Münster building made of sandstone dates back to the 14th and 15th century although it has been renovated extensively in recent times. 

For more photos of Basel click here