Basel Is the Swiss Beach Town You Never Knew You Needed In Your Life
If you haven't been to Basel, Switzerland, you're missing out. This city on the Rhine River near the French and German borders is one of the most interesting places I've experienced.
On hot summer days, Basel feels like a beach town without the sand. Bathing suits, ice cream cones and Aperol spritzes are everywhere. From a distance, you'll see what looks like brightly colored ducks floating in the river. Take a closer look and you'll notice they're not ducks—they're people.
Floating along the river with a specially-designed Wicklefisch bag is a preferred method of commuting around here. People stash their clothes, towels and whatever else they need into these brightly-colored waterproof bags that roll up and clip around their waist. The bags help them float along the river toward their destination while making swimmers more visible to ships that are passing through.
It might just be the most interesting people watching in the world.
The city itself is a cosmopolitan place where you could spend months enveloping yourself in art and sculpture. I made it to two of the city's 40 museums, walked across a Medieval bridge and stumbled onto some excellent street art.
I also ate my way around the world without having to leave the city. One night I had excellent south Indian food at an international market hall. Another night I had memorable spinach ravioli while listening to a mariachi band perform at a Mexican restaurant across the street. Later, I sipped a glass of wine from my hotel rooftop while a bachata class was in full swing about 100 feet away.
✈️ 🌍
Meena
🇮🇸 Fly Icelandair roundtrip between New York, Boston, Chicago or several other U.S. gateways to Reykjavik for $750 in Economy or $2,005 in the airline's version of business class. Book by August 31 for travel between October 15, 2022, and March 16, 2023, which also happens to be peak northern lights season.
🚞 Spain is giving savvy travelers a way to take trains for free beginning in September through the end of the year. Travelers will need to buy multi-trip tickets to take advantage of this offer.
One of the things I love about Chicago is that it's a town filled with world-class museums. I wrote about several of my personal favorites for Travel +Leisure in this roundup of Chicago's top museums.
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👋🏾 from Basel