Basel sits on the River Rhine very close to where the Swiss, German and French borders intersect and its position on the river means that it is the nearest that the land-locked Switzerland has to a sea port. Every February or March, the city also hosts one of the biggest and most spectacular carnivals in Europe called the Basier Fasnacht, which always starts at precisely 4am on the first Monday after Ash Wednesday and lasts for 72 hours. Hiring a car from Basel will allow you not only to explore the thriving city centre, but the beautiful surrounding areas.
Basel is renowned as the cultural capital of Switzerland and it certainly has a very wide choice of museums and galleries to enjoy. The Beyeler Foundation is a private collection of modern art including works by Picasso, Andy Warhol and Francis Bacon and there are also a wide range of sculptures in the surrounding park. It’s also a city that is famed for its modern and dramatic buildings designed by many of the world’s leading architects, including Frank Gehry and Herzog and de Meuron - who also designed Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium. The city’s closeness to the German and French borders also means that hiring a car in Basel will give you the chance to visit both these bordering countries during your stay.
