Basel, an exquisite city
Despite having only 160,000 inhabitants It is one of the world capitals of design and contemporary art. thanks to two proper names: Vitra and the fair ArtBasel . architecture and gastronomy are also part of the exquisite menu of this Swiss city.
In Spain we touch almost a bar per person in this Swiss place, the same thing happens with museums. In a building created by the Californian Frank Gehry on the outskirts of the city is the Vitra-Museum , where the design threatens to cause the visitor a good Stendhal Syndrome. Its careful program of temporary exhibitions focuses in the coming months on the validity of a century-old institution such as the bauhaus , in design as an instrument for social protest and in the work of interior designer and textile artist Alexander Girard. Inside, what he considers to be the hundred masterpieces of everyday design are exhibited, including the Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe and the Tulip by Saarinen. In addition, the Vitra Campus sets its sights on architecture and the agenda of activities of this museum is full of workshops for all types of audiences . How to stay to live inside.
Frank Gehry's Vitra Museum
The Basel's Old Town, packed with 15th-century buildings, is one of the best-preserved from all over Europe. Also one of those that best coexists with the modern architecture of current stars, such as mario botta (the BIS Building and the Tinguely Museum are his) or Diener & Diener. Herzog & De Meuron's main studio is in the city, which is littered with works by these two local stars. Almost twenty of his works can be found in the streets. Highlights the spectacular, especially at night, St Jakob Park Stadium, which also functions as a shopping center, for those who don't like football and aren't moved by modern architecture.
It is a pleasure to walk through its streets
Every June a new edition of Art Basel is held, the art fair that brings together more than 280 galleries and 4,000 creators and that has opened branches in Miami and Hong Kong, after the success of the European event. To enjoy the event you have to be a scholar of the new trends, since in the amalgam of proposals that make up its program there is also room to spot the occasional Picasso, Warhol or Jeff Koons. Public squares, theaters and other common spaces in Basel join the party.
One of the exhibitions at Art Basel 2015.
But Basel is not only fed by intellectual leisure. Haute cuisine is also considered culture. To say that **Schloss Bottmingen** ensures fairytale dinners is in this case, in addition to a cheesy journalistic device, a literal truth. This 14th century castle located on the outskirts of the city has a dream team of resident and guest chefs to offer memorable seasonal menus. An example of what happens within his four medieval walls: one Sunday in January, chef Andy Zaugg invites his friends who are experts in gastronomy, as in Raphael's Christmas specials, and together they create a themed all-star menu inspired by truffles and all its variants and its consequent pairing with the best wines.
One of the halls of Schloss Bottmingen
And of dessert , you have to stop by one of the establishments of the chain of gourmet stores Läckerli Huus: heaven on Earth, without exaggerating one bit. Flûtes de Bâle (filled waffles), Gelée Russe (Russian jelly) and Basler Läckerli (an indigenous form of gingerbread, with a more secret formula than Coca-Cola) are some of its specialties. As a souvenir it is a safe bet.
*** You may also be interested in...**
- Switzerland: between mountains of cheese and chocolate
- Switzerland, the world at your feet
- 52 things to do in Switzerland once in a lifetime
- Tintin looking for Professor Calculus in Switzerland
- Things to do in Switzerland that are not skiing
- All articles by Héctor Llanos Martínez
A paradise for sweet tooth