Page 186 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Switzerland

A SHORT WALK Mittlere Rheinbrücke, a
OLD TOWN Rhine, links Grossbasel, on the
stone bridge spanning the
south bank, to Kleinbasel, a
district on the north bank.

Distance 2 km (1 mile) Nearest tram
Schifflände Time 30 minutes
EXPERIENCE Northern Switzerland bank of the Rhine. The hub of the Old Town is START M A R K T G A S S E E I S E N G A S S E R H E I N S P R U N G
The nucleus of Basel’s medieval Old Town,
or Altstadt, lines the escarpment of the south
Barfüsserplatz, a buzzing square lined with
cafés and crossed by trams, and its major
landmarks are the Basler Münster, Basel’s
great Romanesque-Gothic cathedral, and
the unmistakable Rathaus, the brightly
painted town hall on Marktplatz. With
shopping streets, several churches,
steep alleyways and leafy courtyards,
this is Basel’s busiest district. As many
streets in the Old Town are closed to
motor traffic, it is a pleasant area M A R T I N S G A S S E
to explore on foot. MARK T –
PL ATZ

Dating from the 14th century,
Martinskirche is the oldest
parish church in Basel.

Marktplatz (p178) has
for centuries served G E R B E R G A S S E
as a marketplace.
It is also the hub
of the city’s festivals.

The Rathaus (p180) has a brightly
and elaborately painted façade and
a clock surmounted by figures.

Barfüsserplatz, named FA L K N E R S T R A S S E
after the Discalced, or
barefooted, Franciscans,
is surrounded by buildings S T R E I T G A S S E
dating mostly from the
19th and 20th centuries.

Walking along Mittlere
Rheinbrücke, with its
decorated towers

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