Built in the middle of a lake, the charming and historic castle of Bottmingen offers customers a beautiful and romantic experience unlike any other. Dating back to the 14th Century, this Swiss mansion has been carefully preserved and elegantly renovated in the past few years with the opening of a fine dining restaurant, a wedding venue and lovely terrace gardens. Famous for its sumptuous French cuisine, the castle's restaurant offers a prix fixe menu along with a normal one, with dishes such as the Vivers lamb, Chateaubriand, Marinated Loch Fyne salmon, Porcini flan with parsley and the lip-smacking desserts sure to leave your taste buds in amazement and wonder. It also an excellent location for functions such as weddings, parties, corporate dinners and other events with lavishly decorated rooms seating 8 to 300 guests and an attentive, courteous service by the friendly staff. It is especially worth visiting during Christmas when the castle is lit up with stunning decorations.
In 1980 Basel hosted a garden show with the not very imaginative title of Green 80. This name stuck in the public's imagination and was also applied to the botanical gardens. The original name comes from a homestead, the remains of which are still visible. The small nearby castle, which served as Christoph Merian's summer residence, is now a cafe. The huge area of the park is ideal for sports, and kids love the enormous dinosaur statue (affectionately known as Dino), who quietly lets everything pass over him.
Who knows if Jean Tinguely would have believed, had you told him that his creations would once be housed in such noble rooms? The museum building was opened by Mario Botta in 1996 and is sponsored by the local chemical company, Hoffman La Roche. Even the garden of the tower houses works of Tinguely in the shape of a fountain. A bigger version can be found on the Theaterplatz. Tinguely loved to make things, and the museum is full of his moving machine sculptures and sculptures that you can sometimes walkthrough. Children and adults alike love this museum and various exhibitions which highlight works by other artists similar to Tinguely complement the permanent exhibits.
Basel's Spielzeug Welten Museum Basel honors and exhibits every child's first playmate and best friend- dolls and teddy bears. With over 6000 on display at this museum, everyday scenes from the life of dolls have been recreated with love and fantastic flair. At Puppenhausmuseum the exhibits certainly inspire the same magical fascination as in childhood. The four floors with around 1000 square meters (10,763 square feet) of dolls will make anyone feel nostalgic. After visiting this museum, you'll go home, throw out the new computer game, find your old teddy and return him to his rightful place.
Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig is entirely devoted to the historical origins and the development of art in the Mediterranean region. A range of special displays and temporary exhibitions make for a worth trip back into the history of the region. You will find a range of exotic displays ranging from 4B.C to 6 A.D that will allow you to delve deeper into Roman, Egyptian, Greek and Etruscan cultures.
The Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural history museum) has been located in this former Augustine monastery since 1849. What began as a collection of curiosities is now a center for science and research. Most of the eight million objects in the colletion are on display, and the museum's strengths lie in paleontology, mineralogy, zoology, entomology and anthropology, but you don't need a degree to visit. The other exhibits, including early man, dinosaurs and insects, will appeal to visitors both young and old.
The Stadtkino or city cinema is a truly eclectic place, which is devoted to screening films that are good, exciting and interesting. The cinema itself is pitchblack so light doesn't stand a chance when it tries to sneak in. As most of the guests are movie buffs who relish the black and white and technicolor films shown, this isn't the kind of movie theater where you'll find people talking and being noisy. All screenings start punctually and there are no trailers. The films shown are usually not newly released; instead, the focus is on particular topic areas. The Kunsthalle also holds something here every two weeks.
Built in the middle of a lake, the charming and historic castle of Bottmingen offers customers a beautiful and romantic experience unlike any other. Dating back to the 14th Century, this Swiss mansion has been carefully preserved and elegantly renovated in the past few years with the opening of a fine dining restaurant, a wedding venue and lovely terrace gardens. Famous for its sumptuous French cuisine, the castle's restaurant offers a prix fixe menu along with a normal one, with dishes such as the Vivers lamb, Chateaubriand, Marinated Loch Fyne salmon, Porcini flan with parsley and the lip-smacking desserts sure to leave your taste buds in amazement and wonder. It also an excellent location for functions such as weddings, parties, corporate dinners and other events with lavishly decorated rooms seating 8 to 300 guests and an attentive, courteous service by the friendly staff. It is especially worth visiting during Christmas when the castle is lit up with stunning decorations.
Stampa gallery was established in the year 1969 by art lovers Gilli and Diego Stamp. The gallery focuses on Swiss contemporary art and has featured some of the brilliant artworks of Gerda Steiner, Marcel Odenbach and Zilla Leutenegger to name a few. It has its own book shop, where you can engross yourself in books on design, fashion, photography and architecture.
Galerie Carzaniga specializes in contemporary art from Switzerland, France and Italy. Get awestruck looking at the works of Samuel Buri, Susi Kramer, Lorenz Spring, Bruno Suter and many such stalwarts, who have achieved a well-known name in the field of art. The gallery takes part in various art fairs such as Kunst Zurich and Art Basel. Some of their services include art-consulting, insurance and art-appraisals. Their main aim is to educate the common man and spread art awareness across Europe.
Found at an elevation of 1,414 meters (4,639 feet), Belchen or Black Forest Belchen as it is also referred to as is regarded as one of the highest summits in the Black Forest. The unique feature of the summit here is that it brings together three different municipalities named, Kleines Wiesental, Schönenberg and Münstertal. Also, in 1949, Belchen was declared a nature reserve thanks to the wide range of flora and fauna found here. Pay a visit to Belchen to marvel at the spectacular view of Mont Blanc in the French Alps.
With a focus on furniture and interiors, the Vitra Design Museum showcases the works of such iconic designers as Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson and Alvar Aalto. The delightfully asymmetrical museum building, designed by Frank Gehry, is a sight to behold.