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The Great Collections of Switzerland: Basel, Bern and Zürich

"Basel is a city for art lovers, being rich in both culture and design. Nowhere else seamlessly blends history and tradition with the cutting-edge quite like this magnetic city." – Expert guide, Tom Abbott

Thanks to its position of the banks of the mighty Rhine, Basel has been an important centre of trading, culture and learning since the Renaissance period. The University of Basel, Switzerland’s oldest, was founded here in 1460 by Pope Pius II. Such was its renown by the 16th century that the great Dutch scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam travelled to the city to teach at the institution for several years. Hans Holbein the Younger also arrived in the city during this period, finding a thriving paper and printing industry as well as a flourishing circle of humanist scholars and prosperous patricians, fertile ground for a young and ambitious artist. Holbein spent a decade working in the city and it was owing to this connection that in 1661, the city fathers purchased 20 works by the artist. Basel’s art collection has since swelled to an impressive 40 museums and galleries, and an established cultural status, coupled with a lucrative pharmaceuticals industry, has seen the construction of several landmark buildings designed by some of the most eminent contemporary architects of our time.

Your Tour Includes

  • 5 nights’ bed and breakfast at the 4-star Hotel Basel
  • Travel package includes flights from London to Basel, returning from Zurich
  • Private coach travel for transfers and excursions
  • 2 evening meals and 2 lunches
  • Services of your expert lecturer and Tour Manager
  • Detailed programme and study notes
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Itinerary

Morning flight from London Heathrow to Basel. Transfer by private coach to Goetheanum, the huge and otherworldly concrete structure designed by Rudolf Steiner in 1923 as a centre for his philosophy of Anthroposophy, which combines spirituality and science. Continue to Arlesheimer Cathedral for a brief visit before checking in to our hotel in Basel. Enjoy an evening meal together.

Includes Dinner

Included Highlights

Arlesheimer Cathedral Goetheanum Basel

A day to explore Basel on foot and admire the handsome architecture of the Old Town. Our morning is spent in the Kunstmuseum, where we will pay particular attention to works of the German Renaissance, including the museum’s comprehensive Holbein collection. After an independent lunch at the museum, we wander on to the striking red sandstone minster, built in c. 1200 and housing the tomb of Erasmus of Rotterdam. Some free time to continue your own exploration of Basel.

Includes Breakfast

Included Highlights

Kunstmuseum Basel Red Sandstone Minster

Morning spent in the Kunstmuseum Bern, covering Modeiaeval to Romantic, and Modern to Contemorary. Coach transfer to the Zentrum Paul Klee museum where we shall first enjoy a group lunch at the Schöngrün restaurant set in the villa on the estate combining art, nature, agriculture, tradition and cuisine. The museum contains the largest collection of Paul Klee works in the world. After a short walk around UNESCO designated historic Bern, coach return to Basel.

Includes Breakfast

Includes Lunch

Included Highlights

Kunstmuseum Bern Zentrum Paul Klee Bern

A morning spent at the Historisches Museum in the Barfüsserkirche, a former Franciscan church and home to the Treasury of Basel Minster. Highlights include fragments of the famous Dance of Death mural, painted around 1400, and an exquisite installation of a ‘Kunst und Wunderkammer’, a cabinet of art and curiosities. Basel Historical Museum has been housed in the Barfüsserkirche since 1894.

After lunch, we leave the city to visit the wonderful Foundation Beyeler in nearby Riehen. In the grounds of an idyllic park, the museum, designed by Renzo Piano to ‘serve art, and not the other way round’, houses an extensive collection of modern art, including works by Monet, Picasso, Matisse and Giacometti to name just a few.

In the afternoon we cross the border into Germany to visit the spectacular Vitra Campus, a wonderland for lovers of modern design. The remarkable complex includes buildings designed by some of the most distinguished architects of the last century, such as Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid. Vitra are manufacturers of some of the world’s most iconic examples of product design, which are on show in the VitraHaus, while exhibitions in the Vitra Design Museum explore the relationship between art, design and the everyday. Return to Basel.

Includes Breakfast

Included Highlights

Foundation Beyeler Historisches Museum Vitra Campus

We drive east of Basel, to the Roman archaeological site Augusta Raurica, a 2000 year-old settlement complete with amphitheatre. After some time to explore this remarkably well-preserved site, the largest in Switzerland, we continue to the Tinguely Museum where, after an independent lunch, we experience the kinetic creations of Swiss artist Jean Tinguely, along with some additional exhibits in the area.

Some free time in Basel followed by a farewell dinner together.

Includes Breakfast

Includes Dinner

Included Highlights

Augusta Raurica Tinguely Museum

We check out of our hotel after breakfast and travel by coach to Zürich to explore the Kunsthaus, Switzerland's largest art museum, Boasting Zürich's largest collection of modern art, it also includes significant works by Picasso, Monet and Chagall. After an included lunch in the Kunsthaus restaurant, there is time for a stroll around Zürich, before heading to the airport for our return flight to London.

Includes Breakfast

Includes Lunch

Included Highlights

Kunsthaus Zürich

Please note that it is necessary to have a good level of fitness as there will be at times extensive walking and inevitably some long periods of standing.

Accommodation

You will stay for five nights at the Hotel Basel.