We love a Weekend city break, we love squeezing as much into two days as we possibly can, soaking up the atmosphere and of course trying all the delicious food on offer. A few months back my mum suggested that we went on a girls weekend away (two sisters, my mum and myself) and we all jumped at the idea. Last weekend we hoped on a plane and got the chance to explore the beautiful city of Basel.
Basel is in Switzerland and it certainly isn’t cheap, we realised that when a 15 minute cab ride cost us 40 CHF! We also popped into Zara and a top that was £20 in the UK was being sold for 45 CHF crazy!!
Old Town
We stayed in the old town in a quirky Air Bnb, we loved the old town it had so much character and loads of cute shops and bakeries. They have so many cute Christmas shops the first one we wondered into was a shop full of baubles, there were sooo many.
We visited a popular bakery that had a que out of the door, selecting a delicious almond pastry to enjoy with a cup of tea. It was so tasty and the inside was basically stuffed with marzipan, so festive!
Markets
There are two Christmas markets in Basel and they are considered to be the best in Switzerland!
Münsterplatz is located in front of the historical cathedral on a beautiful square in Basel, we headed straight to Münsterplatz before it got too busy and each enjoyed a glass of Glühwein which is basically mulled wine YUM my favourite!
We decided to have fondue for lunch and headed to one of the tents at Münsterplatz. The fondue was served in a giant saucepan with a generous portion of bread to dip in, it was fairy pricey costing CHF per person, but it was so delicious and definitely worth it.
Before leaving the area we took a wander into the cathedral to defrost a little bit as it was SO SO cold outside temperatures were hitting -2! The cathedral was so stunning and it would have been great to have visited during a service (not that we would have understood any of it).
Barfüsserplatz market is much bigger and also a lot busier as it is located closer to the city centre. We wondered around in the afternoon but also re visited the following morning when it was much quieter! Both markets sell very similar things!
Food
For dinner we visited a local restaurant that was recommended to us called Hasenberg. It was a lovely little restaurant that was full of locals (always a good sign). To start I enjoyed a delicious pumpkin soup that had so much flavour. For mains I ordered a sausage with onion gravy and a potato rostie.
We only needed breakfast on the Sunday morning and forgot that the majority of places were likely to be shut or at least not open until 11am! We visited Hotel Basel for breakfast which was 27 CHF which was a little pricey but it was delicious and kept us going for the rest of the day.
If you fancy a 10 mintue walk out of town for some street food then go to Markethalle! We took a wonder there not really knowing what to expect and it was basically just an inside market selling so many different cuisines. We stopped off for a coffee in a cute little coffee shop and of course had to take some pics!
When in Basel it would be rude not to tuck into a Bratwurst, we came across a market stall that were selling Bratwurst and enjoyed one for lunch. Instead of serving the Bratwurst in a bun they serve it with a slice of soda bread.
All in all we had such a fabulous weekend away, it really did make us all feel extra festive!
