Things to do in Basel

Basel sits roughly two hours from Interlaken by train, changing at Bern, which makes it a long day trip rather than an afternoon add-on. The draw is art: the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen holds Monet, Rothko and Giacometti in a Renzo Piano building, entry CHF 25, while the Kunstmuseum in the centre covers Holbein through to contemporary work for CHF 26.

The Tinguely Museum, built around Jean Tinguely's kinetic scrap-metal sculptures, charges CHF 18 and takes under two hours to see properly. Between galleries, the red sandstone Rathaus anchors the old town's Marktplatz, and a hand-pulled Rhine ferry (the Fähri) still crosses the river for a couple of francs, guided by a cable rather than a motor.

In summer, locals swim the current downstream in a Wickelfisch dry bag; the water is genuinely cold even in July.