When I went to Zurich in 2019, the train stopped off at a place called Basel on the way. For some reason it really stuck in my head and I began to look it up online.
After looking at a few hundred instagram posts and Tiktok videos, I was intrigued.
Four years later I visited the beautiful city of Basel in May 2023 and straight away fell in love with this wonderful place, right on the edge of Switzerland, within view of both France and Germany.
This year a singer called Nemo won the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Switzerland, which meant the race was on.
Which city in Switzerland would get to host this fantastic but freaky competition?
This morning I woke up to the news that Basel is to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2025 and I couldn’t be more enthusiastic. It makes a lot of sense as Nemo comes from scenic Biel/Bienne, a cute city very close to Basel.
Hopefully I can get some tickets and visit Basel for this brilliant occasion.
Please cross your fingers for me as it would make my day!
Thank you for reading my brief excitable post. If you want to read more about Biel/ Bienne, check out my highlights.
Having just got back from a week in beautiful Geneva, I thought I would share a few pictures.
Switzerland is starting to be a regular haunt for me as it is breathtaking and clean. After visiting briefly on my way to Italy in 2020, it wasn’t until 2019 that I got to go back and explore.
I enjoyed Zurich then and went back to stay in wonderful Basel last year. Now I got around to seeing the French part of Switzerland and it was no less exquisite.
I will write a more detailed post later on but for now, here are a few photos:
The Broken Chair and UN buildingOn the edge of Lake Geneva, at MontreuxThe Jet d’Eau L’horloge fleurie (Flower Clock)The AlpsCarouge
Right at the end of last year I had one of my annual trips to a Christmas market. Basing myself in Lille (France), I had my eye on a day trip to Belgium. Ghent was my chosen location and is only one hour and a quarter away by local trains. This is my account of the short visit I made to this beautiful Belgian city.
With historic, colourful buildings and a bustling Christmas market, Ghent is easy on the eye, even on a cloudy day.
St Nicholas’ Church, Ghent
Whistlestop Tour
The train ride involved one change at Kortrijk in Belgium. Having crossed the border between France and Belgium we were ready to switch trains but it turned out the same train merely changed its number and became the second train. So we basically just had to wait for fifteen minutes and carry on towards Ghent. I found this amusing as I had got off the train looking for a different one but hadn’t needed to.
Getting from Ghent station to the centre (Korenmarkt) took about eighteen minutes. It was extremely crowded as Ghent is a proper tourist trap. Arriving near a fantastic church and famous bridge (St Michael’s bridge), the view was well worth the wait and discomfort of the crouded tram.
After taking in the architecture, we walked over to a place where everyone was hopping on boats. Straight away we got onto a forty minute boat tour which took us along the canals and past the intimidating Castle of the Counts (Gravensteen).
Gravensteen CastleView from the boat
Although it was a fairly short tour, we went down three arms of the canal and had a chance to see all of the important sites.
A woman with crab claws
Afterwards, we made our way to the nearby Christmas market which was impressive and had many of the same features as the one in Lille, such as the Ferris Wheel.
Ghent Christmas marketGhent Christmas market
My favourite thing was sampling a hot dog and some famous Belgian fries.
In A Nutshell
Deciding to walk along the canal back to the train station rather than taking the tram, I realised that Ghent is packed with history, shops and intrigue. I know that I will visit again and spend more time enjoying this fantastic place. Although I was on a rush to get back to Lille (because Eurostar trains were on hold and I thought I would need to go to Calais), my brief hours in beautiful Ghent were satisfying and the city looked just as picturesque as instagram suggested.
Check out my Bonjour Lille article for more about my Christmas travels. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. Please follow me for similar future content.
