A Good Walk: Basel

Six bridges link the two halves of the city; the most picturesque is the Mittlere Rheinbrücke. On the corner at Schifflände, you can see a facsimile of the infamous Lällekönig, a 17th-century gargoyle mechanized to stick out his tongue and roll his eyes at his rivals across the river. Walking across the bridge, you'll see Basel's peculiar, gondolalike ferryboats (you can ride one for a small fee).

Back across the Mittlere Rheinbrücke in the Altstadt, turn left up a steep alley called the Rheinsprung, banked with 15th- and 16th-century houses. Turn right at Archivgässlein, and you'll come to the Martinskirche, the city's oldest parish church, dating from 1287.

Continue along Martinsgasse to the elegant neighboring courtyards of the Blaues und Weisses Haus, meeting place of kings. Just beyond, turn left and head past the basilisk fountain into Augustinergasse; No. 2 is the Naturhistorisches Museum, and just beyond, around the corner on the Markplatz, is the Museum der Kulturen Basel, both of which house great natural-history and prehistory collections.

Augustinergasse leads into the Münsterplatz, dominated by the striking red-sandstone 12th-century Münster, burial place of Erasmus. Walk around to the cathedral's riverside to the Pfalz terrace for wide views of the river, the Altstadt, Kleinbasel, and the Black Forest.

From the Münsterplatz, head down Rittergasse to the first busy cross street. Ahead of you is St. Alban-Vorstadt, which leads to the St. Alban-Tor, one of the original 13th-century city gates. St. Alban-Tal leads from St. Alban-Vorstadt down to St. Alban-Rheinweg on the Rhine to the Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart (Art Museum Basel | Contemporary).

Take St. Alban-Rheinweg back down the riverside, ascend the Wettstein Bridge stairways, and head left onto St. Alban-Graben to find the Kunstmuseum, home of one of Europe's oldest public collections. Continue down St. Alban-Graben to the intersection of Steinenberg. To circle back into the center of the Altstadt, veer right on Steinenberg, which goes by the Kunsthalle.

Continue on Steinenberg until it opens out onto the bustling Barfüsserplatz and the Historisches Museum. Behind the tram concourse on Barfüsserplatz, follow the pedestrian zone to Leonhardsberg, which leads left up the stairs to the late-Gothic Leonhardskirche. Continue along the church walk into Heuberg Street, the spine of one of the loveliest sections of Old Basel. On Spalenvorstadt perches the Holbeinbrunnen, styled from a drawing by Hans Holbein. The Spalenvorstadt stretches to the 14th-century Spalentor gate, carefully refurbished in 2014.