Basel

On the Rhine at the turn from the High Rhine to the Upper Rhine, and commonly reckoned the cultural capital of Switzerland: forty museums are spread through the canton, which makes it one of the largest cultural centres in Europe relative to its size. The Kunstmuseum holds the first art collection anywhere opened to the public, in 1661, and is the largest art museum in the country; the Museum of Contemporary Art was the first of its kind in Europe. The university, founded in 1460, is Switzerland’s oldest, and the city sheltered Erasmus and the Holbein family.