Getting Oriented

Shouldering the Swiss Jura Mountains, the German Black Forest, and the French Vosges, Basel is Switzerland's third-largest city and the central conurbation for the northwest part of the country. Bordering both banks of the Rhine, Basel is 730 feet above sea level—the lowest altitude of any Swiss city north of the Alps. From here the river turns 90 degrees north and widens into a majestic waterway.