I had heard that Basel is one of the more underrated tourist destinations in Europe. After arriving on the City Night Line train and spending all day walking around, I would certainly agree. The Old Town is fabulous with quiet, winding, small, cobblestone streets and old churches and squares. And our small boutique hotel in Old Town, De Teufelhol Basel, is quite nice. The electric trams on the streets are fantastic. And though I’m annoyed that I bought 2-day tram passes when the hotel gave us a set for free upon arrival, it’s good I did because, like Paris, Basel’s mass transit works on the honor system with undercover plain-clothes transit police looking to give out huge fines for folks without tickets. Guess who magically appeared on the #3 tram, but such an officer ready to give me a $100 fine. (Though I’m now more annoyed do to the following info that I just learned from wikitravel: "All hotels in Basel, including the youth hostel, offer each registered guest a free "Mobility Pass" upon check in. This gives free unlimited travel in Basel and suburbs (including to and from the airport) for the duration of their stay. This is easily worth the price of a lunch every day you stay. If you have written confirmation of a hotel reservation you can also use this to travel from the railway station or airport to your hotel.")

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