Basel or Zurich at end of river cruise?

I'd do Lucern, we aren't big fans of Basel or Zurich.

China_Lake. Thanks, but we want to have a relatively straight train ride from either Basel or Zurich. Lucerne is not an option for this trip. Another trip, for sure.

We did Luzern. Not sure what you mean by straight ride. Luzern is about 1 1/2 hours by direct train from Basel. And you can get to the Zurich airport from Luzern in another 1.25 hours or so, so you can stay there the whole time. Basel is nice, but it's not in the mountains. Luzern has a beautiful lake and mountains.

Noting that if you disembark cruise in the morning, it would likely be afternoon before you could check in to a hotel if you stay in Basel. Zurich is a big busy cosmopolitan city.

There is nothing to worry about changing trains. Basel is easy, up one escalator, walk a few feet, then down another escalator.

I loved Basel. The riverfront is beautiful.
Zurich is lovely too. If you want cities, these are great!
The trains are so easy, if you wanted to get down to Luzern or any of the other pretty places around the cities, that's easy to do as day trips. But coming off of a long river cruise, if you just want to stay put, either city would be great.

So, I was convinced I hated Basel based on a rainy daytrip taken in the late 1990s. We went back in 2022 and stayed for a couple nights, and very much enjoyed it. Having said that, I'd pick Zurich every time if it were either/or.

I've noticed a lot of people on the Forum don't like Zurich, but I thought it was a great city. Cool neighborhoods, a fantastic National Museum, lively arts scene.

If it were me, I'd do the one night in Basel / 2 nights in Zurich, and then onward to Paris.

Lucerne for all your available nights!

We ended a river cruise in Basel and spent one night. We enjoyed it but one night was enough, there is not a great deal to do or see. I far prefer Zurich, lots to do there, but I also agree that Lucerne is the best of the lot.

Month of the year is relevant for Switzerland. I like cities and would vote for Basel. If you go to Lucerne, you will have no weather/haze flexibility for a boat and mountain summit on such a short stay.