The last day of our Switzerland trip will end in Basel. We plan on walking the city to see attractions of interest to us. Our last stop on our walk would be Mittlere Brucke. We thought we'd plan to make our way up to Dreiländerbrücke/Three Countries Bridge just to walk over to France from Germany. Ideally, we'd love to find a neat place on both the German and French sides for a quick snack or drink, photo op. Looking at Google maps, it doesn't show much of anything on the French side, other than the small grassy park like area at the foot of the bridge. On the German side, I see a big shopping area. It looks like this would involve about a 20 minute trip each way. I'm guessing we would take the train up to the Weil am Rhein, Dreiländerbr stop. I've read that that we can enter each country without having to show passports, is this correct? We'd welcome suggestions from anyone who has done this or has an alternative plan that we may enjoy. Thanks!
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
I just came back from my Sunday walk, including walking across the Dreiländerbrücke/Passerelle des trois Pays
If you do this I recommend you do this on a Saturday or Sunday, for reasons below.
It's not the train you want to get there, it is tram No. 8, destination "Weil am Rhein". You can pick this tram up anywhere in the city centre, it goes over the Mittlere Brucke (middle bridge). Make sure the tram says "Weil am Rhein" on the front, some end earlier at "Kleinhünigen". Get off at the first stop after the border "Dreiländerbrucke".
The shopping centre (Rhein-Center: https://www.rheincenter.com/ ) is of no tourist interest, but good for cheap shopping
At the French end of the bridge is a café, good for a coffee and snack. "La Huninguoise", but it is only open during the daytime on Saturday or Sunday. Facebook: https://www.ville-huningue.fr/fr/restaurants-salons-de-the/la-huninguoise.html
Also a 200 metres in front of you is Huningue town square (Place Abbatucci), with small shops and a restaurant. You will need Euros. Click here for photo. If you look up the street at the back of the square, you can see the steel arches of the Dreiländerbrucke.
You can walk back along the riverbank (French side) to Basel, but only on Saturdays and Sundays, the path is closed during the week due to building work. It is semi-industrial, past docks on the other side. It takes about 45 minutes all the way back to Mittlere Brucke, or 30 minutes to the next bridge, where you are back in Basel and can pick up a tram.
Click for map of route.
There is a small sign on the path when you cross the border (two flags and the words "Frontière Landesgrenze"). Legally you need your passport on you, but nobody checks you at any border crossing.
Posted by
OP
53 posts
Thank you Chris F. I appreciate your very detailed response. We will be there on a Friday, departing early on Saturday morning.