Travel to Vitra design museum, Weil am Rhein from Basel

I don't have the answer for you, but I did this by car, on a day-out from the southern Black Forest. I also went to the Fondation Beyeler (on the north side of Basel, near the border.) I also made a briefer than I would have liked stop at Augusta Raurica, which is excellent. But I had a rental car. Here's a 12-year old report:

Vitra is a big attraction, and you need to book in advance for the sell-out "architecture" tour, which is never accessible to unaccompanied pedestrians. I chose the longest one, which included almost too much time in Zaha Hadid's Vitra Fire Station, but I admit that was a big part of the attraction for me. The Vitra Design Museum is on your own, and has a cafe, AFAIR. The architecture campus tour is mostly level, and not grueling, although perhaps, long. I enjoyed it.

Perhaps Vitra will answer an inquiry, although of course you'd rather learn about travel before paying for two tour tickets. If Weil Am Rhein has a TI, maybe you could phone the TI during high season and hope they'll talk to you. The border is so porous, I wonder if you could take a Swiss taxi? Can you ask the hotel where you'll be staying if they know the answer?

Just look up the DB app (www.bahn.com) for "Basel Bad Bf" to "Weil am Rhein, Vitra Design Museum". You will find several connections, including that bus 55 (which seems to be the most convenient option, it's a 16 min ride). "Basel Bad Bf" is the train station operated by the DB. It has good public transport connection from any place in Basel.

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

Based on the options available on DB App, bus 55 from Basel bad Bf seems to be the most convenient option. The option of purchase of bus tickets was not available on DB App. I expect the bus is being run by a different transport organization. I will try and obtain details related to the same during our stay in Basel. Thanks again for the info.

Here is the line plan for bus 55. The ticket you need is an RVL (regional transit association) Einzelfahrscheine for 2 Zones. It should cost 3,90 per person, per direction. There will be RVL ticket machines at the Basel BadBf, or you should be able to buy in cash from the bus driver.

You can save a few euros and the annoyance of buying multiple tickets if you buy the 24-hour transit ticket from the RVL, which is good for up to five people (14 EUR). It is called the TeamCard24, and you want the one that is good for up to three tariff zones. This ticket will also be available at the ticket machines at Basel BadBf.

Also, you can also trick the DB app into letting you buy these tickets. Let me know if you are interested in how. Note: these are timed tickets so don't pre-buy them.

And finally, I highly highly recommend doing one of the architecture tours there, rather than just visiting the museum. I have done it more than once and find it really worthwhile. I did not check, but assume that they offer something in English. You will have to pre-book, however, and often quite some time in advance.

Thank you very much for the informative info on bus 55 route including the route map.

I would be grateful if you could let me know of any options/ways of purchasing the day tickets for two of us (for 14 Euros) on DB App for a trip from Basel Bad Bf to Vitra museum. That would avoid having to purchase tickets from the ticket box at the bus station or having to download RVL app to be able to purchase tickets.

We will certainly try and do architectural tours if we are able to reserve slots for the same prior to our visit.

Small note, I remember visiting a temporary exhibition (maybe on one particular designer) in a gallery that was entirely separate from the [Industrial/Office] Vita Design Museum. Even back then, it may have had timed tickets.

Just to be clear, you are NOT permitted to wander the campus and approach the exteriors of the commissioned buildings built by Vitra, or the buildings moved there for exhibition. The "campus" is seen by tour only. I remember a lot of time inside a Le Corbusier (?) building, with a guide, as well as inside the Fire Station.

Ok, so my DB app speaks to me in German, so the translations that I provide here might not be exactly the same as in the English version.

In the App, you click on the menu on the right upper corner (the three lines). The first option is something like "booking information", the second "Favourites", and the third something like "network tickets" or "travel association tickets" This is in German "Verbundtickets", and is the option you want.

You click on that, and then scroll down to "RVL, Lörrach and Region". You have to click on the button that says something like "to ticket options", and then you will see a range of tickets, including the TeamCard24 2. Class. That is the one you want. It looks like you actually can order this ahead of time, so if you click on that ticket, you will have an option to set the day and time that it starts (it runs for 24hr). You need to also select the price category, which you should set to "three zones". You also need to select the actual zones you want to travel through, in your case, you should select zones 1, 3, and 8, which will cover your trip from Basel BadBF to the museum and back.

Once you pay for the ticket, you need to make sure you know where it is in the app, and you need to have connectivity on your phone, so that you can show it to the bus driver when you board.

Let me know if you have other quetions!

Thanks for that helpful info. I managed to locate the page showing the list of regional transport associations on DB App. I should be able to purchase day tickets for RVL network through the DB App.
Thanks again!

Hey Westnova, you didn't ask, and I know Germany better than Switzerland; But note that you are going to find yourself in a lot of completely unattended rail and bus stations. I recommend that you carry at least two chip-and-PIN cards, even if they happen to be Signature-priority. I am sure that phone-apps (which have vastly increased since our last trip to Europe three years ago) are a good solution to these issues. I normally avoid Debit Card transactions anywhere but a bank's ATM, but sometimes my ATM (i.e. debit POS function) card has worked where a credit card failed.

Thanks for that info. I have always found Swiss train stations (compared to those in Germany) to have more facilities geared towards passengers convenience and comfort.