Marktplatz, Basel

It took me awhile to find the walking "center" of Basel. It certainly was not at the train station, or the nearby bus station-- walking from there seemed to lead to a "nowhere" of large vehicular roads and near-deserted streets. On the second day I made it to the old town and began to really see the city on foot.


One of the iconic buildings in Basel is the Rathaus, painted bright red. Limited by my lack of German, I did not learn much about it! What interested me more was the Marktplatz square in front of the building, which had the lively and beautiful character of a successful European plaza. What makes this place what it is? The architecture on its edges is varied and handsome. The Rathaus is an icon, and a slow stream of visitors passed to and from. People also sat in sidewalk cafes, as did I, and came and went on the trams that frequently pass along the opposite side of the square. I also noticed the subtle effect of the paving pattern in the square, where two large floral patterns mark the center, almost like on a rug. People were drawn to walk toward the floral pattern, stand on it, or walk through it. Just a simple paving pattern seemed to define a space for people to orient themselves and their movements within the square.