Fondation Beyeler

The Fondation Beyeler is one of the finest private art museums in Europe and the main reason many travellers add Basel to a Swiss itinerary. It opened in 1997 to house the collection of the dealers Ernst and Hildy Beyeler, who spent decades assembling works by the great names of modern art. The building, designed by Renzo Piano, is a long, low pavilion of steel, glass and local red porphyry stone, with a wide roof that floats above the galleries and walls that open onto a lawn and a pond of water lilies. The architecture and the landscape are part of the experience. The permanent collection ranges from late Impressionism and early modernism to American abstraction and contemporary work. You can expect rooms with Monet water lily panels, Picasso from several periods, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Rothko, Giacometti figures, Warhol and Kelly, usually in a rotating display so that the hang changes through the year. Large temporary exhibitions, often on a single major artist, are what draw crowds from across Europe, so they are worth checking in advance.

The museum stands in Riehen, a leafy village on the edge of Basel close to the German border, and the journey is simple. Tram 6 runs from the centre of Basel and stops very close to the entrance, taking around twenty minutes from the main shopping streets. This makes it an easy half day, and the tram ride through the quiet suburban streets is a pleasant change from the dense old town.

Inside, the light is the first thing you notice. The galleries use daylight filtered through the roof, and the glass walls frame the garden, so a Monet and the pond that inspired its subject can be seen at once. Spaces are calm and uncrowded for a museum of this reputation, and rooms are spacious enough to stand back from large canvases. Signs and an audio guide give context, and guided tours are offered in several languages at set times.

Timing matters. Opening hours are usually long, and many weeks have an extended evening on one day, but exhibition peaks and weekends can be busy. A weekday morning gives the quietest rooms. Tickets can often be bought online in advance, and it is sensible to reserve a time slot if you are travelling in a busy period or want to see a headline show. Check the museum site for the current exhibition and for any days when parts of the building are closed for installation.

There is a museum cafe and restaurant with garden views, as well as a shop with an outstanding selection of art books. The park outside is open to walk through, and Riehen has other attractions nearby, including the Spielzeugmuseum and the old village church, if you would like to extend the outing. Allow two to three hours for the museum itself.

Photography rules differ by gallery and exhibition, so look for signs at each room, and bags and large items may need to be left in the cloakroom. Children are welcome, and family workshops and guides are sometimes offered. Wheelchair access is good, with level floors and lifts throughout.

Check the museum website for the current exhibition before you go, since a headline show can change the pace of a visit. Allow time to sit in the garden, where the pond and the lilies are a gentle counterpoint to the paintings inside, and take the tram back through Riehen for a quiet look at a leafy Basel suburb.