Where France, Germany and Switzerland meet on the same riverbank. A long extended weekend for a free old town, world-class art, and the strange Basel ritual of floating down the Rhine in your clothes — based on the cheap side of the border, with one Supercharger stop each way.
Basel sits exactly where France, Germany and Switzerland touch — you can stand in the Dreiländereck park with one foot in each country's general direction. The old town is free and gorgeous (red-sandstone Münster, medieval lanes, the Rhine running straight through the middle), the museums are genuinely world-class (Fondation Beyeler, Kunstmuseum Basel), and in summer the entire city treats the river as a lido: locals swim or float down the Rhine on their lunch break using a waterproof bag called a Wickelfisch to keep their clothes dry. Switzerland is brutally expensive, so this trip is built around basing on the French side (Saint-Louis) or German side (Weil am Rhein), a few minutes' bike ride from the old town, and only spending Swiss francs on the things actually worth it.
Driving distance Meudon-la-Forêt → Basel is ≈570 km, roughly 5h05–5h30 without stops, via A6/A5/A31/A36 toward Mulhouse and the border. At a realistic ~330–370 km per charge, this now needs just one mandatory Supercharger stop each way, with a second real option nearby as an optional buffer:
Sources: Tesla Supercharger location pages for Strasbourg and Mulhouse; vignette price via ch.ch and myswissalps.com; vignette-avoidance route via Rick Steves Travel Forum discussion of the Saint-Louis border crossing.
Long driving day: charge at Strasbourg (the one mandatory stop; Mulhouse is there as an optional top-up if you want it), then roll into Saint-Louis on the French side to set up camp before crossing into Basel car-free for the evening. Walk the old town: the red-sandstone Basel Münster and its terrace over the Rhine (free), the medieval streets around Marktplatz, and the riverside promenade. Grab dinner supplies at a French supermarket in Saint-Louis before crossing — Swiss grocery prices run noticeably higher than France or Germany just a few hundred metres away.
Morning at Fondation Beyeler in Riehen (CHF 25 adult, CHF 20 on Tuesdays, free for under-25s) — one of Europe's best modern-art collections in a Renzo Piano building with gardens running into the countryside. Alternative or add-on: Kunstmuseum Basel (CHF 30 adult; free entry Tue/Thu/Fri 5–6pm, Wed 5–8pm, and every first Sunday of the month — worth timing around if the calendar lines up). Afternoon: join the local ritual and swim the Rhine. Rent or buy a Wickelfisch waterproof swim bag (keeps your clothes and phone dry while you float), get in at one of the public river-access ladders upstream, and let the current carry you through the city center — this is Basel's actual summer pastime, not a tourist gimmick, drawing tens of thousands of swims over the May–September season.
Bike day. Basel sits on EuroVelo 15, the Rhine Cycle Route — one of the most beginner-friendly long-distance routes in Europe, more than 75% on dedicated, car-free paths. Ride from Saint-Louis/Weil am Rhein along the river to the Dreiländereck (Tri-Border Point) where France, Germany and Switzerland meet, marked by a striking observation tower you can climb. Loop back through Weil am Rhein (Germany) — cheaper cafés and groceries than Basel itself. Easy, flat, well-signed terrain the whole way.
Last coffee and a walk through anything missed in the old town (the Rathaus courtyard, Spalentor gate), then reverse the route: Strasbourg Supercharger on the way back, with Mulhouse there as an optional extra top-up if you want it.
Bike loaded inside per the Car Camping & Bike Guide — no rack needed. The Rhine towpaths on both the French/German bank (EuroVelo 15) and the Swiss side (EuroVelo 6/Swiss National Route 2) are flat, dedicated, and genuinely easy — this is one of the least technical, most scenic rides in the whole series. Basel itself is also extremely bike-friendly if you want to skip trams entirely and just cycle between old town, museums and the river.
Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe for camping and food — a Basel-region campsite averages around €35/night, and general Swiss campsite pricing runs CHF 20–40 for a tent pitch plus a CHF 2–4 per-person tourist tax on top. Basing in Saint-Louis (France) or Weil am Rhein (Germany) instead — both a 10–15 minute bike ride from Basel's old town — avoids all of that. The free spots above cost nothing; if you want a paid fallback with facilities, look for a campsite on the French or German side rather than inside Switzerland.
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tolls (French autoroute, round trip) | ≈ €35–45 |
| Charging (≈1,140 km round trip @ ~€0.40/kWh; one mandatory stop each way, optional Mulhouse top-up may add a little) | ≈ €90–110 |
| Swiss vignette | €0 (route avoids Swiss motorways — see note above) |
| Lodging (free aire, Saint-Louis, 3 nights) | €0 |
| Fondation Beyeler entry | ≈ €26 (CHF 25) |
| Wickelfisch rental/purchase | ≈ €15–25 |
| Comfort meal in Basel | ≈ €25–35 |
| Food (mostly self-cooked, groceries bought in France/Germany) | ≈ €35–45 |
| Total | €230–290 |