A French breeze is blowing through this hotel hidden behind an archway above the Barfüsser square. Tables set in white and braided bistro chairs are assembled around a burbling fountain. The view over the roofs of the historic center is fantastic. People that are not staying at the hotel come to eat at the brasserie. It offers changing daily menus such as lasagna with mushroom salad or fried prawns flambéed with Pastis on the terrace or at the light-flooded restaurant with dark wooden interior and Art déco lamps. The twenty simple hotel rooms are very popular because of the moderate prices and the central but cozy location close to Leonhard church. You have to look twice to find out that the Au Violon is or was not an ordinary house. Its name does not only refer to the music museum opposite the road, but also the hotel’s history. Translated “Au Violon” means “going to jail” and until 1995 the building served exactly these purposes. Nowadays, only the strange small and narrow doors leading to the rooms remind about their prior function as prison cells. They are furnished without a lot of extras and do not have a telephone or TV. The hotel has a very special feature as well. You can either walk up the hill to reach Au Violon – or take the elevator at Barfüsser square directly into the lobby.
Im Lohnhof 4
4051 Basel
phone: +41 61 2698711
price: double from 190 €
