Spring finally has sprung, and the buds on plants and flowering trees seem to be exploding into gorgeous flowers on a daily basis. From tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and forget-me-nots to forsythias, wisterias, magnolias, and cherry trees—there are so many beautiful blossoms around, you don’t even know where to look first.

Particular highlights are always the magnolias and cherry trees. Their beauty only lasts a short while and is sensitive to the weather (night frosts or rain), so try to admire them while you can! Here are some tips where you can find particularly nice spots for blossom watching!

Magnolias

Many magnolias are already in full bloom; you can find them throughout town in many individual gardens. However, a particularly beautiful (and photogenic/instagrammable) array of the trees can be found in front of the Pauluskirche. Other areas with magnificent magnolias are Peter-Rot-Strasse and near St.-Alban Tor.

Cherries

In town, there are a few sites with beautiful decorative cherry trees that are already in full bloom. These include the Rudolf-Wackernagel-Strasse in Riehen, which is lined by pink-flowering cherries, and Kannenfeldpark.

For best cherry blossom viewing, however, you have to venture a bit further afield into Baselland and Aargau, which is one of the main cherry producing regions in Switzerland. The flowering season, or “Bluescht” is always a highlight in the region. The fruit trees are slowly beginning to flower in late March, with the peak flowering season expected in mid-April. There are several suggested routes to make the most of your cherry-blossom viewing experience. For example, the “Baselbieter Chirsiweg” (cherry path) is a hiking trail that in about 3 hours leads from the train station “Sommerau” near Sissach/Gelterkinden to Oltingen, via Rünenberg and Wenslingen (https://www.baselland-tourismus.ch/en/poi/baselbieter-chirsiweg). Another cherry path is located in canton Aargau, near Gipf-Oberfrick, which is about 5 km long (there is also a longer, 9 km variant). The website (https://jurapark-aargau.ch/chriesiwaeg) also provides information in English.

Baselland Tourismus has a website fully dedicated to the cherry blossoms, with lists of hotspots where you can find lots of trees, as well as suggested routes to admire them on foot, by bike, or by car (https://www.baselland-tourismus.ch/entdecken-erleben/kirschbluete-im-baselbiet). And if you want to find out, when and where the cherry blossoms are opening for the best viewing experience, you can check out their “Bluescht Live-Ticker” (https://www.baselland-tourismus.ch/entdecken-erleben/bluescht-live-ticker) that shows the exact state of the cherry blossoms in various locations.

Wisterias

Another beautiful harbinger of spring are the blue flowers of the wisterias, which also begin to appear towards the end of March. Again, you will find gorgeous specimens in many neighborhoods throughout Basel. A particularly nice area to see them is along Feldbergstrasse in Kleinbasel.

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