( CNN ) -- Perched on the River Rhine with Germany and France bordering it on either side , the Swiss city of Basel stands at a crossroads between the three countries . Basel sits on the Rhine at the crossroads of three European countries . In the past its location on the Rhine made it an important city , it is home to the oldest university in Switzerland and Europe 's oldest government-rated five star hotel , the Hotel Drei Kronige . A stroll around Basel 's beautifully preserved Old Town taking in the Munster , its red sandstone gothic cathedral , will give the visitor a sense of the city 's historical significance . To delve even further into the area 's past though , you need to go 12 miles east of Basel to the 2,000 year-old Roman settlement of Augusta Raurica , located on the south bank of the Rhine . The oldest Roman colony on the Rhine , the site contains a well-preserved theater as well as the remains of a forum , amphitheater and aqueduct . At an open-air museum visitors can see a reconstruction of a Roman house and recreations of daily life from the period . If after this you 've had your fill of delving through dusty artefacts , it might be time to shake off the cobwebs with an adrenalin-charged toboggan ride . At 1.8 miles long , Hasenhorn ( located around 25 miles east of Basel ) is the longest toboggan run in Germany and open all year round . After taking a chair lift up the mountain , buckle in for a heart-in-the-mouth ride of steep curves and white-knuckle loops . For a more sedate leisure experience , you can head back to the city for a late afternoon art fix at the Kunstmuseum , on St Alban-Graben 16 . Open daily from 10am -- 5pm , the museum has an impressive collection of works by Holbein , Picasso and Chagall inside . In the courtyard you 'll find sculptures , the centerpiece of which is Rodin 's famous `` Burghers of Calais . '' As night falls it 's time to enjoy some food and drink in the convivial surroundings of the Fischerstube Microbrewery , Rheingasse 45 , where the heady menu features beer on every course , including a beer-soaked dessert .
Basel was a major town in the middle ages , a legacy of this is the pretty Old Town . A highlight of a stroll round the city is a trip to Basel . Outside of town is the the middle ages Hasenhorn settlement of Augusta Raurica . The Roman toboggan run 12 miles east of Basel is also worth a trip .