Historic Hotel Au Violon in Basel offers a French twist on a centrally located bed and breakfast. Once a monastery, then a prison, this superb old town Basel Switzerland hotel invites you to stay in a remodeled former cell.

Walking through an archway, into a cobblestone courtyard, and past the clinking glasses at the French brasserie, and you may wonder if you are in the right place for your hotel. But up the stairs you go – into Hotel Au Violon, a superbly located bed and breakfast in old town Basel with historic roots that go back 1,000 years.

Just steps from a main transportation hub at Barfüsserplatz, the Hotel Au Violon is a bit of an adventure – a high-end hotel, albeit not luxury, with quaint rooms that used to be women’s prison cells, plus a gorgeous brasserie and a grand breakfast spread in a location that can’t be beat. First, you must find it, of course, inside a complex of historic buildings (Lohnhof) that also houses a music museum, apartments, community meeting rooms, and a French brasserie, all of which opened between 1998 and 2000.

Head through this archway into the Lohnhof complex of buildings to find Hotel Au Violon.

Once you find Hotel Au Violon in Greater Basel’s old town, you’ll be hooked. The remodeling job that transformed the building – a women’s detention center in its immediate past life – into a hotel left enough reminders of what it used to be for adorable character.

The name “Au Violon” may also strike you as odd – what do a hotel and French restaurant have to do with a violin? The name gives homage to two things: one, the music museum across the courtyard, and two, the French idiom for “spending a night in prison” or “passer une nuit au violon.”

Rooms maintain historic flair at Hotel Au Violon

A double Lohnhof room at Au Violon Basel

This old town Basel hotel has two types of rooms: Lohnhof, which face the inner courtyard (14 total, doubles and singles), and Cathedral, which face outward toward the cathedral (6 total of two sizes). The building is called the “Lohnhof” because at one point in its complex history, the man who oversaw the city’s buildings, construction and maintenance had offices there, and the courtyard is where workers came to collect their salaries: “Hof” means courtyard in German and “Lohn” means salary. Voila, Lohnhof!

Therese stands at the rather short and small entrance to a Lohnhof room feeling a bit like Alice in Wonderland. A flavor of the former prison cells was maintained at Hotel Au Violon. Note the coffee station at the end of the hallway.

We had a “Lohnhof” room. Kept relatively small to maintain the historic character, each room was made of two former cells combined, and you get a sense for the prison when you walk through doors so small into the rooms that you may have to duck your head. The bathrooms also have a sliding door to save space and quaint metal cabinets for storage that are placed in a frosted glass window that faces the hallway.

These rooms are quiet, even in old town, although you may still get some early morning chatter in the courtyard below, especially if you leave your windows open for fresh air. Of note is that there is no air conditioning, so if it’s hot you may be forced to leave the windows ajar for ventilation. Each room did have a very quiet high-end fan. And as is typical in so many European old towns, you may also feel the vibration of trams from around the corner – depending on your sensitivity.

These Lohnhof rooms are definitely not large at 150-square-feet for a double and a bit less for a single, but not tiny, either. There is a small desk, but no real place to sit other than one chair or on the bed if you aren’t at the desk. The closet is also very small, so larger suitcases could be a challenge, but there are side tables for your things on both sides of the bed! We found the historic quaintness quite charming.

A community TV room on the Lohnhof room floor used to be the shower room when it was a women’s detention center.

The rooms don’t have televisions, but there is a common TV and sitting room down the hall (formerly the women’s shower room), and the common fridge and coffee-making area at the end of the hall was a nice touch.

The Cathedral (“Münster”) rooms are larger because they are the former prosecutors’ offices! Sized between 195 and 280 square feet, these rooms have sitting areas, larger bathrooms, more space to put luggage, as well as televisions. They also face the outside toward the Barfüsserplatz transport area and the Cathedral – Indeed, you get a view of the city and cathedral, but you also may experience more noise from cars, trams, trucks or church bells, especially if you want to leave your windows open.

Cathedral room (“Münster” room) on the upper floor, with city and cathedral views.

About that amazing breakfast at Hotel Au Violon in Basel…

Many hotels in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria have splendid breakfasts, but this one was made particularly wonderful by the gorgeous setting of the sun-dappled brasserie, as well as the thoughtful additions and French touches to the offerings.

From croissants, hot cooked eggs, fresh fruit, an array of meats and cheeses, to breads (yes, croissants!), among other goodies, the breakfast will keep you satisfied with a smile on your face. Do leave yourself time to enjoy it!

Just outside the front door, the Au Violon Brasserie sets up outdoors during good weather in a rather wonderful courtyard.

We did not get a chance to experience dinner there, but the French fare on the menu sounded superb – in such a beautiful setting. And the courtyard was always packed. What a delightful off-the-beaten-path location for a meal on a pleasant evening.

Other amenities at this old town Basel hotel

Free Wi-Fi ran throughout the hotel and was generally strong, but sometimes flickered in and out. Still fine for most needs. There were also plenty of plugs, albeit no USBs to accommodate today’s modern power cords. Other than the small sitting room/TV room on the Lohnhof room floor, there was no other common room, lobby or lounge if you wanted to get out of your room. Of course, if you’re out touring this marvelous city, we’re not sure you’ll be lounging in the hotel a lot!

This not a five-star hotel by any means – no concierge desks or room service – but it is spotlessly clean and superbly maintained. And the staff was always wonderful.

One amenity is a community coffee-making station at the end of the hall – with excellent coffee we may add.

Like other Basel hotels, every guest also gets a so-called BaselCard that offers free city transportation, access to various wireless hotspots in the city, and discounts at certain museums, restaurants and attractions. You also can rent city bikes at the Guest Bike Office at the central train station – an offer we highly recommend to take your own bike tour of Basel or just to get around this bike-friendly Swiss city.

About the Au Violon hotel history in old town Basel

The Lohnhof building was originally constructed about 1,000 years ago! It has survived earthquakes (a big one in 1356) and went through a range of uses. First, it was a monastery and church, but when it could no longer pay its taxes, the last canons moved out in in the mid-1500s. After renovation, the church also housed the salary-paying officials in the late 1600s.

In 1821, the former monastery became a “remand prison” or detention center for prisoners awaiting sentencing or a trial. The prison was moved in 1995, leaving the Lohnhof complex vacant. Three firms ended up participating in the reconstruction: one for the apartments, one for the music museum, and one for the hotel and brasserie. The complex also has a jazz club, small theater, expat center and kindergarten.

Once you have the hotel code or call the front desk, you can avoid hiking up the cobblestones and instead whisk up the Au Violon elevator from the street below.  After a long day on bikes with camera gear, it was a blessing!

Today, the entities housed in the Lohnhof function well together, and the location is such a superb, centrally located one for travelers to Basel – an insider’s tip, in so many ways, since you must either find the elevator from a corner just off the main Barfüsserplatz or you have to wind you way across cobblestones and up the hill. Once you check in, you get a code to use the elevator, making coming and going much easier.

Who wants to stay in a slick modern hotel when traveling in a city with so much history as Basel Switzerland has? The Au Violon is a quaint, historic treasure that you will find yourself talking about for a long time after you have headed off to cruises, train tours, other parts of Switzerland, or home after your European tour.

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