As someone who uses a wheelchair, I’d like to say it’s very nice of you to mention potential accessibility issues. Travel can be complicated for people with disabilities and the lack of information can sometimes lead to embarrassing and disappointing surprises.
yes, my mother was in a wheelchair for the last 12 years of her life. Numerous times we made reservations and asked about wheelchair accessibility only to find that indeed, there was a wheelchair ramp and an elevator, but the doors were too narrow to allow a wheelchair to pass, making it rather impossible to get her into and out of buildings or rooms.
I was about to comment something similar, even though I'm not disabled myself; I appreciate Tim mentions stuff like this. It's a very small effort, but to those concerned of huge value.
@@jwenting it's so frustrating when people think that a ramp is the only requirement. It's really not very hard to just get hold of a standard wheelchair and just try and manoeuvre it around your establishment. I've done it! Takes ten minutes!
Me: Ah just a cute little hotel with a novelty location due to a treaty. Tim: It saved hundred of jews and resistance members during WWII, was personally thanked by Charles De Gaule and hosted the peace negotiations between France and Algiers.
I know this wasn't the intention, but the phrasing made me imagine a hand extending out from the hotel itself to shake Charles De Gaulle's, as though it were a part of the building itself.
Btw, in case any of you are now looking this up on Google or Bing maps (I know what you lot are like) - yes, they both show the border missing the hotel, and yes, they are both inaccurate :) EDIT: openstreetmap shows it correctly - www.openstreetmap.org/node/198153696#map=18/46.46523/6.07457 (thanks Voyager XYZ for your comment below pointing this out)
@@dontspikemydrink9382 They use the WGS-84 model of the world for border data I believe, which while it on average is accurate, can be several meters off in places. This is because WGS-84 assumes the world is perfectly spherical... it's not, the world is kinda lumpy
As a carpenter in this modern age, the fact he build that in 3 months back then even if it was just the shell of the building that was finished is impressive as hell.
My grandmother told me some of our family member escaped France though this hotel before settling in geneva. Thank god those people were there without them I wouldn’t have been born.
As far as I understand, the business is taxed 1/3 by Switzerland and 2/3 by France, as that's how the territory is split, but I'm not sure about the finer details
5:47 notice that the old sign says 'Simplon', which appears to be somewhat unusual for this location. Back in the day, this was part of RN5, the main road from Paris to Italy, across the Simplon Pass. At that time there was no tunnel through the Mont Blanc.
I literally laughed out loud -- yes, audibly -- when you said ""What better way to celebrate the 14th of July than to...." I have already watched and enjoyed a few of your other videos but that definitely earned a "Subscribe." I look forward to watching your future travels (and catching up on your past ones)!
You should come to Basel. As it is located on the tripoint CH-DE-FR we've got many interesting border stories. EG cross border trams or the longest single span pedestrian bridge in the world connecting FR and DE. The Airport is also trinational and we've got railway stations of three countries in one city. I d love to give you some more infos and ideas, if you're interessted!
I just finished trekking the Westweg through the Black Forest this week and it ends in the Basel Badischer Bahnhof. To my surprise it is run by the Deutsche Bahn.
@@Optidorf Yes it belongs to the german state. In WWII it made quite a fuss. As far as I know it was the only place in Switzerland where the swastika officialy was shown in a city and later it came out that the nazis dug a tunnel from there under the city to prepare a possible invasion.
@@schaulinnoam That would have been quite mad for the Nazis to try. Switzerland is heavily defended by mountains. If they went to war with Switzerland it would not end well for the Nazis. Even by accidentally invading! No wonder they metaphorically wet themselves at the thought of bringing down the might of the Swiss Army on them.
@@hairyairey Well Basel isn't in the Alps and the defence lines were built in the hills after Basel, so it wouldn't have been to hard. And honestly: the swiss army istn't/wasn't really strong and the reason for not invading switzerland was that it was neutral and still traded with the Nazis and stored "their" gold. Here's an article (in german but google translate helps) about the tunnels under Basel: www.google.com/amp/s/amp.bzbasel.ch/basel/basel-stadt/in-katakomben-unter-dem-badischen-bahnhof-trafen-sich-die-nazis-129807997
Reminds me of Derby Line Vermont/Stanstead Quebec where the US-Canada border goes directly through a library. The library was deliberately built on the border for both countries to use, although the only entrance for it is on the US side
Yes - that library, along with the buildings of Baarle-Hertog/Baarle-Nassau, is the reason I had to call this place "*almost* unique" :) I think Tom Scott did a video on it a while back
I hope being able to travel again lifted your spirits, and that you're safe and well. It was an unexpected joy to see this pop up in my recommendations; I wasn't expecting you to be able to videos like this again so soon. I'm so glad though, your humour always puts me in a good mood, and you manage to make topics that I usually wouldn't be into so much more engaging. I've been reading about quirky places and unusual architecture lately, and I think you're one of the people I have to thank for developing my interest in that - so thank you! And, as always, thanks for the accessibility info. I will always appreciate it.
I want to thank you for always mentioning accessibility in your videos - seriously, thank you so much. Kindness is inherent in your content, and that does not go unnoticed.
I loved this, I laughed out loud several times. And I also love how you always talk about accessibility in the places you visit. That's not done nearly enough by anyone else, and I think it's great that you take the time to mention it.
The lamppost line reminded me of the time I was fascinated by something that looked like some sort of modern art. Only to walk a few meters to find the same thing with a trash can under it. It was just a weird looking cover for public trash cans in that park.
I was there last year, oblivious of this fact! I stayed in Les Rousses and went for a run to La Cure, hopping over the border and feasting my eyes on the border situation (I love borders) there. And never noticed the restaurant... Well, have to go back sometime then. Thanks for the great video. Stay safe👍🏻
Sheesh dude, I have to rewind the video after hearing the music at 1:25 b/c it was too distracting. All I could hear was "want you back, want you back, want you back for good" and I know how these territorial disputes are going to go anyway. Kudos. Lemme unpause real quick... Arrr, great video again. Nothing to nitpick over. You're a fan's worst nightmare. Also, you have to spend hours upon hours scouring obscure travelling websites to find all these gems. Otherwise I can't explain how engaging each and every one of your videos are, with legit interesting stories behind them. Lastly, your videos more and more get a certain /r/madlad -feel to them. Good stuff Tim :)
Haha sorry Lennart :D Btw, I've mentioned them before but I get a lot of my ideas from one website, atlasobscura.com - they save me a lot of time finding places like this. (That's not to say I don't spend any time on research... I do hours of research, but it's usually AFTER the trip, when I get home and want to fill out the story with more details. And fact-check. Etc.)
@The Tim Traveller you got me at the end about sleeping with your body separated by them ! Love it and boom subscribed my man ! Tons of love from India.
I've been to La Cure, I didn't know about the hotel though sadly, my parents used to own a house in the Jura Mountains. I used to go skiing at Les rousses and Les Jouvencelles.
Wonderful video. I’ve shared link with a friend who works at AF museum in Amsterdam. Places and stories like these need to be kept alive forever. Thank you for helping to do that. Zoltán
Those of you who are wondering when's he gonna mention anything about trains (bcs let's face it it's not a Tim Traveller vid without a mention of trains) it's at 6:14 you're welcome :)
Great to see you travelling again Tim! Loved the story of this hotel and the thought that you could fall asleep in France and wake up in Switzerland just by rolling over in bed! :D
Three weeks later, cut to William in room 6, laptop poised and The Tim Traveller videos playing on repeat while he is rocking back and forth in bed with the sheets over his head.
At least it wouldn't set you back too much - I was super surprised to learn it's only 90€, not sure about the rest of Europe but in Finland, that's a quite standard hotel room price
@@64ankka I would argue it is kind of expensive. Last week I stayed in a 3* hotel in Prague, Budapest and Sofia for respectively 51, 48 and 29 euros for a three-person room including breakfast. (total prices, not per person) But I don't know if the prices are always so low. It might be because of Covid-19.
Interesting story and I appreciate you noting the accessibility issue. That's too often ignored by travel articles and videos, but it's very important for us who have persons with disabilities in the family.
It's funny, I drive pretty often next to that hotel and I had always thought the name was only an indication that is was sitting next to the border, not literally on it.
In the village of Lucelle, the French-Swiss border separates the terrace of a café from the lobby. If you take your drink at the terrace, you pay in euros, but in the lobby, you pay in Swiss francs (maybe the other way round, I'm not sure). My hotel room, and the whole hotel, was in France, but the emergency exit leads to Switzerland.
And yet another fascinating video, that's awesome. And the bit where you found out the border went the other way so you could sleep in 2 different countries at the same time. Amazing. And the bit about the Grandmother telling the Nazis to go and do one was hilarious
You and Tom Scott should do a video where you just happen to be doing a video at the same place and cross into each others videos.
Great! That would be like the SmarterEveryDay-Veritaserum collaboration on the coriolis force.
Why not invite Map Men too?
but they dont interact. they just sorta cross the frame in the background
@@stevecriddle Tim has appeared in a Jay Foreman (from off of Map Men) video ruclips.net/video/daeB46Z4fjs/видео.html
@@HugePilchard Hey, Geoff Marshall is in that video as well!!
As someone who uses a wheelchair, I’d like to say it’s very nice of you to mention potential accessibility issues. Travel can be complicated for people with disabilities and the lack of information can sometimes lead to embarrassing and disappointing surprises.
yes, my mother was in a wheelchair for the last 12 years of her life. Numerous times we made reservations and asked about wheelchair accessibility only to find that indeed, there was a wheelchair ramp and an elevator, but the doors were too narrow to allow a wheelchair to pass, making it rather impossible to get her into and out of buildings or rooms.
I was about to comment something similar, even though I'm not disabled myself; I appreciate Tim mentions stuff like this. It's a very small effort, but to those concerned of huge value.
@@jwenting it's so frustrating when people think that a ramp is the only requirement. It's really not very hard to just get hold of a standard wheelchair and just try and manoeuvre it around your establishment. I've done it! Takes ten minutes!
I have always appreciated how he tells us how to get to the places so this was a lovely addition. Having been a carer, i totally understand
I thought exactly the same! It is nice when someone remembers that there are people with different needs
6:00 great pun - "What better way to celebrate the 14th of July than by having my head separated from my body by the French"
more for revolutionary shade TBH
Agreed! Loved that! 😆
that took me a second _)
It's a good thing I wasn't drinking any tea or I would have spit it out at that. 😂
Is it a pun?
Me: Ah just a cute little hotel with a novelty location due to a treaty.
Tim: It saved hundred of jews and resistance members during WWII, was personally thanked by Charles De Gaule and hosted the peace negotiations between France and Algiers.
I know this wasn't the intention, but the phrasing made me imagine a hand extending out from the hotel itself to shake Charles De Gaulle's, as though it were a part of the building itself.
It's Algeria, algiers is the capital
Btw, in case any of you are now looking this up on Google or Bing maps (I know what you lot are like) - yes, they both show the border missing the hotel, and yes, they are both inaccurate :)
EDIT: openstreetmap shows it correctly - www.openstreetmap.org/node/198153696#map=18/46.46523/6.07457
(thanks Voyager XYZ for your comment below pointing this out)
How so?
@@dontspikemydrink9382 They use the WGS-84 model of the world for border data I believe, which while it on average is accurate, can be several meters off in places. This is because WGS-84 assumes the world is perfectly spherical... it's not, the world is kinda lumpy
@@StairStealer the world is flat to begin with so there is where they are wrong to start with
@@StairStealer I thought it was because they use an American datum as opposed to localised datum.
@@dontspikemydrink9382 It's the place where they park the sun underground every evening.
5:53 That cat laid down on the ground expecting belly rubs
Macron: just go on vacation within french borders this summer please
Tim: yes but actually no
French Government: Will you go to France or leave the country?
Tim: Yes
As a carpenter in this modern age, the fact he build that in 3 months back then even if it was just the shell of the building that was finished is impressive as hell.
no one can defeat a french escaping taxes
WW2 and Algerian independence? Wow what a hotel, filled with history. I miss living in Switzerland
You mean France? ;)
If only this hotel had been graced with the presence of our Dear Leader.
Dear Leader ia going to miss living altogether pretty soon, from what we've heard about his health.
Save to say, there is no vice versa...
My grandmother told me some of our family member escaped France though this hotel before settling in geneva. Thank god those people were there without them I wouldn’t have been born.
Since the building is french to Swisspeople and swisss for Frech, how do they do taxation?
As far as I understand, the business is taxed 1/3 by Switzerland and 2/3 by France, as that's how the territory is split, but I'm not sure about the finer details
@@TheTimTraveller That sound like a lot of fun for the buck.
That's fine if you are French or Swiss. But suppose you are British, then what country is the building in?
@@ingemarolson3240 or if you are binational French - Swiss?
Brilliant stuff. Love this. Keep 'em coming, Tim.
4:02 this story is genius because it’s so simple yet so smart!
5:47 notice that the old sign says 'Simplon', which appears to be somewhat unusual for this location. Back in the day, this was part of RN5, the main road from Paris to Italy, across the Simplon Pass. At that time there was no tunnel through the Mont Blanc.
^ seems legit - username checks out
"Where are you?"
"Fra..Switzerla..France
Fritzerland? Swance?
@@RacTac Francerland
Arbezie!
"What better way to celebrate the 14th of July than by having my head separated from my body by the French"
best line.
That commentary about the lamp post and bed made my day 😂
Me too, and I also laughed about the "head seperated from the body"-part.
The cat was cute
This is only 60 km from where I was born. And I'm watching it from 10,000 km away!
Tim, excellent video as usual! 👍
Where do you live rn ?? 😁
@@jungle6815 Singapore.
@@kabochaVA Woah thats quite far, i live in iraq
are you swiss or french
@@meltedelevator French
I literally laughed out loud -- yes, audibly -- when you said ""What better way to celebrate the 14th of July than to...." I have already watched and enjoyed a few of your other videos but that definitely earned a "Subscribe." I look forward to watching your future travels (and catching up on your past ones)!
You should come to Basel. As it is located on the tripoint CH-DE-FR we've got many interesting border stories. EG cross border trams or the longest single span pedestrian bridge in the world connecting FR and DE. The Airport is also trinational and we've got railway stations of three countries in one city.
I d love to give you some more infos and ideas, if you're interessted!
I would like to see a video about that, great suggestion!
I just finished trekking the Westweg through the Black Forest this week and it ends in the Basel Badischer Bahnhof. To my surprise it is run by the Deutsche Bahn.
@@Optidorf Yes it belongs to the german state. In WWII it made quite a fuss. As far as I know it was the only place in Switzerland where the swastika officialy was shown in a city and later it came out that the nazis dug a tunnel from there under the city to prepare a possible invasion.
@@schaulinnoam That would have been quite mad for the Nazis to try. Switzerland is heavily defended by mountains. If they went to war with Switzerland it would not end well for the Nazis. Even by accidentally invading! No wonder they metaphorically wet themselves at the thought of bringing down the might of the Swiss Army on them.
@@hairyairey Well Basel isn't in the Alps and the defence lines were built in the hills after Basel, so it wouldn't have been to hard. And honestly: the swiss army istn't/wasn't really strong and the reason for not invading switzerland was that it was neutral and still traded with the Nazis and stored "their" gold.
Here's an article (in german but google translate helps) about the tunnels under Basel: www.google.com/amp/s/amp.bzbasel.ch/basel/basel-stadt/in-katakomben-unter-dem-badischen-bahnhof-trafen-sich-die-nazis-129807997
Reminds me of Derby Line Vermont/Stanstead Quebec where the US-Canada border goes directly through a library. The library was deliberately built on the border for both countries to use, although the only entrance for it is on the US side
And above the library is an Opera House. They gave my family a little tour.
I was about the mention this place also ... I used to live in Ayer's Cliff
Yes - that library, along with the buildings of Baarle-Hertog/Baarle-Nassau, is the reason I had to call this place "*almost* unique" :) I think Tom Scott did a video on it a while back
I think there actually is an entrance in both countries, but you're expected to use the same door that you entered to leave.
@@ClarkEmbree No, there's no entrance in Canada. Canadians park on their side and are allowed to walk on the sidewalk to the entrance in the USA.
I hope being able to travel again lifted your spirits, and that you're safe and well. It was an unexpected joy to see this pop up in my recommendations; I wasn't expecting you to be able to videos like this again so soon. I'm so glad though, your humour always puts me in a good mood, and you manage to make topics that I usually wouldn't be into so much more engaging. I've been reading about quirky places and unusual architecture lately, and I think you're one of the people I have to thank for developing my interest in that - so thank you! And, as always, thanks for the accessibility info. I will always appreciate it.
That closing statement around the 6:00 mark, absolute gold!
I want to thank you for always mentioning accessibility in your videos - seriously, thank you so much. Kindness is inherent in your content, and that does not go unnoticed.
I loved this, I laughed out loud several times. And I also love how you always talk about accessibility in the places you visit. That's not done nearly enough by anyone else, and I think it's great that you take the time to mention it.
This is in the Atlas of Unusual Borders by Zoran Nikolic. Great book, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in geography.
Gotta love a bit of "back for good" in the background
That had me laugh so hard!
You always make the most interesting travel vlog. I always find you and the broke bald guy to be my favourite travel vloggers.
I live in Nyon , about 25mn from there, and there are things I just learned with your video. Well done man.
One day, when all this is over and I get to travel to Europe again, I'm going to have such a long list of places to visit inspired by your videos!
Same here!
Love these quirky border situations. Glad you see someone traveling!
6:02 Fantastic humour there, Tim!
Quelle histoire incroyable !!! J'adore ton humour permanent et sous jacent. Merci pour tes vidéos👍
Good to have you back Tim. Another great video. Keep it coming and stay safe. 🙏
The lamppost line reminded me of the time I was fascinated by something that looked like some sort of modern art.
Only to walk a few meters to find the same thing with a trash can under it. It was just a weird looking cover for public trash cans in that park.
Excellent video Tim, most informative. Glad you're able to get and about again.
I was there last year, oblivious of this fact! I stayed in Les Rousses and went for a run to La Cure, hopping over the border and feasting my eyes on the border situation (I love borders) there. And never noticed the restaurant... Well, have to go back sometime then. Thanks for the great video. Stay safe👍🏻
Fanastic to see you back out and about!
Thank god you’re back Tim! Be safe out there!
Most excellent return to full form. Nous saluons le retour aven joi!
That is both a cool bit of trivia AND an amazing story. God Bless the family for saving those lives.
Fantastic story, brilliantly recounted with your usual deadpan delivery. Thanks Tim.
Another delightful video! Thank you so much!
Another great post. Thank you Tim.
I love your videos . The way you narrate is very clear and comprehensive. Bravo! Great job!
Brilliant! So good to see you out filming again!
6:02 That pun was *revolutionary* from the rest of the video
I'm so glad you're back your videos are always so charming
Love the Jeux sans frontières music under the video - a very nice touch and throwback to the 90's. :-)
Good job. You always tell fascinating stories.
Sure have missed your fascinating and humorous videos! Welcome back!
Sheesh dude, I have to rewind the video after hearing the music at 1:25 b/c it was too distracting. All I could hear was "want you back, want you back, want you back for good" and I know how these territorial disputes are going to go anyway. Kudos.
Lemme unpause real quick...
Arrr, great video again. Nothing to nitpick over. You're a fan's worst nightmare.
Also, you have to spend hours upon hours scouring obscure travelling websites to find all these gems. Otherwise I can't explain how engaging each and every one of your videos are, with legit interesting stories behind them.
Lastly, your videos more and more get a certain /r/madlad -feel to them.
Good stuff Tim :)
Haha sorry Lennart :D Btw, I've mentioned them before but I get a lot of my ideas from one website, atlasobscura.com - they save me a lot of time finding places like this. (That's not to say I don't spend any time on research... I do hours of research, but it's usually AFTER the trip, when I get home and want to fill out the story with more details. And fact-check. Etc.)
@@TheTimTraveller atlasobscura.com
@The Tim Traveller you got me at the end about sleeping with your body separated by them ! Love it and boom subscribed my man ! Tons of love from India.
If I'm not wrong the story of that hotel inspired an Italian-French movie: "The law is the law"; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Law_Is_the_Law.
Read that movie's plot. It's crazy!
I think I saw the poster for that movie in the hotel bar.
@@CallieMasters5000 I just read it. It really is crazy.
I've been to La Cure, I didn't know about the hotel though sadly, my parents used to own a house in the Jura Mountains. I used to go skiing at Les rousses and Les Jouvencelles.
Good to see you travelling again tim! I missed your videos :)
Thanks! Fascinating and entertaining as always.
A fascinating video, I've just subscribed!
I also very much enjoyed the music from ITV's "Wish you were here" at the end. Very nostalgic!
I love the content, thank you.
Welcome back. I missed your videos!
Your videos are truely lovely. very interesting and well made.
Thanks
Another good video, thanks! I did notice the music at the end from "Wish you were here" lol
Tim always finds these gems to share with us...👍
Your channel clearly deserves many more visits!
So nice to see you again traveling and making videos. Keep up your great work!
Another great video. Thank you Tim!
Your continued existence is pleasing to me Tim.
Classic Tim Traveller video 👌
I'm so happy you are able to travel again and make new videos.
Wonderful video. I’ve shared link with a friend who works at AF museum in Amsterdam. Places and stories like these need to be kept alive forever. Thank you for helping to do that. Zoltán
What a BRILLIANT video!! Love it mate
Those of you who are wondering when's he gonna mention anything about trains (bcs let's face it it's not a Tim Traveller vid without a mention of trains) it's at 6:14 you're welcome :)
The 14th July joke was superb.
Another great one Tim!
Loved the history. Thank you for another great video.
I found your channel and have been binging your videos ever since
Now this place is on my bucketlist! Thank you!
Woho! Glad to see you back travelling.
Great to see you travelling again Tim! Loved the story of this hotel and the thought that you could fall asleep in France and wake up in Switzerland just by rolling over in bed! :D
Informative, yet still hilarious. Love your videos.
Love your sense of humor. Thanks. And I agree with EPCOT ip 9, you and Tom Scott could come up with a great pair of videos on, well, making a video!
Great video! I'm enjoying your travels.
Absolutely brilliant, Tim!
ayy - i can go in room 6 and sleep in the same bed that you've slept in!
only joking - im not that much of a wierdo
Three weeks later, cut to William in room 6, laptop poised and The Tim Traveller videos playing on repeat while he is rocking back and forth in bed with the sheets over his head.
haha only serious
At least it wouldn't set you back too much - I was super surprised to learn it's only 90€, not sure about the rest of Europe but in Finland, that's a quite standard hotel room price
@@64ankka I would argue it is kind of expensive. Last week I stayed in a 3* hotel in Prague, Budapest and Sofia for respectively 51, 48 and 29 euros for a three-person room including breakfast. (total prices, not per person)
But I don't know if the prices are always so low. It might be because of Covid-19.
Luuk Wuijster yeah I guess Finland is kind of in its own price range. Then again, so is Switzerland
Feels weird looking at a video in my own Jura département !
Enjoyed it !
Hope you had a good time in Jura !
I passed by that building many times but had no idea about its history... Thank you!
As always..... Very, very enjoyable...😃
Glad to know you can travel again. Please stay safe
So adorable! I love your channel!
Interesting story and I appreciate you noting the accessibility issue. That's too often ignored by travel articles and videos, but it's very important for us who have persons with disabilities in the family.
Boy Tim, that ending was a zinger! 🤣😂
your content has been really entertaining for me throughout this pandemic. thank you for making what you do! 🥰
It's funny, I drive pretty often next to that hotel and I had always thought the name was only an indication that is was sitting next to the border, not literally on it.
In the village of Lucelle, the French-Swiss border separates the terrace of a café from the lobby. If you take your drink at the terrace, you pay in euros, but in the lobby, you pay in Swiss francs (maybe the other way round, I'm not sure). My hotel room, and the whole hotel, was in France, but the emergency exit leads to Switzerland.
One of my favourite youtube channels
Really enjoy your stories, keep up the good work.
What a wonderful story.
Thank you for this.
Wow what a crazy story! That building is seeping with history.
Great to see a new video!
La meilleur conclusion possible. Personnellement chaque 14 juillet depuis près de 10 ans je chante "God save the queen" ^^
Je préfre la version originale "Grand Dieu Sauve le Roi" :
ruclips.net/video/IHokbedFMsI/видео.html
And yet another fascinating video, that's awesome. And the bit where you found out the border went the other way so you could sleep in 2 different countries at the same time. Amazing. And the bit about the Grandmother telling the Nazis to go and do one was hilarious