Things to do in Basel
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Basel
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Fasnacht fills the city for 72 hours from the Monday after Ash Wednesday, with hotels gone months ahead.
Spring is the sensible sweet spot, mild weather, buvettes opening and normal hotel prices.
Art Basel runs in mid June, with the city sold out and rooms at two to three times normal rates.
Rhine swimming season peaks, with buvettes, ferries and river dining at full stretch.
September keeps the last swimming days and loses the crowds, a second sweet spot.
Herbstmesse fills squares for two weeks from the last Saturday of October, dating to 1471.
Christmas markets run late November to 23 December at Barfüsserplatz and Münsterplatz.
January is the cheapest, emptiest museum month, cold and short dayed, best for art completists.
What's on
- Basler Fasnacht Monday after Ash Wednesday, 72 hours (Feb/Mar)
Morgestraich at 4am in darkness, then Cortège parades, Guggenmusik concerts and carnival foods for three days.
- Art Basel Mid June each year
The world art market's fair at Messe Basel, with Parcours installations and peak museum shows across the city.
- Basler Herbstmesse Last Saturday of October for two weeks
The autumn fair dating to 1471, spread across Petersplatz, Barfüsserplatz, Münsterplatz and the Messe.
- Basler Weihnachtsmarkt Late November to 23 December
Christmas markets at Barfüsserplatz and Münsterplatz, among Switzerland's best regarded.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Basel
Kunstmuseum Basel
The oldest public art collection in the world, with the greatest Holbein holdings and serious modern rooms across three buildings.
Fondation Beyeler
A Renzo Piano building in a park in Riehen, holding a tight modern collection with space to breathe around every work.
Museum Tinguely
Tinguely's clanking machine sculptures on the Rhine, the Basel museum children, engineers and art sceptics all enjoy at once.
Vitra Design Museum
A Gehry museum on a campus of landmark buildings in Weil am Rhein, ten minutes over the German border from Basel.
Basler Münster
The red sandstone cathedral above the Rhine, free to enter, with the Pfalz terrace giving the classic Basel view behind it.
Basler Rathaus
The flamboyant red town hall facing Marktplatz, the starting point for any walk through Basel's old town lanes.
Tinguely Fountain
Tinguely's water machines splashing at Theaterplatz, a free and joyful stop on the walk down from the Münster.
Rheinpromenade Basel
The Kleinbasel Rhine bank of steps and buvettes facing the Grossbasel skyline, Basel's living room at sunset.
Where to stay in Basel
Altstadt Grossbasel
first trip, art weekends, Fasnacht
The south bank old town of Münster, Kunstmuseum and Rathaus, with quiet streets and every tram at hand.
Kleinbasel
Rhine evenings and river views
Across the Mittlere Brücke, the swimming bank, buvettes and Rheingasse bars, lively rather than rough.
St. Alban
quiet, museums, second visits
The old mill quarter by the paper mill and city gate, leafy and residential with fewer, calmer stays.
Gundeldingen and Basel SBB
early trains, day trips and value
Behind the main station, less pretty and more practical, with the zoo nearby and fairer priced hotels.
Think twice about
- Basel SBB station perimeter at night
Scruffy late at night with petty opportunism, as in any station district. Pass through on lit tram streets; Gundeldingen behind it is fine.
Best restaurants in Basel
Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl
Basel's three-star pinnacle inside Les Trois Rois, French haute cuisine on the Rhine for about 30 covers.
Restaurant Stucki - Tanja Grandits
Tanja Grandits' two star aroma kitchen in a Bruderholz villa, Basel's creative fine dining counterpoint to Cheval Blanc.
Restaurant Rubino
A small starred old town room cooking precise seasonal menus at a clear step below the palace prices.
Brasserie Les Trois Rois
The grand hotel's Swiss and French brasserie with a Rhine terrace, the accessible way to eat at Les Trois Rois.
Brasserie, Bar und Event Volkshaus Basel
Kleinbasel's people's house brasserie and bar in a Herzog and de Meuron courtyard, the neighbourhood evening in one address.
Walliser Kanne
An old town institution for fondue, raclette and a table finished Wiener schnitzel in wood panelled rooms.
Ufer7 Basel
A relaxed Rhine bank restaurant in Kleinbasel made for the swim then dinner Basel day, with skyline views.
Brasserie Zum Braunen Mutz
A traditional Basel tavern on Barfüsserplatz serving hearty Swiss German classics to a genuinely local crowd.
Outdoor things to do in Basel
Rheinbad Breite
A historic Rhine bathing platform and the contained way into Basel's river swimming culture with a Wickelfisch float.
Münster Fähre
One of four current powered Rhine ferries, crossing below the cathedral for a few francs in a few minutes.
Dreiländereck
The tri border point where Switzerland, France and Germany meet, best used as a waypoint on a Dreiland Rhine cycle ride.
Augusta Raurica
Switzerland's largest Roman open air site at Augst, mostly free to wander, with a great theatre and a silver treasure museum.
Golf & Country Club Basel
The established Basel home club in all but country, a parkland course in the French Sundgau foothills near Basel.
Golf Saint Apollinaire
A newer two course golf estate near Basel in France that has raised the tri border area's golf ceiling.
Colmar
The best day trip from Basel, an Alsace old town of canals and half timbered lanes about 50 minutes by train.
Freiburger Münster
The Gothic cathedral at the heart of Freiburg, Basel's easy German day trip of markets, channels and good value lunches.
Best hotels in Basel
Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois
Basel's grand hotel on the Rhine since 1844, with antiques, river views and a three star restaurant downstairs.
Der Teufelhof Basel
An old town art hotel built around a theatre and two restaurants, with rooms periodically redecorated by artists.
Hotel Märthof Basel
A polished 68 room hotel on Marktplatz with a roof terrace and small spa, facing the Rathaus in the old town.
Hotel Krafft Basel
A historic Rhine front house in Kleinbasel whose best rooms stare straight across the water at the Münster.
Boutique & Design Hotel Volkshaus Basel
Calm design rooms above the Volkshaus brasserie and venue in Kleinbasel, a mid price stay with real sense of place.
GAIA Hotel Basel
A family run, sustainability led hotel by Basel SBB with a strong organic breakfast and top value ratings.
Hotel Motel One Basel
A smart design budget hotel in the centre near Barfüsserplatz, small spotless rooms and a good lounge bar.
Hyve Hotel Basel - Hostel
Basel's best regarded hostel hotel hybrid near the SBB, with dorms, private rooms and shared kitchens.
Is Basel expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CHF 140 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CHF 320 a person |
| Splurge | CHF 750 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Fondation Beyeler: a few days ahead
- Vitra Design Museum: a few days ahead
- Golf & Country Club Basel: weeks ahead
- Golf Saint Apollinaire: weeks ahead
- Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl: months ahead
- Restaurant Stucki - Tanja Grandits: weeks ahead
- Restaurant Rubino: weeks ahead
- Brasserie Les Trois Rois: a few days ahead
- For Art Basel week and Fasnacht, book the room before the flights, with free cancellation, as soon as dates are known.
- Cheval Blanc and Stucki need weeks to months for prime dinner slots.
- Book Vitra architecture tours and Beyeler blockbuster weekend tickets ahead.
Is Basel safe?
- Basel is very safe and has no neighbourhood a visitor should avoid in daylight; the honest flags are the SBB perimeter at night and a lively Kleinbasel strip.
- On the Rhine, obey the swimming route, exits and closures, and never swim alone, drunk, after storms or outside the designated stretch.
- Carry passport or ID for cross border trips to Vitra, Colmar and Freiburg, as spot checks happen on trains.
- Emergency number is 112 in Switzerland, with police on 117 and ambulance on 144.
Basel travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Dreiländereck monument is a harbour obelisk in a port area, fine as a cycling waypoint and a disappointment as a destination.
- Marktplatz terraces and the most obvious Rhine view tables charge for position; the same cooking a street back costs less.
- BaselCard discount percentages change, so any fixed saving promised by an old blog is out of date.
- Buy Läckerli at Schiesser or Jakob's in town, not in airport tins at airport prices.
Getting around Basel: public transport and more
- Trams cover everything and the centre is walkable, so no visitor needs a car.
- The BaselCard from your accommodation makes city transport free for the stay, and a booking confirmation covers the arrival ride.
- Check whether your train uses Basel SBB or Basel Badischer Bahnhof, a classic first timer error.
- EuroAirport sits in France, about 15 to 20 minutes by bus 50 to Basel SBB.
Who Basel suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Basel your trip
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