Basel travel guide

Basel, Switzerland

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Basel

Introduction

Basel sits in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine, where the High Rhine gives way to the Upper Rhine. As one of Switzerland's larger cities, it has the feel of a place with real weight and history behind it, set right at the point where the river shapes the city's geography and daily life.

Before you go

Basel sits in Switzerland's north-western corner, sharing borders with both France and Germany in the tri-national region known as the Dreiländereck. The Rhine curves through the city, dividing it into Grossbasel on the south and west bank, whose centre is the medieval old town, and Kleinbasel on the north bank, where much of the night-life is found. The city's official language is German, but most locals speak Baseldytsch, an Alemannic dialect, as their mother tongue; English and French are also widely spoken, so everyday interactions are easy. If you plan to visit during Fasnacht, the carnival held over the "three loveliest days" of the year, expect to be amazed and don't expect to sleep. Before you arrive, it helps to know that Basel is safe at any time as a rule of thumb, though pickpockets are the biggest threat, particularly on trams and buses. Watch out for trams at the busy downtown stops such as Centralbahnplatz, Barfüsserplatz, Marktplatz, Aeschenplatz and Messeplatz, since their silent running makes them hard to hear. If you plan to swim in the Rhine, note that it is not a lazy river: weak swimmers should stay out, floating toys and swimming aids are forbidden by law, and the safest swimming is along the Kleinbasel bank, where currents are weaker and exits are more frequent. Never swim across the river or at night, and avoid overshooting the last bridge, Dreirosenbrücke, beyond which lies a commercial port with dangerous boat traffic.

Getting there

If you're arriving from France, remember the city is spelled "Bâle" on French maps and signs, so don't expect to find "Basel" there. The most convenient airport is EuroAirport, only 4 km northwest of the city, sitting on French soil but connected to Basel and Switzerland by a customs-free road. It has three IATA codes — BSL, MLH and EAP — so try all three when searching for flights. On arrival you pass through either Swiss or French passport control and customs before rejoining other passengers in a small hall. From the Swiss exit, bus 50 runs daily to Basel SBB main railway station in about 15 minutes; you'll need a two-zone ticket, which is also valid on the city's trams. From the French exit, bus 11 goes to St Louis railway station, where you change to a commuter train into Basel. Taxis are available, and Flixbus runs directly from the airport to Zurich, Freiburg and Strasbourg. Zurich Airport, about 90 minutes away by direct train to Basel SBB, is the better bet for Asia and other long-haul connections.

Basel has two main railway stations. Almost all trains use Basel SBB, about 1 km south of the city centre, with frequent services across Switzerland and direct trains to Paris, Strasbourg and Milan, plus ICE trains into Germany and sleeper services run by Nightjet. Some trains into Germany also call at Basel Badischer Bahnhof, north of the river in Kleinbasel, and a few regional trains to southern Germany start there without calling at Basel SBB. Long-distance buses run from Basel SBB to destinations including Frankfurt, Munich, Milan, Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam, while Twiliner buses from Amsterdam via Rotterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg head for Zurich with seats that fold flat into a bunk. Driving in from Germany via the A5 brings you through border control near Weil am Rhein and onto the A2/3; if you use the Autobahn, you'll need a valid Vignette toll sticker. In summer, scenic cruise ships sail the Rhine between Amsterdam and Basel, though these are multi-day cruises rather than point-to-point ferries. The city's tramway even has international lines to Saint Louis in France and Weil am Rhein in Germany.

Getting around

Walking is the standard way to get around Basel, and the Old City is small enough to cover on foot. Its shopping streets are closed to car traffic, and the narrow, winding side streets are full of things to see at every turn. Be prepared for a workout, though: the cobbled alleys of the old town can be steep and strenuous, especially once you wander off the main routes. Trams have the right of way over everyone at all times, so keep an eye out for them when you cross a street, including at pedestrian crossings.

An extensive network of bright green trams and buses covers the city, and it is prompt, clean and convenient. Every stop has a map of the network and a listing of arrival times, and you buy your single ticket from the machine at the stop, since there is no vending on board. Transfers between trams and buses are free, and the 8 and 10 trams and the 38 and 55 buses cross international borders, so bear that in mind for carrying goods and identification. Hotels, including the youth hostel, give registered guests a free Mobility Pass for unlimited travel in the city and suburbs, including to and from the airport, and a day pass covers the same area. Travel runs on an honour system, with undercover inspectors boarding periodically to check tickets. To open a door from outside, press the button by the door; from inside, press the button on the door or the small black button on the grab rail, and hold on once moving, as trams accelerate quickly and brake abruptly. Stops are announced in Standard German, with English and French at main stops, and routes shift slightly at certain times of year, such as summer and Fasnacht, with changes signposted at stops.

Basel is bicycle-friendly, with well-marked lanes, bike traffic signals and left-turn lanes, though you should ride defensively, use hand signals and beware of tram tracks, which can catch your wheels. Lights and bells are required. The Velospot bike-sharing system, with bright red bikes found across the city, suits short-term visitors, while longer stays may be better served by renting from the Rent-a-Bike bike park at Centralbahnplatz, underneath the Basel SBB railway station. You can also cross the Rhine on a Fähri, one of the four small ferry boats drawn silently by the current along a steel rope, with the most popular crossing starting in Grossbasel just below the Münster. Driving is not recommended for visitors: inner-city streets can be confusing and are shared with trams, which cars must yield to, and parking in the old city is scarce and relatively expensive. Public garages sit at the periphery of the centre, and most mid-range and luxury hotels have or help with parking.

Where to stay

Book early, especially if you plan to be in Basel during Fasnacht, BaselWorld or Art Basel, when rooms are hardest to find.

Mid-range options cluster around the station and the river. Near the SBB station you can choose from a three-star handy for local transport, a modern four-star city hotel, a four-star opposite the station, and a renovated, fully air-conditioned hotel by the Heuwaage viaduct with a lobby bar and restaurants, where standard rooms are modest in size and short on views unless you go high-end. On the Kleinbasel shore of the Rhine, a historic three-star mixes old and contemporary design. Near the Messe and Congresszentrum, a modern four-star has upper-floor rooms with terraces overlooking the rooftops, and another modern hotel sits two minutes' walk from the fair and congress centre. In the old town, a three-star boutique hotel occupies a converted detention centre, its rooms in former cells on the small side and those in former police offices a little bigger, ranged around a tree-lined courtyard with a fountain and a French brasserie. Further out, there are three-star hotels in the suburb of Muttenz and in Liestal.

For a splurge, the old town edge has a three-star boutique hotel in an 18th-century mansion, with spacious modern rooms each individually designed, plus two restaurants and its own theatre. On the bank of the Rhine by Mittlere Brücke stands a sumptuous, grand old five-star whose glittering clientele has included Napoleon Bonaparte, Voltaire, Charles Dickens, Theodor Herzl, Jean-Paul Sartre, Duke Ellington and the Dalai Lama. Next to the main railway station, a lovely if somewhat old-fashioned four-star has its own garage.

Food & drink

Basel has a thriving restaurant and café culture, and in summer the streets of the old town are lined with outdoor seating. Many restaurants in the historical part of the city near Marktplatz serve traditional Swiss dishes in a rustic environment, and these places are always packed during Fasnacht. For local food, you can find bratwurst with rösti served in a traditional beer hall, or Italian and Spanish dishes in a noisy but friendly atmosphere. Asian food is well represented too, from inexpensive bench-table restaurants with plenty of vegetarian options to sushi and dishes that can be made with tofu. For a memorable experience, you can eat in total darkness with blind staff to guide you, which sharpens your senses of touch, taste and sound. If you want fine dining, you can choose between a Basel classic divided into a casual beer-hall section and an elegant dining hall, excellent seafood with a terrace overlooking the Rhine, exquisite north Italian fare, or classic French cuisine served in an old manor. Food in Switzerland is generally more expensive than elsewhere in Europe, so those on a budget should consider preparing their own food from the grocery store, though note that most are closed in the evenings, or taking a trip up to nearby France or Germany. A few grocery stores at the train station stay open late at night and on Sundays and sell sandwiches, tarts, fresh-baked bread, pizza and döner kebab at reasonable prices, perfect for picnic lunches. Student cafeterias serve inexpensive lunch menus to everyone, and street vendors around Marktplatz and Barfüsserplatz sell pretzels, sandwiches, pizzas and sometimes crêpes, while a butcher's cart on Marktplatz sells grilled sausages with a piece of bread. Bakeries and confiseries sell petite sandwiches to take away, and the large department stores in the city centre have self-service cafeterias on the top floor. As in most of Europe, tipping is not a requirement, though it is common to round up to the nearest 10 or 20 francs. Not all restaurants accept credit cards, so check first if in doubt.

What to see and do

Start in the Old Town, a compact, walkable area bounded by the Rhine to the north and by the Zoo and the SBB main railway station to the south. A good place to begin a walking tour is Marktplatz, the market square, busy with flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables, breads and pastries, and at its busiest on Saturday mornings. The Rathaus, or Town Hall, on the square is a beautifully renovated Renaissance palace still in official use; you can wander into its courtyard or join a guided tour with Basel Tourismus. Several gateways from the extra city walls built after the great earthquake of 1356 still stand around the perimeter: Spalentor to the west, St. Alban Tor near Aeschenplatz to the east, and St. Johanns Tor to the north near the Rhine. The Basler Münster, now a Reformed Protestant cathedral, was built from 1019, badly damaged in the 1356 earthquake and completed in 1500 in Romanesque and Gothic style; look for the Galluspforte on the western façade and the figures on the main south façade, including St. George slaying the Dragon, and note the sandstone lectern and the crypt with tombs of early bishops and of Jacob Bernoulli. You can climb St. Martin's tower or St. George's tower, or both. The Elisabethenkirche, a neo-Gothic Revival Protestant church completed in 1864, has a stone pulpit with a wooden canopy.

Many museums cluster in and around the Old Town, some with a free opening hour at the end of the day. The Kunstmuseum Basel holds a huge permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century works, including a whole room of Picasso, plus medieval and Renaissance paintings by Holbein, Grien and others, spread across the Hauptbau and Neubau, with the Museum of Contemporary Art in the separate Gegenwart building on the same ticket. The Kunsthalle Basel has no permanent collection but hosts changing contemporary shows. The Museum der Kulturen is an ethnographic museum known for its South Seas, Ancient America, Tibet and Bali exhibits and its textiles, while the Antikenmuseum Basel and Ludwig Collection covers Egyptian, Mesopotamian and mostly Greek antiquities. The Spielzeug Welten Museum holds a colossal collection of teddy bears, dolls' houses, puppets and other toys. Along the Rhine, which bounds the Old Town to the north, the bridges give good views and a 3-km promenade stretches along the riverbank, plied by the Faehri ferry; when it is really hot you can take a dip, as many locals do. Further out, bring your passport, since even a short bus or tram ride may carry you out of the country. The Museum Jean Tinguely, in a Mario Botta building on the north bank, shows wacky animated mechanical artwork and other kinetic art. Basel Zoo, west of the main railway station, is the oldest and largest zoo in Switzerland, where you can have lunch watching the elephants and see the monkeys solving problems for food in the Monkey House. The Fondation Beyeler, in Riehen, is a Renzo Piano building housing Ernst Beyeler's collection, with works by Mark Rothko and a vast water lily painting by Claude Monet. The Laurenz-Stiftung Schaulager is a hybrid storage space, research centre and museum built around the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation's modern and contemporary collection. The Kunsthaus Baselland shows changing contemporary art, including the annual Regionale platform for young artists from the Three Countries' Corner, and houses the BEWE Collection. Across the Rhine in Germany, the Vitra Design Museum covers furniture and lighting in three buildings, with further campus buildings by Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando, Nicholas Grimshaw and Alvaro Siza, and a VitraHaus where you can sample, order and purchase. In France, the Fernet Branca Musée d'Art Contemporain in Saint-Louis hosts changing contemporary exhibitions. For something different, you can take a guided tour of Basel's underground sewerage system, following the Birsig river underground from a tunnel at Heuwaage to its estuary in the Rhine, ending at Restaurant Safran-Zunft in the city centre. The Basel Carnival, Basler Fasnacht, is a premier event lasting three straight days and beginning on the Monday following Ash Wednesday.

When to go

Basel has a temperate oceanic climate, with cool, overcast winters and warm, humid summers. Rain or snow falls on roughly a third of the year's days, so whatever season you choose, pack for wet weather.

Three days in Basel

Day one: Start in Grossbasel, the historic heart of the city on the left bank of the Rhine. Wander between Barfüsserplatz and Marktplatz, where the town hall faces the market square, and take in the character of the old streets. Cross the Rhine to Kleinbasel on the right bank for a different mood, then follow the river towards the Dreirosenbrücke for views along the water. In the evening, settle into a Beiz and try the local cooking; if you are there in spring, you may catch Fasnacht, the city's carnival, when the streets fill with masked figures and drums.

Day two: Use Basel as a base for the three countries that meet here. The Dreiländereck, where Switzerland, France and Germany come together, is the obvious starting point, and from there you can cross into As in France or into Germany without going far. The Rhine itself changes character as it runs from the High Rhine to the Upper Rhine, and the riverbanks on both sides are good for a slow walk. Back in the city, notice how Baseldytsch, the local Alemannic dialect, sits alongside German, French and English in daily life.

Day three: Fill your last day with the city's practical corners and its transport links. Centralbahnplatz, outside Basel SBB, is the main arrival point by train, while Aeschenplatz and Messeplatz show you the business and exhibition side of town. If you are flying, EuroAirport serves the city and carries the codes BSL, MLH and EAP, a reminder that Basel is shared between Swiss and French territory. Before you leave, take one more look at the Rhine; it is the thread that ties Grossbasel, Kleinbasel and the wider region together.

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