Basel City Guide: A Visitor’s Best Friend

Incredibly, while Basel is one of Switzerland’s major cities and a beautiful medieval location to visit, there is very little information available in Swiss travel guides. I was shocked that the main Switzerland visitor guidebooks either gloss over the city or omit it entirely. I hope that our Basel City Guide will be helpful as you explore Basel or just daydream of future travel!

Why will our Basel City Guide be helpful?

John travels to Basel often for work so, when we decided to take our first family European vacation, Switzerland, and Basel specifically, was the obvious choice.

Our first visit was a five week stay with the children when they were 5, 7 and 10.  We returned as a family again two years later for three weeks. In total, we’ve spent eight wonderful weeks in Basel. This is longer than any of our other travels but we still can’t wait to return again.

While John worked remotely from our AirBnb apartment, the children and I spent the summer exploring this wonderful city, and Switzerland as a whole. As there really weren’t any Basel visitor guides available, we learned as we explored. The Basel tourism office was a wonderful help and we visited them often for advice and directions.

As time passed, Basel felt like home. We visited the markets, shopped in the local stores, explored as many local sights as we could, and met several local people who we’ve stayed in touch with and, today, are still close friends.

Our Basel City Guide is focused on the day to day necessities of spending time in Basel: when to visit, language, currency, etc. It does not include Basel’s numerous sights and activities. There are simply too many to include in this guide so make sure you also check out our top 25 fun and free things to do in Basel and our recommended 15 Fun and Exciting Day Trips from Basel (coming soon).

Why you’ll want to visit Basel, Switzerland

Basel is an amazing city, full of fun and unique things to do for everyone, especially children and teens. In fact, Basel placed number 4 on Conde Nast Traveler’s 2018 Readers Choice Awards Top 20 Small Cities list.  Conde Nast accurately noted that the reason for Basel’s placement on this impressive list is

“probably due to the city’s cobblestoned Old Town, complete with a picturesque cathedral, market square, and fountain. Scenery aside, Basel also happens to be Switzerland’s cultural capital, with world-renowned art museums and plenty of orchestras and theaters.”

Conde Nast Traveler

I would also add oodles of local sights and activities for families. With all of this awaiting, who could ask for more?!

Basel’s Munster sitting beside the beautiful Rhine River

Where exactly is Basel?

Basel has a fantastic location. It is located on the north-west edge of Switzerland. It is less than an hour by train from Zurich and between an hour and 1h30 by train to Lucerne (depending on if there is a connection). If looking to visit Switzerland’s incredible Jungfrau region, Basel is only 3 hours away by train.

Basel is divided by the beautiful Rhine River into Grossbasel (Greater Basel) and Kleinbasel (lesser Basel). Each side is joined by a series of bridges, the most magnificent being the Mittlere Brücke (middle bridge).

The beautiful bridges of Basel

Basel is also unique that it sits on the border where France, Germany and Switzerland connect. It is 45 minutes by train to both Freiburg, Germany and Colmar, France. A day trip to Freiburg and Germany’s Black Forest and a day trip to Colmar, Mulhouse and the wine region of France’s Alsace region are easy. If you’re considering a visit to the Alsace region, either for a day or longer, check out Dreamer at Heart’s blog post on visiting Colmar.

How to Arrive in Basel

Basel is easily accessible by air or train. Depending on prices and originating point of departure, either one could be a great option. You may even want to combine the two!

Arrival by air: The EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Frieburg is divided between Switzerland and France. We’ve arrived in Basel (the Swiss side) via Lufthansa from Frankfurt and Ryan Air from Rome. The EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg is also serviced by several other airlines including British Airways, Air Transat, EasyJet and KLM.

There are regular buses taking travellers from the Swiss side of the airport to Basel. The train does not travel this route but it is a short and easy 15 minute bus ride. Cabs are also readily available.

Arrival by train: Basel SBB has both a Swiss and French access points. The majority of the train station is Swiss with just a small portion attributed to France.

The train system in Switzerland (SBB) is like no other we’ve ever seen. Incredibly interlinked with German, French and Italian train companies, the SBB is always on time, clean, efficient and easy to use. Travellers can travel by train and reach Basel from Paris, Frankfurt and Geneva in 3 hours or less.

Best Time of Year to Visit

John has enjoyed visiting Basel year-round but due to the children’s school schedules, our family has only visited in the summer. That said, we would love to explore Basel in the winter.

The city really is a wonderful destination in both summer and winter. Summer temperatures average 25 degrees Celcius (77F) and winter temperatures average around 5 degrees Celcius (41F). Rain occurs year round with the wettest month being May.

There’s more to consider when deciding when to visit. Here’s where our Basel City Guide can help!

Basel Events to Consider when Planning your Travel Dates

Many travellers plan to visit during one of Basel’s unique and world-renowned annual events. If you’re able, we definitely recommend visiting during one of the following events as it will be an experience like no other.

1. Basel Fasnacht

In February or March (depending on the date of Ash Wednesday), Basel Fasnacht takes place. This is the largest winter carnival in Switzerland and has been added to UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list. The festival starts at 4am, in the dark, the Monday after Ash Wednesday when the city turns off all the lights and the city center is filled with lighted lanterns hand painted with 200 different themes. Over the next 72 hours, the city is alive with festivities including parades and a children’s carnival.

2. Art Basel

In June, Art Basel takes place over a one-week period when art enthusiasts converge on Basel for art shows and exhibitions by leading galleries from around the world. Art Basel occurs at other times in Miami and Hong Kong.

3. Basel Tattoo

In July, Basel hosts the Basel Tattoo. This is a week-long event that hosts military groups, bands and dancers from around the world. There are several shows a day, a kinder tattoo day where children get to meet the performers and a parade on the final day.

4. Swiss National Day in Basel

August 1^st is Swiss National Day. The night before, July 31^st, Swiss National Day is celebrated throughout the country. Basel’s celebrations are like none we’ve ever seen with fireworks over the Rhine. We’ve been fortunate to attend two Swiss National Day celebrations and easily count it as one of our favourite things to do in Basel.

5. Swiss Indoor Basel

In October Basel hosts Swiss Indoor Basel which is the largest national sport event in Switzerland. As home to Rodger Federer, tennis is one of Basel’s favourite sports. Swiss Indoor Basel is a key tennis tournament for the world tennis elite leading up to the world championship. 

6. Basel Christmas Markets

December in Basel is filled with Christmas markets and activities. Conde Nast Traveler stated that Basel’s Christmas market is one of the best in Europe. Filled with lights, concerts, Christmas museum exhibitions and more, Basel is the place to be to celebrate the holiday.

Currency in Basel

While Switzerland is part of the Schengen Agreement limiting travel in the Schengen countries to 90 days in a 180-day period, it is not part of the European Union and does not use the Euro. Switzerland has its own currency: the Swiss Franc. (note: For more information on the Schengen countries and the length of time travellers are permitted to stay in each country without a special visa, please check out the Schengen visa requirements.)

Due to Basel’s proximity to France and Germany, stores and restaurants may accept the Euro but they are under no obligation and exchange rates are unlikely to be in your favour.

Language: Ease of Communication in Basel

Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansch. While high German is understood, be aware that most Swiss speak Swiss German which is a distinctively different dialect.

While Basel is in the German area of Switzerland, due to its proximity to France, many people also speak French. While English is not an official language in Switzerland, from our experience, most people, especially those in the tourism industry, also speak English so travellers have no worries of being able to communicate.

BaselCard

A BaselCard is given to guest upon check in to local hotels. It is otherwise unavailable to purchase. You may want to consider this perk when deciding between staying in a local hotel or AirBnb.

The BaselCard not only allows free use of public transportation in Basel, it also allows free use of local wifi, and a 50% discount on admission to some of Basel’s best attractions including the Basel Zoo and Basel’s 40 museums (including the Kunstmuseum, Museum Tinguely, the Basel Paper Mill Museum, Toy Museums in both Basel and Riehen and Basel’s Natural History Museum which all made it into our list of the best things to do in Basel).

Public Transportation in and around Basel, Switzerland

Both of our visits to Basel were work vacations for John so I often explored with the children on my own while he worked. Details about local transportation were more difficult to find when planning our visit so we felt this was definitely a topic to include in our Basel City Guide.

Basel is an incredibly easy city to navigate on your own or with children.

The city is serviced by trams and buses. They work efficiently together and don’t double up on routes. Whatever pass you get (see below), will allow you to use both trams and buses. It’s best to check out your destination in advance to determine the proper route.  Beware: The trams can be dangerous. Be careful not to pass in front of a moving tram. It cannot and will not stop.

If you’re staying in a hotel, a BaselCard will likely be included. This will allow the free use of public transportation. If you’re staying in an AirBnb as we did, you can get a Basel or TNW day ticket or a 6 day multipack ticket. For both, there is a reduced rate for children aged 6-16.

If, however, you plan to explore more of Switzerland beyond Basel, your best bet is a Swiss Travel Pass. There are many options depending on the number of days you’ll be in Switzerland. The Swiss Travel Pass covers trains, boats, buses and trams throughout Switzerland. You also don’t need to validate your ticket on each trip, just have it with you to show if asked. Children under the age of 16 travel for free if you also have a Swiss Family Card. These are free, you just need to ask for it when purchasing your Swiss Travel Pass. Check out our post on the best day trips from Basel (coming soon)!

Good Places to Eat in Basel

We didn’t eat out often during our visits because we cooked often at home. However, when we did eat out, the food was wonderful so we thought it would be nice to include our favourite restaurants in our Basel City Guide.

Fischerstube is a brewery restaurant, close to the Rhine River in Kleinbasel. The menus is simple but deliciously filled with Swiss specialties.

Kohlmanns is located at Barfusserplatz in Grossbasel. Known for a pizza-like Alsace specialty called flammkuchen it’s often very busy as the food is wonderful.

Krafft Restaurant is located in the Krafft Hotel right on the edge of the Rhine River in Kleinbasel. It’s a higher end restaurant but the food is absolutely worth a visit.

Restaurant Schnabel is located close to Old Town Basel. It’s a lovely restaurant with wonderful outside dining in summer. We’ve visited for both lunch and dinner and both were fantastic.

Au Violon is located in the midst of Basel’s Old Town. This wonderful French brasserie can be found in the boutique hotel of the same name which was, at one time, the old Basel jailhouse.  

Finally, not to be left out, you absolutely have to visit Lackerli Huus. There are several locations in Basel with the largest located at Gerbergasse 57.  Lackerli is a sweet that was created more than a 100 years ago in Basel and it is amazing! There are many flavours now but the original is made with almonds, hazelnuts, candy peel and kirsch.  It is absolutely delicious and makes for a wonderful souvenir!

Tipping in Basel

Speaking of restaurants, the topic of tipping is inevitably raised. Tipping in European cities is an often discussed concern by those travelling to Europe. Hopefully, our Basel City Guide will help a bit for those visiting Basel.

Those working in Basel restaurants are professionals. They are paid a proper wage and tips are included in the bill. That said, an extra tip is always appreciate for great service. If you have great service, feel free to round up the bill a few francs. For a coffee, that would be 0.5 to 1 Swiss franc and for a meal that would be rounding up to the nearest 5 or 10 francs.

**Please note that information in our Basel City Guide related to Baselcard and local transportation is accurate at the time of publication; however, those visiting Basel should contact the official websites noted above to confirm details prior to travel.

We hope you found our Basel City Guide helpful. If we’ve missed anything you’d like us to include, drop us a note in the comments and we’ll be sure to add it!!

If you’re looking to travel beyond Basel, check out Lucerne or the Rheinfall, Schaffhausen and Stein am Rhein area of Switzerland. You can also seek out a nearby Swiss mountain experience.

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