Basel region: travel guide

Why visit Basel

Basel occupies a unique position — geographically, culturally, and economically — at the point where the Rhine bends north at the corner where Switzerland, Germany, and France converge. The tri-national border gives the city an international character quite different from the other Swiss cities: residents cross into Germany or France for shopping, restaurants, or concerts as casually as they might cross a neighbourhood. The Tram 8 runs from Basel directly into the French city of Saint-Louis; the German suburb of Weil am Rhein is a 10-minute walk.

What makes Basel genuinely extraordinary, however, is the concentration of art and architecture it has accumulated. The city has 40 museums — the highest density of museums per capita of any city in the world. Art Basel, the annual contemporary art fair held each June, is the most important art market event in the world, drawing galleries and collectors from every continent. The architecture ranges from the medieval cathedral (Münster) on the Rhine bend to contemporary buildings by Herzog and de Meuron (a Basel architectural firm), Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, and Peter Zumthor — an open-air collection of significant modern architecture concentrated within a few kilometres of each other.

Key destinations and experiences

The old town

Basel’s Altstadt occupies a bend in the Rhine, divided by the river into Grossbasel (larger, western side, the historic centre) and Kleinbasel (smaller, eastern side, historically the working-class quarter now increasingly gentrified). The Marktplatz, with its red sandstone Rathaus (Town Hall), is the civic centrepiece. The narrow lanes climbing to the Münster hill are lined with medieval houses and small galleries; the Münsterplatz terrace above the Rhine is the finest viewpoint in the city.

Kunstmuseum Basel

The Kunstmuseum (Museum of Fine Arts) is the oldest public art collection open to the public in the world (the core collection was purchased by the city in 1661) and one of the finest in Europe. The permanent collection spans German and Swiss art from the 15th century, through Holbein (who lived and worked in Basel), Impressionism, Expressionism, and Cubism, to contemporary work. The original building plus a modern extension (Herzog and de Meuron, 2016) house over 4,000 works. The Picasso, Braque, and Léger collections are particularly strong.

Fondation Beyeler

The Fondation Beyeler in Riehen (tram 6 from Basel centre, 15 minutes) is by general consensus the finest private art museum in Switzerland and one of the best in Europe. The building, designed by Renzo Piano in 1997, is a masterpiece of natural light management — the roof is engineered to flood the galleries with diffused north light throughout the day. The permanent collection focuses on Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and 20th-century Modernism: Monet, Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Mondrian, Rothko, Giacometti — all represented with works of exceptional quality. Temporary exhibitions are typically of international significance.

Vitra Campus

The Vitra furniture company’s campus in Weil am Rhein (just across the German border, a 20-minute tram ride) is the most extraordinary concentration of contemporary architecture in central Europe. Buildings by Frank Gehry (the Vitra Design Museum — Gehry’s first building in Europe), Zaha Hadid (the fire station, her first completed building), Tadao Ando, Alvaro Siza, Herzog and de Meuron, SANAA, and others occupy a campus that functions as both a working furniture factory and a cultural institution. Tours run daily; the Vitra Design Museum holds the world’s largest collection of furniture design.

Rhine swimming

For a different perspective on Basel, join a 2-hour historical walking tour through Basel that covers the old town’s highlights with a local guide. Basel’s most distinctive local tradition is swimming in the Rhine — not from a pool or lido but from the river bank itself, carried downstream by the current before climbing out via ladders attached to the bank. The practice is organised around the Rheinbad installations — floating swimming platforms moored to the bank with changing facilities — at multiple points along the Kleinbasel shore. The current is swift enough that swimmers typically carry their belongings in a dry bag and float 500 metres to a kilometre downstream before exiting. It is free, exhilarating, and deeply Basler. The season runs from late May to September.

Art Basel

Art Basel (held each June for one week at the Messe Basel exhibition centre) is the most influential art fair in the world, with 280+ galleries from 30+ countries presenting work from the 20th and 21st centuries. The fair is not purely commercial — the associated public programming (Art Basel Parcours, Art Basel Unlimited, Art Basel Conversations) extends throughout the city and is free. Basel during Art Basel week has an energy and international character unlike any other week in the Swiss cultural calendar.

Basel also hosts Art Basel Miami Beach (December) and Art Basel Paris (October), but the June Basel fair remains the flagship.

Getting to Basel

By train

Basel SBB (the main station, serving Swiss and French routes) is one of the major European rail junctions. Direct trains from Zurich take 55 minutes; from Bern, 55 minutes; from Geneva, 3 hours; from Paris (TGV), 3 hours. The Swiss Travel Pass covers Swiss routes. Basel Badischer Bahnhof (DB — German railways) is a separate station on the Kleinbasel side serving German intercity routes.

By air

Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport (EAP), technically on French territory but directly connected to Basel by bus and taxi, serves the tri-national region with connections to most European cities and some medium-haul destinations.

Getting around

Basel’s tram network is the principal mode of city transport — comprehensive, frequent, and covering the main tourist sites without the need for taxis. The tram also crosses into Germany (line 8 to Weil am Rhein, Vitra Campus) and approaches the French border. Walking is the best approach for the old town; the Rhine is the natural organizing element of the city.

Best time to visit

June is the obvious peak time — Art Basel transforms the city and the Rhine swimming season is beginning. May and September offer the best weather without the Art Basel crowds. February brings the Basel Fasnacht — the most significant carnival in Switzerland (three days of masked processions, fife-and-drum music, and lantern displays, beginning at 4am on the Monday after Ash Wednesday). Year-round works for the museums; the Fondation Beyeler and Kunstmuseum are worth visiting in any weather.

Suggested itinerary

2 days: Basel essentials

Day 1: Old town walk, Kunstmuseum, Rhine swimming (summer) or riverside walk. Day 2: Tram to Riehen (Fondation Beyeler), return via Kleinbasel market.

3 days: extended

Add a morning at the Vitra Campus (day trip to Weil am Rhein), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Museum für Gegenwartskunst), and the Schaulager (remarkable temporary exhibition space in a Herzog and de Meuron building in Münchenbuchsee).

Practical information

Basel is more affordable than Zurich and Geneva. The city’s hotel infrastructure expands significantly during Art Basel — book at least three months ahead for June stays. The Eastern Switzerland region (Rhine Falls, Schaffhausen) is easily accessible from Basel — a private tour from Basel to the Rhine Falls makes for an excellent day trip. The Bern region to the south is also within easy reach. For additional day trip ideas, the Jura and Three Lakes area lies directly to the south-west. The Swiss Travel Pass is the most efficient way to combine Basel with onward Swiss travel.