The Cultural Capital of Switzerland
Basel is a city in northwestern Switzerland along the Rhine River, at the mouths of the birds and wiese rivers, where the French, German, and Swiss borders meet, at the entrance to the Swiss Rhineland.
Basel, a dynamic economic centre and a research stronghold is Switzerland’s third-most-populous city (after Zürich and Geneva) and a pocket-size cosmopolitan city with about 200,000 inhabitants. Cross-border relations have always been a part of life here. Basel collaborates closely with its neighbours on all sides of the borders on issues such as transport, environment, education and culture.
The quality and quantity of Basel’s cultural offering is mind-boggling: no other European city has a comparable density of outstanding museums. You’ll see this in the city’s adoration of all things art and in its colourful, raucous yearly Fasnacht festival that is a must-see.
Basel people love art. There is city’s historical place where you can taste fresh foods you desire or sample some. If you want to brush up on either (French and German) language, or both, Basel is the perfect place to go. It boasts around 300 days of sunshine every year.
The culture-centric city, site of the world’s most influential art market each June, is also home to the lovely Munster Cathedral, made of red sandstone with a multi-colored tile roof. Green spaces abound, including the popular zoological gardens in the city center. Switzerland’s largest site of Roman ruins, Augusta Raurica, are an easy day trip to the east.
You know what Roger Federer was born here.
Why Basel?
- Basel’s Zoo is one of the best
- Across the city there are over 40 museums.
- Basel is home to some of Switzerland’s largest and most eclectic theatres.
- Basel knows better how to celebrate Christmas
- Its Historical Architecture
If you’re visiting the city on the first Sunday of the month, head to one of the many of the museums in Basel that offer free entry.
How to get there
Below you’ll find a quick reference guide to travel times to/from Basel.
- Basel – Zurich: train 1h:15 / car 1h
- Basel – Bern: train 1h / car 1h
- Basel – Lucerne: train 1h:15 / car 1h
- Basel – Geneva: train 3h / car 2h:30
- Basel – Paris: train 3h:10 / car 5h:15
- Basel – Frankfurt: train 2h:45 / car 2h:55
Many visitors to the city arrive by river cruise ship (usually on an Amsterdam to Basel river cruise) however, from neighbouring France and Germany, to the city can also be easily reached by both road and rail from across Europe. Use our handy driving and Swiss Travel (rail) Pass guides to plan your visit to Basel.
Location: Solothurn
December 7
10:00 pm
0.42 °C
December 8
1:00 am
-0.7 °C
December 8
4:00 am
-2.09 °C
December 8
7:00 am
-2.31 °C
Address
Switzerland
Tickets
Swiss travel pass
Duration
Dependable
Tab Title
Location: Solothurn
1:00 am
December 8
-0.7 °C 57 % 1015 hPa 0.18 m/s 354 deg
broken clouds
4:00 am
December 8
-2.09 °C 7 % 1015 hPa 0.34 m/s 237 deg
clear sky
7:00 am
December 8
-2.31 °C 7 % 1013 hPa 0.14 m/s 115 deg
clear sky
10:00 am
December 8
0.61 °C 7 % 1012 hPa 0.56 m/s 148 deg
clear sky
1:00 pm
December 8
4.27 °C 7 % 1010 hPa 0.86 m/s 219 deg
clear sky
4:00 pm
December 8
2.21 °C 5 % 1008 hPa 0.61 m/s 112 deg
clear sky
7:00 pm
December 8
-0.28 °C 22 % 1008 hPa 0.61 m/s 73 deg
few clouds
10:00 pm
December 8
1.04 °C 100 % 1007 hPa 0.35 m/s 103 deg
light snow
1:00 am
December 9
1.43 °C 100 % 1006 hPa 0.65 m/s 118 deg
light snow
4:00 am
December 9
1.14 °C 100 % 1004 hPa 0.83 m/s 87 deg
light snow
7:00 am
December 9
0.99 °C 100 % 1004 hPa 0.83 m/s 136 deg
snow
10:00 am
December 9
1.56 °C 100 % 1004 hPa 0.87 m/s 104 deg
snow
1:00 pm
December 9
2.32 °C 100 % 1003 hPa 0.99 m/s 69 deg
snow
4:00 pm
December 9
1.97 °C 100 % 1004 hPa 1.01 m/s 29 deg
snow
7:00 pm
December 9
0.84 °C 100 % 1005 hPa 1.03 m/s 10 deg
snow
10:00 pm
December 9
-0.87 °C 99 % 1007 hPa 0.96 m/s 3 deg
light snow
1:00 am
December 10
-0.19 °C 99 % 1007 hPa 0.89 m/s 23 deg
light snow
4:00 am
December 10
-0.66 °C 100 % 1007 hPa 1.15 m/s 38 deg
light snow
7:00 am
December 10
-0.46 °C 100 % 1006 hPa 1.35 m/s 31 deg
light snow
10:00 am
December 10
1.02 °C 100 % 1007 hPa 1.6 m/s 40 deg
light snow
1:00 pm
December 10
1.96 °C 100 % 1006 hPa 1.49 m/s 28 deg
overcast clouds
4:00 pm
December 10
1.38 °C 100 % 1006 hPa 1.36 m/s 10 deg
light snow
7:00 pm
December 10
-1.14 °C 100 % 1008 hPa 1.51 m/s 352 deg
light snow
10:00 pm
December 10
-2.18 °C 100 % 1008 hPa 1.54 m/s 338 deg
light snow
1:00 am
December 11
-2.53 °C 100 % 1009 hPa 1.4 m/s 329 deg
light snow
4:00 am
December 11
-3.53 °C 100 % 1010 hPa 1.54 m/s 310 deg
light snow
7:00 am
December 11
-4.25 °C 100 % 1011 hPa 1.52 m/s 304 deg
overcast clouds
10:00 am
December 11
-3.07 °C 100 % 1011 hPa 1.49 m/s 302 deg
light snow
1:00 pm
December 11
-1.83 °C 100 % 1011 hPa 1.76 m/s 291 deg
overcast clouds
4:00 pm
December 11
-2.85 °C 100 % 1013 hPa 1.4 m/s 286 deg
overcast clouds
7:00 pm
December 11
-7.27 °C 99 % 1015 hPa 1.57 m/s 262 deg
overcast clouds
10:00 pm
December 11
-8.77 °C 76 % 1016 hPa 1.49 m/s 244 deg
broken clouds
1:00 am
December 12
-9.6 °C 69 % 1016 hPa 1.32 m/s 241 deg
broken clouds
4:00 am
December 12
-10.64 °C 20 % 1017 hPa 0.87 m/s 236 deg
few clouds
7:00 am
December 12
-11.04 °C 20 % 1016 hPa 1.25 m/s 226 deg
few clouds
10:00 am
December 12
-6.48 °C 22 % 1015 hPa 1.33 m/s 208 deg
few clouds
1:00 pm
December 12
-2.48 °C 20 % 1013 hPa 1.96 m/s 227 deg
few clouds
4:00 pm
December 12
-3.61 °C 47 % 1013 hPa 1.58 m/s 236 deg
scattered clouds
7:00 pm
December 12
-5.3 °C 71 % 1015 hPa 1.56 m/s 242 deg
broken clouds