Four Basel Rhine ferries — “Wild Maa”, “Leu”, “Vogel Gryff” and “Ueli” — connect Grossbasel with Kleinbasel. They are attached to a long wire cable and are powered solely by the current of the Rhine. This special means of crossing is as much a part of Basel as its historic architecture and numerous museums. When planning your stay, you can first decide whether you want to focus on art collections, historic sites, hands-on activities or experiences by the river.
The Old Town, architecture and the Rhine
Basel is located in the tri-border area of Switzerland, Germany and France, at the southern end of the Upper Rhine Plain and the western beginning of the High Rhine Plain. Within the city, the Rhine changes direction at the Rhine Bend, between the Swiss Jura and the foothills of the Black Forest: from east–west to south–north. The preserved architecture of the Old Town stands alongside modern architecture and numerous public artworks. Historic sites include Basel Minster, the Pfalz terrace, the Town Hall on the market square, Spalenberg and Spalentor.
Basel Town Hall was built between 1504 and 1514, together with a connecting wing to the rear building. Three pointed-arch arcades are located in the oldest part of the building, with the richly decorated Government Council Chamber above them. The Minster also combines a distinctive architectural form with views across the city: both the towers of St. George and St. Martin can be climbed via a narrow staircase of around 250 steps. From the top, the view extends across Basel and its surroundings. If you are more interested in the Minster’s architectural and ecclesiastical history, you can choose a tour focusing on these topics.
Art and collections
The Kunstmuseum Basel comprises three buildings close to one another in the city centre; the main building and the new building are on St. Alban-Graben. The Public Art Collection of Basel includes more than 300,000 works spanning eight centuries, from the late Middle Ages to the immediate present. This makes Basel home to the world’s oldest public art collection. Its broad historical range offers visitors the opportunity to explore art from different periods.
The work of a single artist is at the heart of the Tinguely Museum. It houses the world’s largest collection of works by Jean Tinguely (1925–1991). The permanent collection display spans four decades of his career, from early delicate reliefs to monumental machine sculptures of the 1980s. An interactive museum experience engages all the senses. This approach is markedly different from collections that cover several centuries or entire cultural regions.
The Museum of Cultures Basel focuses on ethnology and displays collections from around the world. It is one of Europe’s most important ethnological museums. The collection comprises more than 340,000 objects and around 900,000 photographs. Public guided tours explore themes from current exhibitions in greater depth and consider exhibits from different perspectives. If you are looking for a thematic interpretation alongside your own visit, these tours offer a different way to engage with the collections.
Antiquity, urban history and craftsmanship
The Antikenmuseum Basel spans a broad period and a wide geographical area: its displays take visitors from Greece, Rome and Etruria to Egypt and the Levant, and as far as Mesopotamia and Iran, covering more than 5,000 years of cultural history. The museum is also known for its collection of Greek vases. These vessels offer insight into Greek culture from the 8th to the 4th century BC. The Egyptian display features around 600 artefacts relating to the art and cultural history of pharaonic Egypt, from prehistoric times to the Greco-Roman period. A children’s trail and an audio guide make it possible to explore the museum with little reading.
Other museums offer a different focus. The exhibition in the Barfüsserkirche of the Basel Historical Museum tells the story of around 2,000 years of Basel’s history through several hundred historical artefacts and works of art. Topics on display include medieval worlds of life and imagination depicted in Basel tapestries, Renaissance and Baroque collections, and the region’s archaeological heritage. At the Basel Paper Mill, visitors can follow the process from handmade paper to the finished book. The rooms of a medieval paper mill are spread over four floors, with exhibitions and production workshops; children and adults can try their hand at being craftspeople.
The Natural History Museum Basel’s permanent exhibition “Dino & Saurier” also explores a range of questions, covering the dinosaurs’ lives, diets, growth and social behaviour. The models on display include a 7.5-metre-long skeletal reconstruction of an Allosaurus, as well as a life-size model of a Plateosaurus. If you would rather explore the history of pharmacy, the University of Basel’s Pharmacy Museum houses an important collection featuring pharmacies, historic medicines, laboratory equipment, an alchemist’s laboratory and microscopes. The pharmacy ceramics date from the 15th to the 19th century.
City walks and experiences on the Rhine
Signposted city walks lead through Basel’s Old Town, past numerous sights, and take 60 to 120 minutes. There are also self-guided tours that let you discover places, stories and sights at your own pace. Around 40 public city tours explore Basel’s past and present. There are several options to choose from: a set duration on a signposted walk, or the freedom to set your own pace on a self-guided tour.
Swimming in the Rhine is a seasonal activity. You can start near the Tinguely Museum and swim 3 kilometres downstream. The Rhine is a flowing river and is therefore suitable only for strong swimmers; check the water conditions before swimming. The Basel Museum Night offers a different timeframe: 41 museums and cultural institutions in the Basel region take part, with the museums open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. If you plan to attend, check the date for the relevant year. When choosing a hotel in Basel, these different options can help guide your decision: consider whether you want to spend most of your time exploring collections, historic sites, a city walk or an experience on the Rhine.
Discover more destinations: Riehen, Bettingen.
Return to the main travel overview: Basel-Stadt.
