Basel

Antikenmuseum Basel

Museum of Ancient Art and Ludwig Collection

Huge collection of antiquities: some Egyptian and Mesopotamian art, but mostly Greek art.

Tue Wed & Sat Sun 11:00-17:00, Thu Fri 11:00-22:00·Fr. 10

Basel Zoo

Oldest and largest zoo in Switzerland. Have lunch watching the elephants and see the monkeys solving problems for food in the Monkey House.

Daily 08:00-17:30·Fr. 21

Basler Münster

Basel Minster

Now a Reformed Protestant cathedral, it was built from 1019, badly damaged in an earthquake of 1356, and completed in 1500 in Romanesque & Gothic style. The Galluspforte (Gallus portal) on the western façade is a magnificent sculptural work. Figures carved on the main (south) façade include St. George slaying the Dragon. Inside, there's a sandstone lectern, and a crypt with tombs of early bishops of Basel; also buried here is Jacob Bernoulli, who discovered the mathematical constant e. You can climb either or both towers: St. Martin's is 62 m and St. George's is 65 m.

Nov-Mar: Mon-Sat 11:00-16:00, Sun 11:30-16:00; Apr-Oct: 10:00-17:00, Sat 10:00-16:00, Sun 11:30-17:00·Free; Fr. 6 to climb towers

Brötlibar

The Brötli-Bar at the Stadthof Hotel, Barfüsserplatz, has a large selection of open sandwiches ("Brötli" to the Swiss).

Café Spitz

Brasserie Spitz

Not simply a café - excellent seafood, with a nice terrace overlooking the Rhine. In the summer, there is a special menu with a variety of grilled fish. The outdoor seating area overlooking the Rhine has a reduced (and less expensive) menu.

Daily 07:00-21:30

Elisabethenkirche

Protestant church completed in 1864 in neo-Gothic Revival style. Note the stone pulpit with wooden canopy.

Mon-Sat 09:00-19:00, Sun 12:00-19:00

Fernet Branca Musée d'Art Contemporain

Changing contemporary art exhibitions, see website for schedule.

Wed-Sun 13:00-18:00·€8

Fondation Beyeler

Elegant museum designed by Renzo Piano, housing the fabulous collection of art dealer Ernst Beyeler. Highlights of the permanent collection include works by Mark Rothko and a vast nymphéas (water lily) painting by Claude Monet. There's usually also temporary exhibitions, and see also Art Basel under "Events".

Daily 10:00-18:00, Wed until 20:00·Adults Fr. 28

Hirscheneck

Traditional left-wing, punk-run restaurant. You get a relatively cheap square meal. Always serves vegetarian and vegan food too. Breakfast on Sundays until 16:00.

Tue-Fri 11:00-00:00, Sat 14:00-01:00, Sun 10:00-00:00

Kunsthalle Basel

No permanent collection, this is Basel's main non-commercial art space for changing contemporary art shows. Throughout the year, the Kunsthalle shows cutting edge international artists in meticulously curated shows.

Tue Wed Fri 11:00-18:00, Thu 11:00–20:30, Sat Sun 11:00–17:00

Kunsthaus Baselland

Changing exhibitions of contemporary art, particularly the Regionale, an annual platform for young artists from the "Three Countries' Corner". It also houses the BEWE Collection (donated by collectors Bruno and Elisabeth Weiss), which focuses on the oeuvre of two renowned Basel based modernist artist groups: Rot-Blau and Gruppe 33.

Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00·Fr 12

Kunstmuseum Basel

Fine Arts Museum

Huge permanent collection of 19th and 20th century works, including a whole room of Picasso, and medieval and renaissance paintings from Holbein, Grien and others. Housed in two buildings: Hauptbau & Neubau. On the same ticket but in the separate Gegenwart building at St. Alban-Rheinweg 60 (10-minute walk from the main facility) is the Museum of Contemporary Art, open Tu-Su 11:00-18:00.

Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00·Fr. 16 for all 3 buildings

Laurenz-Stiftung Schaulager

Schaulager means "display-warehouse" and the building is a hybrid between a storage space, art history research centre, and museum, with changing temporary exhibitions. The core of it is the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation's modern and contemporary art collection. The Foundation was created by heirs to the fortune of the pharmaceutical multinational Hoffmann-La Roche.

Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Thu to 20:00·Fr. 22

Lily's Maxim

"Pan-Asian" bench table restaurant (like Wagamama but with more than noodles). Inexpensive good Asian food, outside terrace in summer. No reservations needed, and they do takeaway.

Daily 10:00-00:00

Mensa Universität Basel

One of the students cafeterias. Serves an inexpensive lunch menu not only to students from Monday to Friday. By no means 'gourmet' food, but you can eat your lunch on the terrace during warm weather.

Migros

in Bahnhof SBB, the Swiss train station, a store of the largest grocery store chain in Switzerland, provides sandwiches, tarts, fresh-baked bread, pizza, döner kebab, etc. at very reasonable prices, perfect for picnic lunches on outings. Similar: the Coop shop opposite the station (Centralbahnstrasse). Unlike all other grocery stores in the city, both are open late at night and on Sundays.

Museum Jean Tinguely

Enjoy the wacky animated mechanical artwork of Jean Tinguely (1925-1991), and other "kinetic" modern artists. The building was designed by Mario Botta, whose other museum buildings include the San Francisco MOMA. Another of his machine sculptures, the Fasnachtsbrunnen ("Carnival Fountain") can be seen on the plaza in front of Restaurant Kunsthalle on Steinenberg. There's more of his work in Fribourg, where he was born.

Tue-Sun 11:00-18:00·Fr 18

Museum der Kulturen

Museum of Cultures

Ethnographic museum featuring exhibits from South America, Africa, East Asia and Oceania. The exhibits from the South Seas, Ancient America, Tibet and Bali are world-famous, as are its textiles.

Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00

Restaurant BaCell's/Kaffi Biozentrum

Opened in 2021 (along with the building) to cater for the students enrolled in biology, neuro and life sciences at Basel's university, this cafeteria is a great option for an affordable lunch – the futuristic interior, which is strikingly similar to that of the Roche corporate headquarter in Basel's East, is an added bonus.

Mon-Fri 11:30-13:30·Fr. 12.50/14.50 (mains)

SAM'S Pizza Land

The best American style eat out place. Has a take away counter which serves filling Turkish wraps and pizzas for around Fr. 8

Spielzeug Welten Museum

Toy World Museum

Colossal collection of teddy bears, dolls houses, puppets and other toys.

Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00·Fr. 7; accompanied children to 16 free

Vitra Design Museum

Museum of furniture and lighting in three buildings. The main building (by Frank Gehry) hosts large exhibitions, and the Gallery smaller ones. The Schaudepot, opened in 2017, makes it possible to see the permanent collection. Other remarkable buildings on the Vitra campus (guided tour Tu-Su at 12:00 and 14:00, 2 hours, call ahead) are by Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando, Nicholas Grimshaw and Alvaro Siza. And yes, you exit through the gift shop: VitraHaus allows you to sample, order and purchase.

Daily 10:00-18:00·€11, with Schaudepot €17

Alter Zoll

Serves excellent, homemade food for moderate prices (lunch Fr. 17.50, dinner Fr. 20-30). Calm relaxing atmosphere.

Tue-Thu 16:00-00:00, Fri till 02:00

BarRouge

Messeplatz, in the Messeturm, Basel's tallest building, take the express elevator to top (31st) floor: a cool modern-style bar with panoramic views of the city - even from the stalls in the bathroom! +25 Years Club

Basel Herbstmesse

autumn fair

Two weeks beginning on the last Saturday of October every year. Rides, booths, shooting alleys and lots of food in several locations all over the city, including Messeplatz (biggest site with most attractions, including rollercoaster and the like), Barfüsserplatz and Münsterplatz (where you get nice views from the Ferris wheel). Recommended: the cosy market at Petersplatz, near the main University building, where you can take a leisurely stroll and buy almost anything you never needed - from china, spices and tea, hand-drawn candles, knitted sweaters, leather goods to the latest household cleaning tools - and of course tons of tasty fast food, from healthy corn on the cob to less healthy Wurst varieties.

Basel ferry

The Basel Rhine ferry is an icon of the city and a visit to Basel without a ride on a ferry would be incomplete. It only takes two-three minutes but it offers a great view (during sunshine).

BaselWorld

International Watch and Jewelry fair. Late March-Early April. The world's biggest watch and jewelry trade show. The city's population more than doubles during this convention. The watch displays are particularly elaborate, with the exhibition space set up like an indoor version of New York's 5th Avenue.

Bider & Tanner

Large bookstore with a well-stocked English book section and a wide selection of travel books and maps. The place to go to get local topo maps and Swiss bike maps.

Blindekuh

Restaurant in the Dark

"Blindekuh" is German for "Blind Man's Buff" and you eat in total darkness, with blind staff to guide you. This sharpens your senses to touch, taste and sound. Blindekuh is one of the largest private-sector employers of blind & partially-sighted people.

Wed-Sat 18:30-23:00

Bodega zum Strauss

Italian and Spanish dishes in a noisy but friendly atmosphere on the ground floor. Slightly more elegant (reservation recommended) on the upper floor.

Mon-Sat 12:00-14:00 & 18:00-00:00, Sun 18:00-21:30