Museums and galleries in Basel

Museums and galleries in Basel

1. See

   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

2. See

   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

3. See

   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

4. See

   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

5. See

   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

6. See

   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

7. See

   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

8. See

   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

9. Do Not mapped

   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.

10. Buy Not mapped

    Pep & No Name

    Wide selection of books, including on art and photography, limited selection of titles in English. It's also a photography gallery featuring changing exhibitions.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Basel (CC BY-SA 4.0).