two nights in

Basel

One of Switzerland's underrated tourist destinations, Basel has a beautiful medieval old town centre, a fascinating carnival, and several world class art museums built by architects like Renzo Piano, Mario Botta and Herzog & De Meuron. Basel is also rich in architecture old and new, with a Romanesque Münster (cathedral), a Renaissance Rathaus, and various examples of high quality contemporary architecture, including more buildings by Herzog & De Meuron, Richard Meier, Diener & Diener, and various others. Wikivoyage

Population 176,329 (Wikidata)

Live guide From your hotel

Before you go

Emergency numbers in Switzerland

Visas and entry What your passport needs for Switzerland
Tourist office · 1.6 km Tourist Information

Getting there

Remembered in this browser only, with the last few you used.

Best-documented sights

All of them in the guide

Within a kilometre of the centre, ordered by how well documented each is — not by a "best" anyone decided. Each opens on the map in the guide. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited there.

Through the year

  1. BaselWorld

    March – April

    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.

    Official site

  2. Art | Basel

    June, December

    Mid-June. Co-founded by gallery owner Ernst Beyeler (see Beyeler Foundation) in the late 1960s, this is the world's premier fair for modern and contemporary art.

  3. Basel Herbstmesse

    October

    Two weeks beginning on the last Saturday of October every year.

    Official site

  4. Basler Weihnachtsmarkt

    November – December

    Last week in November until 23 December in Barfüsserplatz

    Official site

Annual events from Wikidata and Wikivoyage (Basel); descriptions from Wikipedia where it has one, photos from Wikimedia Commons. Dates move year to year — check before you plan around one.

Markets

  • Matthäusmarkt

    1. Monday: closed
    2. Tuesday: closed
    3. Wednesday: closed
    4. Thursday: closed
    5. Friday: closed
    6. Saturday: 08:00–12:00
    7. Sunday: closed

    08:00–12:00

    540 m from the centre

  • Wettsteinmarkt

    Ein Gemüsestand bis Marktöffnung. Bestell- und Abholmöglichkeit für Gemüse und Käse siehe Website: www.wettsteinmarkt.ch

    1. Monday: closed
    2. Tuesday: closed
    3. Wednesday: 15:00–19:00
    4. Thursday: closed
    5. Friday: closed
    6. Saturday: closed
    7. Sunday: closed

    15:00–19:00

    890 m from the centre

  • Basler Stadtmarkt

    Einzelstände mit Obst und Gemüse, Heimlieferdienste und weitere Bezugsquellen unter www.basel.ch/märkte

    1. Monday: closed
    2. Tuesday: 08:00–14:00
    3. Wednesday: 08:00–14:00
    4. Thursday: 08:00–14:00
    5. Friday: 08:00–17:00
    6. Saturday: 08:00–17:00
    7. Sunday: closed
    Times vary by day
    Tuesday
    08:00–14:00
    Wednesday
    08:00–14:00
    Thursday
    08:00–14:00
    Friday
    08:00–17:00
    Saturday
    08:00–17:00
    1.3 km from the centre

  • Breitemarkt

    Opening hours

    Sa 09:00 - 13:00

    1.6 km from the centre

  • Bauernmarkt Birsfelden

    Opening hours

    Sa[1] ; PH off

    2.2 km from the centre

  • Dienstagsmarkt Rütimeyerplatz

    Bestellung für Heimlieferung unter https://www.bachletten-holbein.ch/?page_id=11564

    1. Monday: closed
    2. Tuesday: 08:30–11:30
    3. Wednesday: closed
    4. Thursday: closed
    5. Friday: closed
    6. Saturday: closed
    7. Sunday: closed

    08:30–11:30

    2.7 km from the centre

Markets mapped on OpenStreetMap, with their hours where someone has added them. Check locally before you go.

Eating nearby

All 43 places to eat

Somewhere to run

Getting around

Something wrong or missing on this page? Tell me

Places © OpenStreetMap contributors, as of 9 October 2026. Description from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA). Events from Wikidata and Wikivoyage, population from Wikidata.