At the pulse of the city
Events and nightlife in Basel
From events with international appeal to local culture: Basel has something going on at any time of year, day or night. Trade fairs and exhibitions, tradition and innovation, big stars and rising stars, a lively cultural, trade fair and sports program and the city's small, diverse nightlife would also do credit to a larger city. Because all this takes place in a relatively small area, the distances between the cultural highlights are pleasantly short.
Festivals
Always something going on
In February or March, always on the Monday after Ash Wednesday, the Guggen, Schnitzelbänkler and Fasnacht cliques ring in the season with the famous Basel Fasnacht. In April/May, the Off-Beat jazz festival with international jazz greats offers a musical contrast to the carnival Guggen and piccolo flutes and the luxurious glamour of the Baselworld watch and jewelry fair.
The Blickfang design fair kicks off the creative year with furniture, fashion and jewelry and attracts young and established design greats to Basel. In June, when Art Basel opens its doors, the international art world flocks to the city and the program of accompanying events makes it difficult to choose. In summer, people meet up by the Rhine - for example at the open-air festival Im Fluss or for a swim in the Rhine. Because although you can swim in the clean waters of the Basel Rhine all summer long: When thousands of enthusiastic Rhine swimmers plunge into the waters, it is a very special experience.
Openair festivals
In summer, landlubbers enjoy themselves at the Basel Tattoo or the countless open-air events. When the leaves fall, the theater guest performances and the Kilbi season begin with the Basel Autumn Fair, one of the largest folk festivals in Switzerland. Fans of early music should consider the biennial Early Music Festival, where graduates of Basel's famous Schola Cantorum Basiliensis can be heard. Sports fans can look forward to top-class events such as the Swiss Indoors, the home tournament of Swiss tennis stars, or get active themselves at the Basel City Run in November.
At the end of November, the city is then wrapped in Christmas glitter and the scent of mulled wine. The Basel Christmas in the Old Town is considered one of the most beautiful in Switzerland. And the turn of the year can also be celebrated appropriately with the big fireworks display over the Rhine and at many unusual New Year's Eve events.
You can find a good overview of events in and around Basel on the city's website. A comprehensive, daily updated program of events can be found in the program newspaper.
Basel-style lifestyle
Shop and enjoy
Basel is also a small, refined and international shopping destination. Basel's delicacies are famous among foodies, but the city also offers many a treat when it comes to watches and jewelry, shoes, fashion, design, Swiss cosmetics and local specialties.
Luxurious brands, small boutiques, Basel design: all this can be found - typically Basel - in the smallest of spaces and usually within walking distance. The best way to find inspiration is to take a stroll through the old town. The city's main shopping street lies between Freie Strasse and the market square, while the narrow streets of Spalenberg are home to boutiques, exquisite addresses and the city's traditional stores. The design stores and small galleries away from the center, such as in the St. Johann district or on Feldbergstrasse, also promise special discoveries. The city's website offers a brief, helpful overview.
Out of the city
Excursions in and around Basel
Pure relaxation
Nestled between the lowlands of the Rhine and the hills of the Basel Jura, the French Vosges and the German Black Forest, Basel is surrounded by greenery and yet is extremely central. Not only the local recreation areas, but also the other cities and natural beauties of Switzerland can be reached quickly from here.
In the middle of the city is the "Zolli", Basel's zoo steeped in tradition, and the Lange Erlen animal park on the small river "Wiese", which is accessible free of charge and complements the zoo wonderfully as a small wildlife park with native animals. Just outside the city gates in Augst are the excavation sites of the ancient Roman city of Augusta Raurica: An open-air museum that provides an insight into life in ancient times.
Sun worshippers with a taste for good architecture should not miss the Riehen natural swimming pool designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. Hiking trails and cycle paths, old walls such as Rötteln Castle, the romantic moated Bottmingen Castle and monasteries such as Mariastein offer a relaxed mix of landscape and culture.
Nature lovers are recommended to visit the Petite Camargue, the quiet nature reserve on the Alsatian Rhine, where numerous rare animals and plants can be found in the floodplains and relics of the former riparian forest. Nearby Alsace also has a lot to offer: Tarte flambée and sauerkraut, charming little towns such as Colmar or the impressive, baroque cathedral of Arlesheim, castles and fortresses such as the medieval Haut-Koenigsbourg and an enchanting landscape of vineyards and wooded hills. Over the German border, the Black Forest awaits with its health resorts, deep forests and bodies of water such as Lake Titisee; on the Swiss side, the Basel Jura with its friendly beech forests and craggy limestone cliffs.
If you are drawn further afield, you can reach Lucerne, Zurich or Bern, the Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen, the alpine world of the Bernese Oberland or the famous Titlis in no time at all by train or car.
