What a Basel Old Town Walk Shows You, Stop by Stop

The Old Town is the heart of most guided tours in Basel, and you can walk it alone too. This is what each stop is, which walks call there, and how to string them together yourself. For the walks themselves, side by side, see Basel walking tours.

How the loop fits together

The Old Town sits on the left bank of the Rhine, in Grossbasel, and climbs from the squares up to Cathedral Hill. The walks start at the Tinguely Fountain, the Town Hall, the fountain on the Minster square or the Kunsthalle, and they share most stops. One walk from the Town Hall gives each stop a set time, which makes a good plan:

The Tinguely Fountain

The fountain by the theatre is where the city's own walk starts, and where the photogenic-spots walk ends. It is a pool of moving machine sculptures by the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely, and they play in the water. It is the easiest stop on the loop to find.

Give it ten minutes, because the pieces move at different speeds. The city's own two-hour walk meets here, for $31 a person.

Barfüsserplatz and the Stadtcasino

A few steps away is Barfüsserplatz, a lively square with trams passing through. The tourist office's visitor centre is here, in the Stadtcasino, and so is the Barfüsserkirche, a former Franciscan church. In Advent a Christmas market stands on the square.

It is the natural place to start on your own. Pick up a map, then walk uphill. The trams that reach the square from all over the city are on the Basel map.

Cathedral Hill and the Minster

The walk climbs to Cathedral Hill, and the Minster fills the top. It was built between 1019 and 1500, in Romanesque and Gothic styles, with red sandstone walls, coloured roof tiles and two towers. Inside are the crypt, the chancel, the tomb of Erasmus of Rotterdam, the Gallus gate and two cloisters.

The square in front, Münsterplatz, is a meeting place, and it hosts concerts and events. The small-group walk from the Pisoni Fountain starts here. Allow half an hour on the hill, the longest single stop on the loop.

The Pfalz terrace

Behind the Minster is the Pfalz, a terrace high above the Rhine. It is one of the most popular viewpoints in the city. You look across the river to Kleinbasel and along the water to the bridges.

Below the terrace, the Münster ferry crosses the river. Like the other three city ferries, it hangs from a cable and is driven by the current alone. From the Kleinbasel side, that ferry gives you the best view of the Minster, so cross over and look back.

Augustinergasse

From the hill, Augustinergasse leads away from the Minster. It is one of the Old Town's most picturesque streets, a quiet lane with old houses and courtyards set back from it.

Walk it slowly. The walk from the Town Hall gives it ten minutes, and that is enough to look into the courtyards without rushing.

Mittlere Brücke

Down at the river, the Mittlere Brücke links Grossbasel with Kleinbasel. Basel Tourismus ranks it with the Minster as the city's best-known landmark, and the Rhine cruise leaves from the landing just before it.

Cross it for the view back to the Minster, then come back. If you want the river from the water instead, the 75-minute cruise is on Basel city tours.

The Rathaus on Marktplatz

The Rathaus, the red town hall, stands on Marktplatz, the market square. Basel Tourismus calls it five centuries of architecture, art and politics, and it is still where the government of the canton of Basel-City sits. The Town Hall walk and the chocolate walk both meet at its entrance.

Look through the arch into the courtyard, where the walls are painted. Market stalls stand on the square around it, and the red front is the photo everyone takes.

Things most people walk past

A few details on the loop are easy to miss if nobody points at them. Look for these:

• The Gallus gate. A doorway on the Minster, named by Basel Tourismus with the crypt and the chancel as things to see.
• The cloisters. The Minster has two of them, a quiet step away from the square.
• The tomb of Erasmus of Rotterdam. The scholar lies inside the Minster.
• The Rathaus courtyard. Painted walls and an arcade, behind the arch on Marktplatz.
• The Barfüsserkirche. The former Franciscan church on Barfüsserplatz is now the city's history museum.
• The Museum der Kulturen. A museum of world cultures, and one of the stops on the small-group walk from the Minster square.

For photos, use three spots. The Pfalz gives you the river. The Kleinbasel bank, reached on the Münster ferry, gives you the Minster. And the Mittlere Brücke gives you the arches with the Old Town behind them.

What a guide adds, and when to go alone

The loop is easy to walk alone, and nothing on it needs a ticket from the street. What you lose alone is the story: who built what, why the town hall is red, and what happens at Fasnacht. The guides fill that in.

• Want the lowest fare: the city's own walk from the Tinguely Fountain.
• Want English only, from a set time: the Town Hall walk at 10am, ten people at most.
• Want your own group: the private option from the fountain on the Minster square.
• Want photos: the photogenic-spots walk from the Kunsthalle, eight people at most.

If a guide adds most at Fasnacht time, plan it: the Basel Fasnacht next begins on 15 February 2027. The season and the rest of the year are on the best time to visit page.

Walking it on your own

Start at Barfüsserplatz, see the Tinguely Fountain, then climb to the Minster and the Pfalz. Walk Augustinergasse, come down to the Mittlere Brücke, and finish on Marktplatz at the Rathaus. Allow two hours with stops.

Wear shoes with grip, because the lanes climb. Hotel guests can ride the trams back from Marktplatz free with the BaselCard. What else to see beyond the loop, from the Spalentor to the museums, is on the things to do page, and the weather month by month is on the Basel weather page. If chocolate is on your list, read our post on chocolate in Basel.

Walks that follow the loop

Basel Old Town Walking Tour

A small group of up to ten meets at the red Town Hall at 10am for about two hours: the bridge, a quiet lane, the Minster and the terrace behind it, then the squares. English commentary; food and drink are extra.

From $43 per person

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Basel Old Town Walking Tour With A Guide

Two hours from the fountain on the Minster square, private or in a small group, with a guide in English, Spanish, German or Italian. The walk stays outside the monuments, and entry, transport and food are yours to pay.

From $58 per person

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Discover Basel’s most Photogenic Spots with a Local

Ninety minutes with a local host and eight people at most, from the Kunsthalle to the Tinguely Fountain, stopping at the spots that photograph best. You leave with tips for the rest of your stay.

From $135 per person

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