One Day in Basel: The Old Town, the Rhine and a Museum

One day in Basel is enough for the Old Town, the Minster on its hill, the Rhine and a museum, if you take them in the right order. This guide gives you that order, hour by hour, with a rainy-day version and a morning for river-cruise passengers. When you want a guide for part of it, the guided tours in Basel are the place to choose one.

How does a day in Basel fit together?

The city is small. The Old Town sits on the left bank, called Grossbasel, around the Minster and the market square. Across the river is Kleinbasel, with its long bank for swimming and sitting in summer. You can walk from one to the other in minutes.

So the day falls into four parts. Walk the Old Town in the morning, when you are fresh and the lanes are quiet. Cross the river after lunch. Give the late afternoon to a museum. End the day on the terrace behind the Minster, looking over the Rhine.

If you stay overnight, your hotel gives you the BaselCard, and the trams and buses are free for your whole stay. That makes every step of this day cheaper.

Where should you start?

Start at Barfüsserplatz, where the Tourist Information office sits in the Stadtcasino. It is a short walk from the Tinguely Fountain, where the city's own walking tour meets, and a short climb from the Minster. Pick up a map there.

If you are coming in by train, the tram runs from Basel SBB into the centre. With a hotel booking in Basel, your confirmation is your free ticket for that first ride.

A guided walk in the morning?

A morning walk is the best use of the first two hours. You learn how to read the city, and you spend the rest of the day knowing where you are. These walks suit a morning:

• The Town Hall walk meets at the red Town Hall on Marktplatz at 10am, for up to ten people, at $43.
• The cheese and chocolate walk meets at the Kunstmuseum at 9:45am, with a tasting paid, at $115.
• The city's own walk, run by the tourist office, meets at the Tinguely Fountain for two hours, at $31. Its detail page gives the route.

If you would rather walk alone, the loop in our guide to Basel without a tour takes about the same time.

Which museum, and when is it free?

For one day, pick one museum and give it the late afternoon. The obvious choice is the Kunstmuseum Basel, on St. Alban-Graben, because it is central and its collection is free late in the day. Entry to the collection costs nothing on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 5pm to 6pm, and on Wednesday from 5pm to 8pm. The first Sunday of every month is free too, holidays excluded.

The museum is closed on Mondays. It opens at 10am from Tuesday to Sunday and stays open until 8pm on Wednesdays, so a Wednesday gives you three free hours.

If modern art is your reason for coming, the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, just outside the city, is the other big name. It needs half a day on its own, so on a one-day visit choose one or the other.

Where should you have lunch?

Close to where the morning ends. If you walked the Old Town, you finish near Marktplatz or Barfüsserplatz, with cafés and restaurants all around the squares. Sit down for an hour: the afternoon has a river crossing and a museum in it.

In summer, cross first and eat on the Kleinbasel bank, where refreshment stalls open along the river. None of the walks includes lunch, and the tasting walks are tastings, not a meal, so budget for it whichever way you go.

What can you skip?

On one day, skip the bus. It covers the most ground, but you see most sights from the window, and the Old Town lanes are best seen on foot. Skip a second museum too: one museum done well beats two done in a rush.

Leave the three-country point for a longer stay, unless you take the cruise, which sails out to the harbour anyway. And leave the day trips for another day. Lucerne, the Alps and Alsace each need eight hours or more.

How do you cross the Rhine?

Take a ferry. Four small boats cross between Grossbasel and Kleinbasel, each hanging from a long wire cable and pushed across by the current alone. They run all year, and the crossing takes a few minutes.

The Münster ferry is the one to pick. Basel Tourismus notes that the crossing from Kleinbasel back to Grossbasel gives you the best view of the Minster. If you do not want to climb the steps up to the terrace, you can stay on board and ride straight back.

The Mittlere Brücke, below the Old Town, is the way across on foot. The ferries and the bridge are both in our on-your-own guide.

What about the river itself?

You have two choices. On a warm summer day, do as Basel does and sit on the Kleinbasel bank, where refreshment stalls open in summer. Good swimmers float down the river from below the Museum Tinguely with their clothes in a waterproof fish-shaped bag.

Otherwise, take the 75-minute Rhine cruise from the Schifflände, below the Mittlere Brücke, for $24. It sails past the Old Town and out to the harbour, where Switzerland, France and Germany meet, in all weather. It is the easiest way to see the river if your legs are tired.

Where to finish the day?

On the Pfalz, the terrace behind the Minster. It is one of the city's most popular viewpoints, looking up and down the Rhine and, Basel Tourismus says, as far as the border triangle. Go at dusk, when the lights come on along the river.

The Minster itself was built between 1019 and 1500, in red sandstone with coloured roof tiles. Its opening hours change by season and weekday, so check at the door or at the Tourist Information office before you plan to go inside.

What if it rains?

Keep the order, and swap the outdoor parts. Walk in the morning with a layer, and watch your messages: the operator decides on the day whether a walk runs. Take the cruise in the early afternoon: it sails in all weather, with indoor and outdoor decks. Then give the museum the rest of the day, from opening if you like.

The audio-guide bus is the other dry option. It spends two hours on a panorama bus with an iPad guide, and you step off only twice. It leaves Steinenberg 6, opposite the Tinguely Fountain, for $36.

A half-day version for cruise passengers

If your river ship gives you only a morning, do the walk and skip the rest. The Town Hall walk at 10am brings you back by midday. The custom private walk collects you at the cruise terminal and runs two to eight hours, so you can book exactly the time you have.

Leave a margin before your all-aboard time. If you have an hour to spare, take the Münster ferry across and back for the view.

What does the day cost?

Very little if you stay the night. The trams are free with the BaselCard, and the museum is free in its late hour. Add $31 for the city's own walk or $43 for the Town Hall walk, and $24 for the cruise.

A walk and the cruise together cost about half the cheapest day trip out of the city, at $108. What each fare carries is in our guide to tour prices.

How do the three versions compare?

Here is the same day three ways. Times are a guide, not a timetable.

Staying a second day? Use it to leave the city: our guide to choosing a day trip lines up the Alps, Lucerne and Alsace.

Frequently asked questions

Tours that fit one day in the city

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: Panorama Sightseeing Cruise on the Rhine (75 min.)

Seventy-five minutes on the Rhine from the landing below the Mittlere Brücke, past the Old Town, the power plant and the harbour. It runs in all weather, with indoor and outdoor decks and a phone audio guide.

From $24 per person

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Basel Old Town, Cheese & Chocolate Experience | From Basel

Two hours from the Kunstmuseum at 9:45am, with a cheese and chocolate tasting in the fare and a walk through Marktplatz and the Old Town. Lunch and gratuities are extra.

From $115 per person

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