Nobody sells a ticket to Basel, because the city has no gate. If you are pricing Basel Switzerland guided tours, start with the three things you might pay for yourself: getting around, a museum, and the tour.
Basel sits on the Rhine where Switzerland, France and Germany meet. The Old Town of Grossbasel climbs the left bank to the Minster, and Kleinbasel faces it across the river. You can walk the lanes, cross the bridges and sit on the Pfalz terrace without paying anyone.
Money changes hands in three places: public transport if you are not staying the night, a museum or an exhibition, and the tour itself. Some tour fares carry a ticket inside them, and the card on each tour says which.
| What you pay for | What it costs | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| The city itself | Nothing | No gate and no admission |
| Trams and buses | Free with the BaselCard | Every overnight guest gets the card with a hotel or holiday-flat booking |
| Crossing the Rhine | The bridges cost nothing | Four small ferries also cross, pushed by the current, all year |
| A museum | Kunstmuseum collection CHF 25 (CHF 18.75 with the BaselCard) | The collection is free Tue, Thu and Fri 5-6pm and Wed 5-8pm |
| A tour | The fare, set by each operator | What each fare carries differs: read the card |
Basel Tourismus issues the card to every overnight visitor. It covers second-class trams and buses in the Basel zones for the whole stay, up to 30 days, and your hotel booking confirmation counts as the ticket for the first ride from the airport or the station.
| The BaselCard gives you | Where it stops |
|---|---|
| Free second-class trams and buses for your whole stay (up to 30 days) | Basel and the surrounding area, TNW zones 10, 11, 13 (EuroAirport), 14 and 15 |
| Your hotel booking confirmation as the ticket for the first ride in | From the airport or the station to your hotel |
| 50% off a list of attractions, including Basel Zoo, a city tour, scheduled Rhine boat trips and Theater Basel | Evening box office only at the theatre |
| E-bike hire for CHF 20 | Not valid to the Vitra Design Museum or the Reigoldswil cable car, outside the zones |
The card is not a tour ticket. Its 50% discount applies to a city tour and to scheduled Rhine boat trips, so check at the operator's desk which ones it covers before you rely on it.
Bridges carry trams, cars and walkers across, and four small ferries do it the old way. The Wild Maa at St. Alban, the Leu below the Minster, the Vogel Gryff at Klingental and the Ueli at St. Johann each hang from a cable and are pushed across by the current alone. They run all year. Board the Münster ferry on the Kleinbasel side and you get the best view of the Minster on the way over, and the St. Johann ferry takes a manual wheelchair or a pushchair on both banks. More on the sights is in things to do in Basel.
Basel is small, but its tours start in a lot of places. Most of the walks meet within a few minutes of Barfüsserplatz; the rail days meet inside the station; the vans come to your hotel. Every start is on the Basel tours map.
| Where you meet | Where it is | Who starts there |
|---|---|---|
| The Tinguely Fountain | Theaterplatz and Klostergasse, by the theatre | The city's own Old Town walk and the private walk with a professional guide |
| Steinenberg bus parking | Opposite the Tinguely Fountain, in front of the Stadtcasino | The audio-guide bus and the Alsace minibus day |
| The Town Hall | Marktplatz 9, the red building | The Old Town walk at 10am and the chocolate walk |
| The Pisoni Fountain | Münsterplatz, beside the Minster | The small-group or private walk |
| The Kunstmuseum and the Kunsthalle | St. Alban-Graben 16; Steinenberg 7 | The cheese and chocolate walk (9:45am); the photogenic-spots walk |
| The Schifflände | Below the Mittlere Brücke, down the steps | The Rhine cruise |
| St. Johanns-Tor | The tram 11 stop, at the park entrance | The bike tour |
| Basel SBB station hall | Centralbahnstrasse 10: the big picture opposite the ticket office, or the benches by the Migros flower shop | The rail day trips to Lucerne, Thun, Colmar, the Jungfrau region and Pilatus |
| Your hotel | Pickup in Basel | The Alps, four-countries and Black Forest vans, and the custom private walk |
The station hall has two different meeting spots, and a missed guide there is the commonest complaint in the reviews. Read your booking for which one is yours, and arrive ten minutes early.
The Kunstmuseum Basel's main building and its new wing open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am (to 8pm on Wednesday), and the contemporary branch from 11am; all three close on Monday. Collection and exhibitions cost CHF 25 for an adult, CHF 18.75 with the BaselCard. The collection is free on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 5pm to 6pm and on Wednesday from 5pm to 8pm, so you can end a walking day there for nothing.
The museum closes on 24 December 2026 and from 15 to 17 February 2027, for Fasnacht. No tour here includes museum entry; the walks pass the doors and leave the ticket to you.
Two hours on foot, 75 minutes on the Rhine, a bike on both banks, or a day in the Alps: compare them side by side.
Basel Tourismus runs its office in the Stadtcasino at Barfüsserplatz, Steinenberg 14. It gave its hours as Monday to Friday 9:00 to 18:30, Saturday 9:00 to 17:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 15:00, with shorter hours on some public holidays. Confirm before you go.
You need no tour at all to see the Old Town: the card pays your trams and the bridges cost nothing. A guide buys the stories behind the buildings you would otherwise walk past, and a route that does not waste your only morning.
A day trip is a different sum. The rail days put a train pass, a seat reservation or a mountain railway in the fare, and they carry you through the changes at Lucerne or Interlaken. If you would rather work that out yourself, the Swiss Travel Pass is the other way to do it.
Two hours on foot with a tourist-office guide, from the Tinguely Fountain up to the Minster and down to the red Rathaus. English, German or both; food, drink and chocolate are yours to buy along the way.
From $31 per person
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About 12 km on both banks of the Rhine, mostly flat, from the old gate at St. Johanns-Tor. Six riders at most, a bike in the fare, a helmet on request, and two Basel specialities to taste. Riders must be 12 or over.
From $51 per person
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A guided day from the Basel station hall at 8:40am: Lucerne on foot, two hours on a panoramic train, then Interlaken. The day's train pass and your reserved panoramic seat are in the fare; food is at your own cost.
From $391 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: read the best time to visit for the seasons, see things to do in Basel, or compare every fare on Basel Switzerland Tours.