Basel walking tours take you on foot through the Old Town, up to the Minster and down to the red Rathaus, in about two hours. You meet at a named square or fountain, and the fare buys a guide.
The tourist office's own two hours, the lowest fare for a guided walk, from the Tinguely Fountain up to the Minster and down to the red Rathaus. It runs in English, German or both when the group mixes.
From $31 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ten people at most meet at the red Town Hall at 10am for about two hours: the bridge, a quiet lane, the Minster and its terrace, then the squares. The commentary is in English, and food and drink are extra.
From $43 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A two-hour walk from the Kunstmuseum at 9:45am that stops to taste Swiss cheese and chocolate, both paid in the fare. The group can reach 15. Lunch and tips are extra, so plan to eat afterwards.
From $115 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ninety minutes for eight at most, from the Kunsthalle to the Tinguely Fountain, stopping where the Old Town photographs best. The host adds tips for the rest of your stay. Museum and transport tickets are not in the fare.
From $135 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Two hours from the fountain on the Minster square, booked private or in a small group of two or more. Guides speak English, Spanish, German or Italian. The walk stays outside the buildings, so entry is yours.
From $58 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A private walk that starts at your hotel or the cruise terminal and runs as long as you choose: two, three, four, six or eight hours. You tell the guide what you want to see, and the route is built round it.
From $87 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Two to three hours from the red Town Hall, with chocolate at three local shops paid in the fare. Book it shared or private. The route takes in the Minster and the market square between tastings.
From $108 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Three to four hours with a guide for your party alone, two people or more. The tram, bus and Rhine ferry fares between the stops are paid, so the walk can cross the river. The meeting point is fixed after booking.
From $233 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
One price for a group of up to 15, so it costs less a head the more of you there are. You meet at the Tinguely Fountain, and the guide changes the route on the spot. Entrance fees are extra.
From $443 per group (up to 15)
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Two hours with a tourist-office guide from the Tinguely Fountain, up to the Minster and down to the Rathaus, for $31 a person.
See this tourA walking tour here is two hours on foot in Grossbasel, the Old Town on the left bank of the Rhine. You meet at a named square or fountain and climb to the Minster on its hill. You look over the river from the terrace behind it, then come down through the lanes to the red Rathaus on Marktplatz.
The fare buys a guide and nothing else. The Minster, the museums and the trams are yours to pay. The exceptions are the private walk with tram and ferry fares paid, and the tasting walks, which pay for cheese or chocolate on the way.
What changes from one walk to the next is the size of the group, where you start and how long you walk. You can join ten strangers for $43, or book a guide for 15 friends at $443 for the group.
The Old Town is small but steep, and its best lanes sit behind the main streets. A guide takes you up the quiet ones and into the courtyards. One traveller on the Town Hall walk wrote that they would have missed so much on their own.
Why is the town hall red? Why does the river split the city into Grossbasel and Kleinbasel? A guide answers in two hours what a guidebook takes a chapter to explain, and you walk the rest of your stay knowing your way.
The tourist office's walk has no stated cap. The Town Hall walk takes ten, the photogenic spots walk eight. The private walks take your party alone. You pick the crowd you want.
At $31, the city's own walk costs about the same as the bus tour and little more than the Rhine cruise, which has only an audio guide.
The Old Town is compact, and you can walk it with a map. Here is what the guide adds.
| A guided walk | On your own | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $31 to $233 a person, or $443 a group | Free |
| Route | Planned, with the quiet lanes | Main streets, unless you research |
| Stories | Two hours of them | Signs and an app |
| Time | 1.5 to 4 hours, fixed start | Any time you like |
| Entry to buildings | Not in the fare | Yours to pay either way |
| Refunds | Full refund to 24 hours | Nothing to refund |
If you want to try it alone first, our guide to Basel without a tour gives a self-guided loop. Our one-day plan for the city fits a walk into the day.
Ten people at most, from the red Town Hall at 10am, across the bridge and up to the terrace behind the Minster in about two hours.
Check availabilityWhat each fare carries, from the walks to the day tours, is in our guide to tour prices.
Would a boat, a bus or a day out suit you better? Every tour is compared on Basel Switzerland Tours.