Switzerland · Europe

Basel-Stadt

Hotels in Basel-Stadt
  • Code:BS
  • Type:canton
  • Native name:Canton of Basel-Stadt
  • Population:200,031 (2024)
  • Area:37 km²
  • Elevation:260 m
  • Capital:Basel

Introduction

Basel-Stadt is Switzerland's smallest canton by area: the city of Basel on both banks of the Rhine and, on the right bank, the two municipalities of Riehen and Bettingen. It lies in the north-west corner of the country, where Switzerland meets France and Germany: France borders it on the left bank of the Rhine and Germany on the right, where the border runs around most of Riehen and Bettingen. The canton of Basel-Landschaft lies to the south. Basel-Stadt is German-speaking, and the city has no council of its own: the canton's parliament and government run its affairs.

Overview

For most visitors, Basel-Stadt is the city of Basel, with its old town around the Münster, its museums, the Rhine and the Fasnacht. The rest of the canton lies north-east of Kleinbasel, a short ride from the centre: Riehen in the valley of the Wiese, and Bettingen on the hill above it, two places that have kept the feel of villages on the edge of a city. This is the green side of the canton, where the city goes walking at weekends.

Discover Basel-Stadt

Riehen: the Village and Its Parks

Riehen is the larger of the two and has kept an old village centre around its church. The country houses that Basel families built on its outskirts have left their grounds as parks: the Wenkenpark, with its villa and gardens, and the Berower Park, where the Fondation Beyeler shows its collection of modern art. Riehen's public open-air pool, the Naturbad, was designed by Herzog & de Meuron and is cleaned by plants instead of chlorine.

The Lange Erlen along the Wiese

The Wiese comes down from the Black Forest through Lörrach and Riehen and joins the Rhine in Kleinbasel. Between Riehen and the city it runs through the Lange Erlen, a stretch of woods and meadows named after its alders, with a small animal park and paths for walking and cycling along the river. Upstream, the riverside paths cross the German border and carry on towards Lörrach.

Bettingen and St. Chrischona

Bettingen, the smallest of the canton's three municipalities, is a village on the wooded hill east of Riehen. Above it rises St. Chrischona, the highest point in the canton, with an old church near the top and a concrete telecommunications tower that can be seen from across the city. On clear days the view from the hill reaches over Basel and the Upper Rhine plain to the Vosges and the Jura.

Ways to Experience This Destination

The City of Basel

The Münster and the old town, the Kunstmuseum and the Museum Tinguely, the Rhine and the Fasnacht — the base for every visit to the canton.

Art and Parks in Riehen

The Fondation Beyeler in the Berower Park, the Wenkenpark and the old village centre, a tram ride from Kleinbasel.

Walks along the Wiese

Woods, meadows and a small animal park in the Lange Erlen, on riverside paths that run on into Germany.

St. Chrischona

The canton's highest point, above the village of Bettingen, with an old church and views to the Vosges and the Jura.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft?

Until 1833 they were one canton of Basel; that year the countryside split from the city, and the two names date from the division. The city, with Riehen and Bettingen, became Basel-Stadt, and the rest became Basel-Landschaft, a much larger canton of small towns and Jura valleys south and east of the city, with its capital at Liestal. Among its sights is the Roman town of Augusta Raurica at Augst, upstream on the Rhine.

How do I get to Riehen and Bettingen from the centre of Basel?

Tram 6 runs from the old town through Kleinbasel to Riehen and on to the German border, stopping in the village centre and by the Fondation Beyeler. Regional S6 trains from the Badischer Bahnhof also call at Riehen on their way up the Wiese valley into Germany. From Riehen a bus climbs to Bettingen, and from the village footpaths lead on up to St. Chrischona; walkers can also climb all the way from Riehen through fields and woods.

How much time do Riehen and St. Chrischona need?

Riehen fills an afternoon: the Fondation Beyeler, the village centre and one of its parks. A full day adds the climb to St. Chrischona and a return to the city on foot through the Lange Erlen, about an hour's walk along the Wiese from Riehen to Kleinbasel.

Cities in Basel-Stadt

Basel

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