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It wouldn’t have been our trip if I hadn’t researched for some good money saving ideas prior to our trip. So, before I dive in to the itinerary and other details, I’ll spoil you with a great idea. 🙂

Filter your accommodation at 2 levels:

• if you have Wizz Air account, navigate to Booking from there. If you book your stay like this, Wizz Air will reimburse 5% of the total amount as Wizz points - so you can travel more later. Eg. a hotel you paid 300 EUR, will surprise you with 15 EUR Wizz credit.
• Once already navigated to Booking, look for accommodation that offers Basel Card. Later I’ll explain more, but for now I’ll just say that with Basel Card from the airport to the accommodation is free, along with the public transport in general in Basel for the duration of you stay. Based on my counting, we roughly saved 40-50 EUR. You can find the related reels video here.

Also, I highly recommend visiting the city’s official website, it’s super clear and packed with useful information.

Basel has an excellent transport infrastructure. Cars are not essential in Basel – in fact I’ve read it somewhere, that only 1 out of 3 residents has car. Besides the buses and trams, ferries are also great way to cross the Rhine.

Good to remember, that Basel’s public transport is operated by 2 companies: green trams and buses are owned by BVB, yellow ones are operated by BLT. Tickets are valid for both. Fares are based on zones. Tickets cost between 2 – 2,6 CHF (daily pass costs 10 CHF). Plus, the yellow tram number 10 is called an “international” tram, because it has its final stop in Leymen, France.

From the Airport take bus 50 (operated by BLT), which takes you to the city center within 20 minutes for 7 EUR. You can save this cost and travel free – more comes in the Basel Card section. 😉

I don’t want to give exact itinerary, since we took this long weekend lazier than usual. But I can assure you, all the below sites fit to a random long weekend in Basel with a toddler. 🙂

Dreiländereck (Three Country Corner) – Border Triangle

Address: Westquaistrasse 75, 4057 Basel, Switzerland  // Opening hours: 0-24 h // Free

There is a special spot in Basel, where you can “be” in 3 different countries all at once. Well, symbolically. The border of Switzerland, France & Germany, officially lies in the middle of the river, but on the closest mainland point there is a monument. You can basically walk around it & tell you’ve been in 3 countries in less than 15 seconds. 😎 The area is near the cargo port where many party boats were docked on the riverside, giving a very hipster feeling to it. The striking border triangle building is the result of an architectural competition to which Swiss, German and French architects were invited in 1990. Watch the reels video here.

Old City Gates Of Basel (most famous is Spalentor + St. Alban-Tor)

Address: Spalenvorstadt, 4056 Basel, Switzerland // Opening hours: 0-24 h // Free

The Spalentor is the most famous of the three city gates that were part of the city fortifications dating back to the year 1400. This is already part of the old town called Alstadt. Due to its small size, the city is easily explored on foot.

Shop On Spalenberg (or at least walk)

Opening hours: 0-24 h // Free

The Spalenberg district in the Old Town with its historic alleyways and beautiful houses keeps you on your toes.

Basel Minster and the Cloisters

Address: Münsterpl. 9, 4051 Basel, Switzerland // Opening hours: 11:00-16:00 (except SUN: 11:30-16:00) // Free

Basler Münster (Cathedral) is probably the most famous landmark in Basel. With its red sandstone walls, colorful roof tiles and twin towers, shapes the cityscape of Basel like nothing else. We loved the cloisters. The entry is free, and we could let our toddler run around in a relatively safe space.

Käppelijoch Chapel On Middle Bridge

Address: Mittlere Brücke, 4058 Basel, Switzerland // Opening hours: 0-24 h // Free

The Käppelijoch is a small Gothic chapel on the Mittlere Brücke. In the past it was a religious site on the bridge, and the scene of public punishments. It was built in the late 14th century as a wooden bridge chapel, the Käppelijoch was replaced by a stone chapel a hundred years later. Be aware that this is a replica made after the bridge’s reconstruction (1903 to 1905).

Tinguely Fountain

Address: Klostergasse 7, 4051 Basel, Switzerland // Opening hours: 0-24 h // Free

In 1977 Jean Tinguely created sculptural machines in a shallow fountain and surprisingly or not, it became Basel a famous new landmark. The Swiss artist lined a shallow fountain with black asphalt and created inside mechanical figures powered by low-voltage current who appear to be playing in the water. The 10 machines are constantly moving and super eclectic to say the least – but as you can expect they entertain kids like nothing else. 😉

Neighborhood Of St. Alban (Venice of Basel)

Free

This quarter is a charming and romantic, quiet district surrounded by myth and mystery. With its millstream and riverside setting, welcomes you in a cute maze of timber-framed buildings and modern architecture.

Drink The Spring Water – Fountains All Through Basel (And Switzerland)

Throughout Basel // Opening hours: 0-24 h // Free

While exploring Basel we can come across nearly 300 beautifully maintained fountains – literally almost every corner. More than 200 of them are available to the public. For reference check this map out.

The water is drinkable so you can fill your water bottle for free. (I heard from a friend that there are a few exceptional ones where drinking is not permitted). Here is a recap:

• drinking fountains (Trinkbrunnen),
• non-drinking fountains (Brunnen ohne Trinkwasser),
• as well as the 15 fountains best suited for bathing in Basel (Badebrunnen).

On top of this experience during summertime you will spot many residents are bathing in these fountains- like a free jacuzzi (but with cold water). You can read more about this in this article.

If you are curious how many fountains did we count during 1 day, watch this video. While we were visiting Basel in a way colder temperature in early March, we found this tradition so cool. 😎 Although my always worrying self would question to soak myself in a public fountain.

Would you do it?

Rauthaus (Basel Town Hall)

Address: Marktpl. 9, 4001 Basel, Switzerland // Opening time: no // Free

The town hall is another attraction in Basel that can be spotted from afar, as its bright red color is not common. The inner open space of the town hall, built in the Burgundian Gothic style, is free to visit. It also houses the statue of Lucius Munatius Plancus (founder of Basel).

Roche Towers

Address: Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland

These twin towers considered to be the modern landmark of Basel. Basically, anywhere from the city you can spot them. We didn’t go close to them but every time we crossed any bridge or been up at the Cathedral, we did have a good look at it. Did you know that these towers are the tallest office buildings in Switzerland? These two skyscrapers are home to the offices of the Roche pharmaceutical group. Building 1 was completed in 2015 and, at 178 metres, was the tallest office building in Switzerland until it was overtaken by Building 2 in 2022. Building 2 is 205 metres tall and has a total of 50 floors. It is one of the most sustainable, energy-efficient office buildings in the world. – source.

The Basel card is basically a tourist card. Since 2018 you cannot purchase it by yourself. „The reason is that if you do not stay overnight in Basel, you do not contribute city tax which goes towards paying for the card.” – basel.com  This CAN be given by the accommodation you book if that accommodation is part of the program. Which is normally listed clear on their site (on Booking too).

The card is distributed upon arrival to the accommodation but what about getting TO the accommodation from the airport? The great thing is if you have a booking confirmation with you (which you obviously have), the ride from the airport directly to the accommodation is free. Additionally public transport is free of charge for the period of time you booked your accommodation.

This program is open for AirBNB type of rentals too (not just hotels).

Without listing everything, I try to summarize the most important (& obvious) costs you need to work with:

• Flight ticket: ours were ridiculously cheap but right now (2025.01) I still see tickets for 20 EUR.
• Accommodation: we stayed in Hotel Alexander which was in a walking distance from the shopping street as well as the Rhine. 3 nights were 330 EUR.
• Street food (subway, pizza, kebab) – app. 30-40 EUR for 2 people
• Starbucks for 2 people – 15-20 EUR
• Dinner from Coop (sandwich, fruits, yoghurt etc.) – 16 EUR
• Fondue lunch in old town for 2 people (+ 1 kid choice) 120 EUR

Is it expensive? Is it affordable? – I’ll let you decide. For measuring Hungarian wages and cost of living, Switzerland is on the more expensive side, but still for a long weekend I think you can manage it without breaking the bank. 🙂