museum
Pantheon Basel
Striking rotunda in Muttenz where a spiral ramp climbs past decades of classic cars and motorcycles: part museum, part working forum for Basel's vintage-car scene.
5 km · about 10 min drive
EuropeSwitzerlandBasel-City
Basel
Basel-City, Switzerland · Europe
About Basel
Basel is worth a stop: 5 minutes from Hégenheim, 48km from Feldberg.
Basel is in Basel-City, Switzerland, with about 180,000 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Hégenheim, about 4 km away.
Basel or Basle is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine, at the transition from the High Rhine to the Upper Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third most populous city (after Zurich and Geneva), with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits.
Basel is commonly considered to be the culturalRead more
capital of Switzerland and the city's museums include the Kunstmuseum, which was the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum of art in Switzerland, the Fondation Beyeler (located in Riehen), the Museum Tinguely and the Museum of Contemporary Art, which was the first public museum of contemporary art in Europe. Forty museums are spread throughout the canton, making Basel one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe. It is the hometown of the Art Basel international art fair, showcasing modern and contemporary works from leading galleries and attracting top collectors, artists, and enthusiasts globally.
The University of Basel, Switzerland's oldest university (founded in 1460), and the city's centuries-long commitment to humanism, have made Basel a safe haven at times of political unrest in other parts of Europe for such notable people as Erasmus of Rotterdam, the Holbein family, Friedrich Nietzsche, Carl Jung, and in the 20th century also Hermann Hesse and Karl Jaspers.
Basel was the seat of a Prince-Bishopric starting in the 11th century, and joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1501. The city has been a commercial hub and an important cultural centre since the Renaissance, and has emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the 20th century. In 1897, Basel was chosen by Theodor Herzl as the location for the first World Zionist Congress, and altogether the congress was held there ten times over a time span of 50 years, more than in any other location. The city is also home to the world headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements.
Other notable institutions in Basel include the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which published banking standards such as Basel III; Art Basel; and FC Basel.
Basel is Switzerland's main centre for the pharmaceutical industry, hosting both Novartis and Roche. In 1938, the world-renowned chemist Albert Hofmann discovered LSD in Basel, where he spent most of his life. The discovery is celebrated internationally as Bicycle Day. Other influential and renowned figures such as Roger Federer, Paracelsus, Matthäus Merian, Michel von Tell and Stephan Remmler are closely associated with the city or were born there. In 1734, the so-called "Basel Problem" was solved in the city, which is regarded as one of the most important achievements in mathematics.
Basel was ranked the tenth most liveable city in the world by Mercer in 2019.
Where to Stay in Basel
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Basel?
Within an hour or so of Basel: Pantheon Basel (5 km), Cité de l'Automobile - Musée National (Collection Schlumpf) (29 km), Hartmannswillerkopf (46 km), Feldberg (48 km).
Are there any good drives near Basel?
The nearest famous roads are Circuit Bremgarten, Route des Vins d'Alsace and Alsace Wine Route.
Where is Basel?
Basel is in Basel-City, Switzerland, about 4 km from Hégenheim.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 177,595
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Switzerland
- Region
- Basel-City
- Timezone
- Europe/Zurich
- Coordinates
- 47.5584, 7.5733
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Switzerland
Motorway vignette (toll sticker) required: buy at the border or online. Roadside assistance (TCS): 140.
Full driving guide for SwitzerlandTags
Worth the detour from Basel
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
museum
Cité de l'Automobile - Musée National (Collection Schlumpf)
The former Schlumpf brothers' secret collection in Mulhouse, the largest car museum in the world, with over 100 Bugattis including two Royales, hidden from the public until a factory occupation revealed it in 1977.
29 km · about 35 min drive
landmark
Hartmannswillerkopf
A WWI mountain battlefield of trenches and a vast crypt overlooking the Alsace plain.
46 km · about 55 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Feldberg
The Black Forest's highest summit at 1,493 m offers Alps-to-Vosges panoramas and a chairlift up to the windswept ridge.
48 km · about 55 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Grand Ballon
The highest summit of the Vosges at 1424 m, crowning the Route des Crêtes with all-round Alsace views.
52 km · about 60 min drive
landmark
Freiburg im Breisgau
The sunny gateway to the Black Forest, with a Gothic minster, Bächle waterways in the old town, and a vibrant university atmosphere.
53 km · about 60 min drive
cathedral
Freiburg Minster
A red-sandstone Gothic masterpiece whose lacy openwork spire towers over a market square at the edge of the Black Forest.
53 km · about 60 min drive
museum
Musée de l'Aventure Peugeot
Peugeot's corporate museum tracing the brand's journey from pepper mills and bicycles to modern automobiles.
56 km · about 65 min drive
Driving roads near Basel
7 named roads, passes and coastal drives within 100km.
- 48 kmFeldbergThe Black Forest's highest summit at 1,493 m offers Alps-to-Vosges panoramas and a chairlift up to the windswept ridge.
- 52 kmGrand BallonThe highest summit of the Vosges at 1424 m, crowning the Route des Crêtes with all-round Alsace views.
- 62 kmBallon d'Alsace SummitGrassy 1,247 m summit at the meeting point of Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comte, reached by a classic hairpinned climb first raced in the 1905 Tour de France; views stretch to Mont Blanc on clear days.
- 69 kmRoute des Vins d'AlsaceA 170 km wine road threading flower-decked villages and vine-clad hills below the Vosges mountains.
- 69 kmCircuit BremgartenThe 7.3km forest circuit outside Bern where racing ended after Switzerland banned circuit motorsport in 1955. Its dappled, constantly curving roads through the Bremgartenwald are open to traffic and eerily unchanged.
- 71 kmAlsace Wine RouteA 170-kilometer scenic wine road winding through vine-covered hills and storybook villages from Marlenheim to Thann.
Driving in Switzerland
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.82/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
- Vignette
- Required, around €42 for a short-stay sticker
When to drive here
April to October
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