🇨🇭 Canton guide
Basel-Stadt: living, going out and working in the canton
Everything about the canton of Basel-Stadt: language, politics, tax for cross-border workers, minimum wage, transport, food and specialities, museums, bars, festivals, and an interactive map of the city of Basel and Riehen.
Photo (cropped): Oleksandr Dede, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- residents at the end of 2024 (canton's open data portal)
- 206,999
- of the population are foreign nationals (calculated, end of 2024)
- 38.8%
- where you are taxed: Basel-Stadt is one of the eight cantons of the 1983 agreement
- In France
- gross cantonal minimum wage since 1 January 2026 (CHF 22.50 from 2027)
- CHF 22.20/h
10 sections≈ 15 min readSources checked on November 6, 2026
The interactive map
43 places marked: landmarks, museums, transport, restaurants, nights out and events. Tap a point to learn more.
Loading the map…
Places on the map (43)
Base map © swisstopo · Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors. When the map appears, your browser loads the tiles from the servers of the Swiss Confederation (swisstopo), which can see your IP address.
Basel-Stadt is a small, very urban canton: the city of Basel, on the bend of the Rhine, plus the two municipalities of Riehen and Bettingen. It borders France and Germany, and it is one of the eight cantons of the 1983 agreement: for a French cross-border worker, that means you are taxed in France, not in Switzerland; this is what the Basel tax administration's own brochure says, with France paying 4.5% of gross salaries back to Switzerland.
This page gathers what you need to know to live, go out and work in Basel-Stadt: language, politics, tax, minimum wage, transport, food and specialities, museums, bars, festivals. The figures come from official sources listed at the bottom. Venues open, close and change their hours: always check with them before you travel. The interactive map further down places sites in the city of Basel and in Riehen.
1. Basel-Stadt at a glance
| Marker | What to know |
|---|---|
| Population | 206,999 inhabitants at the end of 2024: Basel 183,054, Riehen 22,645, Bettingen 1,300 |
| Foreign nationals | 80,242 people, or 38.8% (Basel 73,213, Riehen 6,706, Bettingen 323) |
| Municipalities | Basel, Riehen, Bettingen (Constitution, § 57); the canton itself runs the affairs of the municipality of Basel |
| Official language | German (§ 76) |
| Parliament and government | Grand Council of 100 members, Government Council of 7 members, elected for 4 years |
| Cross-border tax | In France (1983 agreement) |
| Minimum wage | CHF 22.20/h gross (2026), CHF 22.50/h from 2027 |
| Places that come up often | Münster, Marktplatz, Kleinbasel, the Rhine, Riehen, Messeplatz, Kaserne |
The populations above are the end-2024 figures published by the canton on its open data portal (Basel 109,841 Swiss and 73,213 foreign; Riehen 15,939 and 6,706; Bettingen 977 and 323). The total and the share of foreign nationals are calculated from these numbers.
2. The language
German is the official language of the canton (§ 76, para. 1). The same article states that authorities and administrative offices may also communicate in other languages (para. 2). In practice, the official file and the forms are in German; the tax brochure we cite below also exists in German, with passages devoted to French and German cross-border workers.
| What is written | Source |
|---|---|
| Official language: German | Constitution, § 76, para. 1 |
| Authorities may also communicate in other languages | Constitution, § 76, para. 2 |
| Municipalities may extend the municipal vote to other residents | Constitution, § 40, para. 2 |
No main-language statistics were read for Basel-Stadt: we therefore give no percentage of French speakers.
3. How the canton is governed
Basel-Stadt is "a free, democratic and social state under the rule of law" (§ 1). It runs the affairs of the municipality of Basel and, alongside it, has the municipalities of Riehen and Bettingen (§ 57), each with its own citizens' municipality.
| Institution | What the Constitution says |
|---|---|
| Grand Council | 100 members (§ 80), elected by proportional representation; the city of Basel is divided into three electoral districts, Riehen and Bettingen form one each, with at least one seat for each municipality (§ 45 and 46) |
| Government Council | 7 members (§ 101), elected by majority vote; the president of the government is also elected by the people (§ 44 and 46) |
| Term of office | 4 years for the Grand Council and the Government Council (§ 73); 6 years for the courts (§ 73) |
| Term limit | Anyone who has sat four terms in a row in the Grand Council is not eligible for the next one (§ 82) |
| Popular initiative | 3,000 voters, to be filed within 18 months of publication (§ 47) |
| Optional referendum | 2,000 voters within 42 days of the publication of a law (§ 52) |
| Right to vote | Swiss citizens aged 18 or over with political domicile in the canton (§ 40) |
Two sentences of the Constitution matter directly to a cross-border worker: the canton "works for good and stable relations of Switzerland with the European Union and neighbouring countries" (§ 2, para. 4, added in 2025), and its authorities seek to strengthen cooperation with Basel-Landschaft, the municipalities of the agglomeration and the Upper Rhine region (§ 3).
Resident foreigners do not vote at cantonal level; municipalities may extend the municipal vote (§ 40, para. 2). A cross-border worker has no right to vote in the canton.
4. Working in Basel-Stadt as a cross-border worker
Tax: in France
According to the 2026 brochure of the Basel-Stadt tax administration, a cross-border worker under the agreement of 11 April 1983 is any person resident in France who works in Switzerland and regularly returns home. In practice:
| Step | What the brochure says |
|---|---|
| Certificate | The French authorities issue the tax residence certificate 2041-ASK or 2041-AS; it is handed to the employer, who forwards it to the cantonal tax authority |
| Without a certificate | If the employer has no valid certificate at the time of payroll, it withholds the full source tax, at scales A, B, C, G and H |
| Every January | The employer files the gross salary reports for the previous year (including cross-border workers employed for part of the year), and the certificates of workers who joined in the previous year or are employed in the current year |
| Compensation | France pays Switzerland 4.5% of the annual gross income of cross-border workers |
| Exception | Swiss citizens working for a public-law employer in Switzerland are excluded from this rule: the full tax is withheld |
German cross-border workers fall under another convention: the brochure reserves separate scales for them (L, M, N, P). That is not the subject of this page.
Teleworking
The brochure states that the additional agreement to the tax convention, ratified by the French Parliament on 24 July 2025, enters into force on 1 January 2026. It allows, across Switzerland, cross-border teleworking of up to 40% of working time per year to be agreed. For 1983-agreement cross-border workers, the two authorities have agreed that this has been possible since 1 January 2023, with an automatic exchange of salary data.
The cantonal minimum wage
According to the official information sheet of the economics department, the cantonal minimum wage has applied since 1 July 2022 (a law accepted by voters in June 2021). It was CHF 21.45 in 2023, CHF 21.70 in 2024, CHF 22.00 in 2025 and is CHF 22.20 gross per hour since 1 January 2026. The Government Council has announced that it will rise to CHF 22.50 on 1 January 2027.
| Point | What the texts say |
|---|---|
| Who is covered | Employees whose usual place of work is in Basel-Stadt; it has no effect on employees from other cantons who work there occasionally |
| Sectors with a collective agreement | No application in sectors with a collective agreement declared generally binding: the employer must then respect the agreement's minimums |
| Holiday supplement | 8.33% (four weeks) for over-20s, 10.64% (five weeks) for under-20s, on top of the minimum |
| 1 August public holiday | Supplement of 0.39% for hourly-paid employees |
| Official example (2026) | CHF 24.14 per hour for an employee over 20, CHF 24.65 for one under 20 |
| 13th-month salary | Does not make up for pay below the minimum in the other months: it must be respected every month |
For hospitality, check our guide on the CCNT to see which agreement applies to your contract: if a generally binding collective agreement covers you, its minimum wage, not the canton's, is the one that counts.
5. Getting around
The BVB transport company links the city with Weil am Rhein (Germany) and Saint-Louis (France), in addition to several municipalities of Basel-Landschaft: it is the network that "connects the Dreiländereck", the three-country corner. The canton publishes tram and bus stops in its official dataset ("Haltestellen des öffentlichen Verkehrs").
| Mode | What we read |
|---|---|
| SBB station Basel ("Basel SBB") | Main station, also the tram and bus stop "Basel Bahnhof SBB" |
| Baden station ("Basel Bad Bf") | Deutsche Bahn station, also the tram stop "Badischer Bahnhof" |
| Tram to France | Stop "St-Louis Grenze" on the Swiss side; BVB also serves Saint-Louis station |
| Tram to Germany | BVB serves Weil am Rhein; stop "Riehen Grenze" at the border |
| Rhine ferries ("Fähri") | Four ferries: Klingental, St. Johann, Münster, St. Alban |
| Boats at the Dreiländereck | A passenger boat terminal (Steiger 3) and Rhytaxi stops |
| Events at St. Jakob | The canton publishes access recommendations (bike, bus, tram) for events in the area |
| Herbstmesse | Tram 22 "Mäss-Drämmli": Friday and Saturday evenings (8 pm to 11 pm) and Sundays (noon to 7 pm) from the SBB station |
The BVB site announces a "bus system 2027" (a new bus network) and works on Wanderstrasse: lines 33 and 48 are diverted until 18 December 2026, and the Rigistrasse stop is not served.
EuroAirport describes itself as the only binational airport in the world. For winter 2026/2027 it announces 20 airlines and 89 direct connections to 31 countries from 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027. It is in France; we therefore did not put it on the canton's map.
6. Eating and drinking
| Place | What we read |
|---|---|
| Markthalle Basel (Steinentorberg 20) | A food hall, "more than food": fresh fish and Italian fish dishes, 90 flavours of Italian-Japanese ice cream, vegan Anatolian specialities. Under the dome, an indoor flea market. Rep-Statt (repair workshop) since 2015 |
| Läckerli Huus | The Basler Läckerli is the house speciality, with chocolates and pralines; shops across Switzerland, including one on Gerbergasse in Basel (according to OpenStreetMap) |
| Café Stoa (Sommercasino) | "The cosy café and restaurant" under the columns of the "colourful villa" |
| Brasserie and IMI Bar (Volkshaus) | The social heart of the hotel, with a tree-covered courtyard; the Volkshaus hotel is a 4-star designed by Herzog & de Meuron |
| Museumsbistro Rollerhof | Bistro of the Museum der Kulturen |
| Hääfelimäärt | Pottery market of the Herbstmesse, Petersplatz |
| Merian Gärten | Seasonal market stall in the gardens (in the neighbouring canton of Basel-Landschaft) |
No restaurant ranking was read, so we give none: the few addresses above are those we could check.
7. What to see and do
Museums
| Museum | Address | What we read |
|---|---|---|
| Kunstmuseum Basel | St. Alban-Graben | "Van Gogh, Hodler and a convertible" (Neubau, 19 September 2026 – 7 February 2027); Roy Lichtenstein "Sweet Dreams, Baby!" |
| Fondation Beyeler | Baselstrasse 101, Riehen | More than 500 works of modern and contemporary art; Constellations (26 Sept 2026 – 5 Sept 2027), Ruth Asawa (18 Oct 2026 – 10 Jan 2027), Frida Kahlo (31 Jan – 17 May 2027); daily 10 am – 6 pm, Wednesday until 8 pm |
| Museum Tinguely | Paul Sacher-Anlage 1 | The world's largest collection of Tinguely's kinetic works |
| Historisches Museum Basel | Barfüsserplatz | Three sites (Barfüsserkirche, Haus zum Kirschgarten, Musikmuseum) with one ticket valid for seven days |
| Naturhistorisches Museum | Augustinergasse 2 | "Archives of life"; admission CHF 7, reduced CHF 5, free up to age 16; open daily in December |
| Spielzeug Welten Museum | Steinenvorstadt 1 | Toy museum |
| Museum der Kulturen | Münsterplatz 20 | Exhibition "Die Eule ist pink" with the Kreativbox creative workshop |
Nature and leisure
- University Botanical Garden: founded in 1589 by Caspar Bauhin, next to the Spalentor gate, more than 7,500 plant species; open every day, including weekends and public holidays.
- Zoo Basel, "the Zolli": open every day; prices include a voluntary nature-conservation franc, which you can decline by asking for the cheaper ticket.
- Tierpark Lange Erlen: animal park run by the Erlen-Verein since 1871, open every day.
- Swimming in the Rhine: the canton lists four recommended swimming zones along the river.
Art and fountains in the city
The official "Kunst im öffentlichen Raum" dataset lists 568 works. Three landmarks: Jean Tinguely's Fasnacht fountain (1977, Theaterplatz), Richard Serra's "Intersection" (1992, Theaterplatz) and Bettina Eichin's "Sitzende Helvetia" (1980, Middle Bridge). The canton also lists 305 fountains (drinking, bathing and ornamental), including the town hall cloister fountain and the Fischmarkt one.
8. Bars, cellars and nights out
| Venue | Address | What we read |
|---|---|---|
| Kaserne Basel | Klybeckstrasse 1b | Dance and performance; ZIRKA ZIRKUS festival with Station Circus from 13 November 2026 (dance, acrobatics, juggling, workshops) |
| Sommercasino | Münchensteinerstrasse 1 | The "colourful villa": concerts (e.g. 6 and 7 November 2026) and Café Stoa |
| Atlantis | Klosterberg 13 | More than 75 years of live music, an "institution of Basel's night culture" |
| Volkshaus Basel | Rebgasse 12-14 | 4-star hotel by Herzog & de Meuron, historic halls, concerts and parties; the Bryysdrummle final is held there |
| The Bird's Eye Jazz Club | Basel | Jazz club, linked to the Jazz Institute of the FHNW Academy of Music |
Kleinbasler Kellerabstieg: on 7 November 2026, 13 cliques and guggenmusik bands open their cellars in Kleinbasel for the 33rd edition.
No official list of clubs was read: we kept only the venues whose sites we read.
9. Festivals and highlights
| Event | When | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Herbstmesse | 24 October to 8 November 2026 | Switzerland's biggest funfair; imperial privilege of 11 July 1471; squares: Petersplatz (with Hääfelimäärt), Barfüsserplatz, Münsterplatz, Kasernenareal, Messeplatz, Rosentalanlage |
| Kleinbasler Kellerabstieg | 7 November 2026 | 13 cellars opened by Fasnacht cliques and guggenmusik bands |
| ZIRKA ZIRKUS | From 13 November 2026 | Circus festival at the Kaserne (dance, acrobatics, juggling, workshops) |
| Offizielles Bryysdrummle und -pfyffe | 7 to 9 January 2027 | Drum and piccolo competition; final on 9 January 2027 in the Volkshaus Festsaal |
| Fasnacht | 2027 date not read (Morgestraich calculator on fasnacht.ch) | In 2026: 444 units and almost 11,700 participants in the cortège, according to the Committee |
| Art Basel | 17 to 20 June 2027 | Contemporary art fair in Basel |
| Basel Tattoo | 16 to 24 July 2027 | Military-music show at Kasernenhof 8; ticket sales from 25 November 2026 |
Sources
- Constitution of the canton of Basel-Stadt (SG 111.100): version in force since 3 November 2025; § 1, 2, 3, 40, 44 to 47, 52, 57, 73, 76, 80, 82, 101. Text in German.
- Canton of Basel-Stadt, open data portal (data.bs.ch): population at end of 2024 by municipality (dataset 100059), public art (100214), fountains (100008), transport stops (100063), Rhine swimming zones (100270), events at St. Jakob (100419, 100429).
- Basel-Stadt Tax Administration: Wegleitung und Tarife Quellensteuer 2026: French cross-border workers, certificate 2041-AS/ASK, 4.5%, 40% teleworking, scales A, B, C, G, H.
- Department of Economics, Social Affairs and Environment: FAQ on the cantonal minimum wage (2026) and press release: the minimum wage rises to CHF 22.50 in 2027.
- Site guides, checked against official sources: G permit, contract and salary (CCNT).
- Institution websites: Kunstmuseum Basel, Fondation Beyeler, Museum Tinguely, Historisches Museum Basel, Naturhistorisches Museum, Museum der Kulturen, Spielzeug Welten Museum, Botanical Garden, Zoo Basel, Tierpark Lange Erlen.
- Websites of venues, food places and events: Markthalle Basel, Läckerli Huus, Kaserne Basel, Sommercasino, Atlantis, Volkshaus Basel, Herbstmesse, fasnacht.ch, Art Basel, Basel Tattoo.
- Transport: BVB, Fähri-Verein Basel, EuroAirport.
- Map coordinates: © OpenStreetMap contributors and the canton's datasets; base map © swisstopo.
Want to work in Basel?
Browse the canton's job listings, or discover the programme that prepares you for the application, the interview and the employment contract.
Switzerland — all 26 cantons