Museums in Basel

The Fondation Beyeler is one of the most beautiful museums in the world and is renowned internationally for its prestigious exhibitions, its important collection of classical modernism and contemporary art and its ambitious schedule of events. Museum Tinguely houses the largest collection of works by the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely, while the Kunstmuseum Basel, one of the best-known museums of its kind in the world, is home to the world’s oldest public art collection.

The Kunstmuseum Basel comprises three buildings with a total exhibition space of 10,000 m2. The main building is dedicated to the old masters and works of the 18th and 19th centuries, while the new building focuses on classical modernism. What is special about it is that both buildings are connected to each other underground. The third building is the Kunstmuseum Basel | Gegenwart, which used to be known as the Museum für Gegenwartskunst.

• Museum Tinguely
• Naturhistorisches Museum Basel
• Spielzeug Welten Museum Basel
• Museum der Kulturen
• Basler Papiermühle
• MUKS Museum Kultur & Spiel Riehen

Basel’s museums are internationally renowned for their changing art exhibitions and important collections.

The highlights of permanent exhibitions include the largest collection of teddy bears in the world, one of the most significant ethnographic collections in Europe, the most comprehensive collection of cultural history on the Upper Rhine, as well as a mammoth and a sabre-toothed tiger.

You can save money if you stay overnight in Basel. If you have the BaselCard, admission to museums costs only half the regular price. 

Admission to most Basel museums is free for children and young people under 16 years of age. Adults can visit many museums in the evening on weekdays and on the first Sunday of the month free of charge.

(There is no free admission on public holidays or during some special exhibitions)

• Fondation Beyeler
• Vitra Design Museum
• Augusta Raurica, Augst
• Anatomisches Museum der Universität Basel
• Jüdisches Museum der Schweiz
• MUKS Museum Kultur & Spiel Riehen
• Pantheon – Museum für Oldtimer
• Mühlemuseum
• Skulpturhalle Basel
• Genusswelt Läckerli Huus
• Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger | KBH.G

Once a year, Basel’s museums open their doors at an unusual time and offer you an opportunity to explore their collections at night. A broad mix of art and culture interacting with literature, music, film and theatre awaits you in almost 40 museums and cultural institutions in the Basel region, promising a fun-filled night full of discoveries and new experiences. The museums are open from 6.00 pm to 2.00 am. 

Find out everything you need to know about the Museum Night in Basel.

The following museums have wheelchair access:

• Anatomisches Museum der Universität Basel
• Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig
• Basler Papiermühle
• Dreiländermuseum
• Fondation Beyeler
• Historisches Museum Basel – Barfüsserkirche
• Jüdisches Museum der Schweiz
• Kunsthaus Baselland
• Kunstmuseum Basel (alle drei Häuser)
• Naturhistorisches Museum Basel
• Mühlemuseum
• Museum für Musikautomaten
• Museum Kleines Klingental
• Museum Tinguely
• S AM Schweizerisches Architekturmuseum
• Sammlung Friedhof Hörnli
• Skulpturhalle Basel
• Spielzeug Welten Museum Basel
• Vitra Design Museum

The following museums have partial wheelchair access:

• Cartoonmuseum Basel
• Historisches Museum Basel – Musikmuseum
• Kunsthalle Basel
• Museum der Kulturen Basel

This is where people with disabilities can find information on the accessibility of hotels, museums and events, so that they can plan their visit to Basel in advance.