A lot of Basel's family calendar happens outdoors, on squares, streets and the riverbank. These are the open-air events coming up next, from fairground rides and costume parades to winter markets and races kids can run, with the soonest on top. Each card has the day, the price and whether you need tickets, so you can plan the weekend in one go.
Basel's Herbstmesse, "d Mäss" to locals, has run every autumn since 1471 and is the biggest funfair in Switzerland. Rides, game booths and food stalls fill squares on both sides of the Rhine: old-time carousels and a Ferris wheel beside the Münster, faster rides in Kleinbasel, and a pottery and craft market under the plane trees on Petersplatz. Snack stops: Mässmogge candy, spiced Magenbrot and hot chestnuts.
Räbeliechtli is a Swiss autumn tradition: kids carry lanterns carved from turnips and walk together in the evening. This one is run by the ELCH and goes through the Lange Erlen to the square outside Kaffi ELCH.
Big and small are welcome. It suits preschoolers and early schoolers best, and families who booked can stay on afterward for a soup supper.
KinderGleisKreis is a supervised pop-up playground on disused railroad tracks in the Dreispitz area. Kids build it themselves around a railroad theme and their own ideas, with help from the play team. Old freight wagons hold a workshop and a living room, a covered wagon serves as a workbench, and homemade rail trolleys roll along the tracks. Younger kids pull each other in small wagons on a kids' track.
Gratis uffs Glattyys is Basel's free skating day, when the canton opens both public rinks, Margarethen and Eglisee, to everyone. It's an easy, no-pressure way for a family to spend a whole day on the ice.
At Margarethen, regional ice sports clubs add a program kids can join in. It suits kids who can already stand on skates; total beginners will need a parent's hand.
The Basler Stadtlauf is Basel's big city road run, and on race day the old town fills with runners of every age.
Alongside the main run there are 1 km school races for kids and a family run, where one parent and one child run together from the Münster down to the Marktplatz. It suits kids who like to race and families who want to do it side by side.
Basel's newest Christmas market, a village of huts at Theaterplatz that spreads into the nearby squares. Around 40 huts sell local design and crafts, plus food from the region and around the world.
Kids get their own areas, and the program promises stilt walkers in costume, fairy-tale storytelling, craft afternoons and a carousel. It suits families who want browsing, snacks and Christmas lights in one outing.
A Christmas village for kids, decorated with fir trees, set up by the Robi-Spiel-Aktionen inside the Basel Christmas market on Münsterplatz. Kids go from house to house to dip candles, decorate gingerbread, make Christmas presents, try tin pouring or blacksmithing, and ride the kids' train. A marionette theater performs a Christmas story.
Kids warm up with hot chocolate in the fire room while adults get mulled wine at the bar.
Basel's Christmas market fills the city center with stalls of tree ornaments, gifts and food, around the Barfüsserkirche and in front of the Münster, where the trees are hung with glowing snow globes.
For kids, the main draw is the Märchenwald on Münsterplatz: a forest of fir trees run by the Robi-Spiel-Aktionen association, full of hands-on crafts and with its own puppet theater.
Europa-Park in Rust stays open through the winter season, and Rulantica opens too. Families can spend a day at each and sleep in one of the park's themed hotels, which all stay open along with the restaurants.
It suits families happy to turn a winter day trip into a short break. New Year's has its own packages built around dinner shows and parties, and several are already booked out.
The Märchenwald (also called the Märliwald) turns Münsterplatz into a Christmas village of several houses. Kids move between them to dip candles, decorate gingerbread, make Christmas presents and ride the kids' train.
It suits preschool and primary-age kids who like making things with their hands. Most of it happens out on the square, so dress everyone for a cold December afternoon.
Lörrach's Christmas market turns the Alter Marktplatz into a village of huts and lights. Stalls sell crafts, gift ideas and snacks like crêpes, roasted almonds and chocolate-dipped fruit, with alcohol-free punch alongside the mulled wine.
Younger kids head for the children's carousel, and a culture program brings acts like the town's music school and the Motettenchor choir. It suits a relaxed stroll more than a full day out.
Every year, Harley-Davidson riders turn their motorbikes into Christmas vehicles and ride through Basel's illuminated city center dressed as Nikolaus, Santiglaus, Santa Claus or angels. It is one of the highlights of Basel's Christmas season.
Kids watch from the street as the decorated bikes roll past. It suits families with young children who love Santa, and anyone who likes motorbikes.
Vogel Gryff is Kleinbasel's own festival day, run by the three honorary societies on this side of the Rhine. Each one sends out a costumed figure: the griffin (Vogel Gryff), the lion (Leu) and the wild man (Wild Maa), who dance in the streets at set spots around the neighborhood.
It suits kids who like big costumes and old local traditions, and who don't mind a winter day outdoors.
On Carnival Sunday, the evening before the Morgenstraich, several hundred carriers parade through Liestal's old town with homemade pinewood brooms ablaze. Fire carts follow, and piccolo players and drummers lead the way.
The flames reach up to the gables of the old houses, and sparks fly through the darkened streets. It suits school-age kids who can handle a dense crowd, loud drums and strong heat.
Basel's Fasnacht is the biggest carnival in Switzerland and on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. For three days the city center belongs to the cliques: pipers, drummers, Guggenmusik bands and floats in the Cortège parades.
Kids watch the parades, see the big clique lanterns on show at Münsterplatz and find Räppli (confetti) everywhere. It suits families who don't mind crowds and loud drums.
This is the day Basel's carnival puts kids at the center. Children too young to march with a clique or Guggenmusik come out with their parents in homemade costumes and masks, hand out sweets and throw confetti (Räppli).
Older kids who already play an instrument form small groups with family and friends. It suits families who want to join in, not only watch from the curb.
The Basel Tattoo is one of the world's biggest military tattoos: an open-air arena show where military bands, pipes and drums and show bands from around the world march and play in front of the Kaserne in Kleinbasel.
Expect bagpipes, drums, brass and flag swingers, all loud and precise. It suits kids who like music and spectacle and can stay up for an evening show.
The Basel Tattoo takes its music out of the arena and onto the streets of downtown Basel. All the Tattoo's formations, plus guest bands from Switzerland and abroad, march the route.
Kids watch from the roadside as the bands pass. The organizers compare the buzz in the city to Basel carnival. It suits families whose kids like loud, colorful music.
The Basler Rheinschwimmen is the SLRG Basel's yearly swim down the Rhine, a sporty, easygoing event for swimmers big and small. Everyone gets in at Schaffhauserrheinweg and swims downstream to the finish by the Johanniterbrücke.
It suits kids who already swim confidently, since the Rhine is a natural river with a current, not a pool.
Blaulichttag is Basel's open day for the emergency services. Professionals from the cantonal police, the rescue service and other blue-light organizations show the public how they work and answer questions face to face.
It suits kids who stop to stare at every police car or ambulance, and their curious older siblings. The talk is in German, but seeing the crews up close needs no German.
A lot of Basel's family calendar happens outdoors, on squares, streets and the riverbank. These are the open-air events coming up next, from fairground rides and costume parades to winter markets and races kids can run, with the soonest on top. Each card has the day, the price and whether you need tickets, so you can plan the weekend in one go.
Basel's Herbstmesse, "d Mäss" to locals, has run every autumn since 1471 and is the biggest funfair in Switzerland. Rides, game booths and food stalls fill squares on both sides of the Rhine: old-time carousels and a Ferris wheel beside the Münster, faster rides in Kleinbasel, and a pottery and craft market under the plane trees on Petersplatz. Snack stops: Mässmogge candy, spiced Magenbrot and hot chestnuts.
Räbeliechtli is a Swiss autumn tradition: kids carry lanterns carved from turnips and walk together in the evening. This one is run by the ELCH and goes through the Lange Erlen to the square outside Kaffi ELCH.
Big and small are welcome. It suits preschoolers and early schoolers best, and families who booked can stay on afterward for a soup supper.
KinderGleisKreis is a supervised pop-up playground on disused railroad tracks in the Dreispitz area. Kids build it themselves around a railroad theme and their own ideas, with help from the play team. Old freight wagons hold a workshop and a living room, a covered wagon serves as a workbench, and homemade rail trolleys roll along the tracks. Younger kids pull each other in small wagons on a kids' track.
Gratis uffs Glattyys is Basel's free skating day, when the canton opens both public rinks, Margarethen and Eglisee, to everyone. It's an easy, no-pressure way for a family to spend a whole day on the ice.
At Margarethen, regional ice sports clubs add a program kids can join in. It suits kids who can already stand on skates; total beginners will need a parent's hand.
The Basler Stadtlauf is Basel's big city road run, and on race day the old town fills with runners of every age.
Alongside the main run there are 1 km school races for kids and a family run, where one parent and one child run together from the Münster down to the Marktplatz. It suits kids who like to race and families who want to do it side by side.
Basel's newest Christmas market, a village of huts at Theaterplatz that spreads into the nearby squares. Around 40 huts sell local design and crafts, plus food from the region and around the world.
Kids get their own areas, and the program promises stilt walkers in costume, fairy-tale storytelling, craft afternoons and a carousel. It suits families who want browsing, snacks and Christmas lights in one outing.
A Christmas village for kids, decorated with fir trees, set up by the Robi-Spiel-Aktionen inside the Basel Christmas market on Münsterplatz. Kids go from house to house to dip candles, decorate gingerbread, make Christmas presents, try tin pouring or blacksmithing, and ride the kids' train. A marionette theater performs a Christmas story.
Kids warm up with hot chocolate in the fire room while adults get mulled wine at the bar.
Basel's Christmas market fills the city center with stalls of tree ornaments, gifts and food, around the Barfüsserkirche and in front of the Münster, where the trees are hung with glowing snow globes.
For kids, the main draw is the Märchenwald on Münsterplatz: a forest of fir trees run by the Robi-Spiel-Aktionen association, full of hands-on crafts and with its own puppet theater.
Europa-Park in Rust stays open through the winter season, and Rulantica opens too. Families can spend a day at each and sleep in one of the park's themed hotels, which all stay open along with the restaurants.
It suits families happy to turn a winter day trip into a short break. New Year's has its own packages built around dinner shows and parties, and several are already booked out.
The Märchenwald (also called the Märliwald) turns Münsterplatz into a Christmas village of several houses. Kids move between them to dip candles, decorate gingerbread, make Christmas presents and ride the kids' train.
It suits preschool and primary-age kids who like making things with their hands. Most of it happens out on the square, so dress everyone for a cold December afternoon.
Lörrach's Christmas market turns the Alter Marktplatz into a village of huts and lights. Stalls sell crafts, gift ideas and snacks like crêpes, roasted almonds and chocolate-dipped fruit, with alcohol-free punch alongside the mulled wine.
Younger kids head for the children's carousel, and a culture program brings acts like the town's music school and the Motettenchor choir. It suits a relaxed stroll more than a full day out.
Every year, Harley-Davidson riders turn their motorbikes into Christmas vehicles and ride through Basel's illuminated city center dressed as Nikolaus, Santiglaus, Santa Claus or angels. It is one of the highlights of Basel's Christmas season.
Kids watch from the street as the decorated bikes roll past. It suits families with young children who love Santa, and anyone who likes motorbikes.
Vogel Gryff is Kleinbasel's own festival day, run by the three honorary societies on this side of the Rhine. Each one sends out a costumed figure: the griffin (Vogel Gryff), the lion (Leu) and the wild man (Wild Maa), who dance in the streets at set spots around the neighborhood.
It suits kids who like big costumes and old local traditions, and who don't mind a winter day outdoors.
On Carnival Sunday, the evening before the Morgenstraich, several hundred carriers parade through Liestal's old town with homemade pinewood brooms ablaze. Fire carts follow, and piccolo players and drummers lead the way.
The flames reach up to the gables of the old houses, and sparks fly through the darkened streets. It suits school-age kids who can handle a dense crowd, loud drums and strong heat.
Basel's Fasnacht is the biggest carnival in Switzerland and on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. For three days the city center belongs to the cliques: pipers, drummers, Guggenmusik bands and floats in the Cortège parades.
Kids watch the parades, see the big clique lanterns on show at Münsterplatz and find Räppli (confetti) everywhere. It suits families who don't mind crowds and loud drums.
This is the day Basel's carnival puts kids at the center. Children too young to march with a clique or Guggenmusik come out with their parents in homemade costumes and masks, hand out sweets and throw confetti (Räppli).
Older kids who already play an instrument form small groups with family and friends. It suits families who want to join in, not only watch from the curb.
The Basel Tattoo is one of the world's biggest military tattoos: an open-air arena show where military bands, pipes and drums and show bands from around the world march and play in front of the Kaserne in Kleinbasel.
Expect bagpipes, drums, brass and flag swingers, all loud and precise. It suits kids who like music and spectacle and can stay up for an evening show.
The Basel Tattoo takes its music out of the arena and onto the streets of downtown Basel. All the Tattoo's formations, plus guest bands from Switzerland and abroad, march the route.
Kids watch from the roadside as the bands pass. The organizers compare the buzz in the city to Basel carnival. It suits families whose kids like loud, colorful music.
The Basler Rheinschwimmen is the SLRG Basel's yearly swim down the Rhine, a sporty, easygoing event for swimmers big and small. Everyone gets in at Schaffhauserrheinweg and swims downstream to the finish by the Johanniterbrücke.
It suits kids who already swim confidently, since the Rhine is a natural river with a current, not a pool.
Blaulichttag is Basel's open day for the emergency services. Professionals from the cantonal police, the rescue service and other blue-light organizations show the public how they work and answer questions face to face.
It suits kids who stop to stare at every police car or ambulance, and their curious older siblings. The talk is in German, but seeing the crews up close needs no German.
