Basel's schools break for six weeks in July and August, and there is plenty to fill them. The Tattoo parade brings marching bands through the city center, and on the eve of National Day the Rhine banks fill up for fireworks. Here's what we checked, from Rhine swims and outdoor pools to day trips for theme parks, zoos and mountain toboggan runs across the border in Germany and France.
Circus Knie tours Switzerland with a big-top show, and Basel is one of its stops. The program mixes international circus artists, modern show technology and the horses of the Knie family.
For this tour the company has a new tent and new seating, which brings a new seating plan. It suits kids who can sit through a full circus show and like horses.
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.
Basel starts Swiss National Day a night early with a huge street party along both banks of the Rhine. Families sit at festival benches by the water, eat from more than 90 food and drink stalls, and catch live concerts, alphorns included.
Around 100,000 people come, and the fireworks pack the bridges. It suits kids who enjoy crowds and a late night.
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.
Em Bebbi sy Jazz turns Basel's Old Town into one big jazz evening, with concerts at many spots around the center.
It's come-and-go, so families can wander between sets, stop for a song or two and head home when the kids are done. It suits kids who enjoy live music and can stay out for an evening.
Germany's largest theme park splits its grounds into 18 themed areas, each built around a European country. Rides run from fairy-tale boat trips and the Fjord-Rafting river ride to Pegasus, a junior coaster the whole family can ride, and big coasters like Voltron Nevera and blue fire.
Smaller kids also get a ball pool and an adventure playground. The resort runs Rulantica, a separate water park, and six themed hotels.
Rulantica is the indoor water world of Europa-Park, with a Nordic theme and over 50 slides and attractions across 14 themed areas. Older kids race each other down the eight tubes of Vikingløp, while toddlers climb, roll and slide with the trolls in Trølldal.
From May to September an outdoor area opens as well, with the Svalgurok slide world, sandy beaches and the Svømmepøl pool.
Augusta Raurica is the excavated Roman town at Augst, with more than twenty monuments to view, walk on or touch. Kids can sit in the best-preserved Roman theater north of the Alps, stand inside a Roman sewer channel and explore a furnished Roman house modeled on a Pompeii villa.
The museum puts some finds at kid eye level, and the animal park keeps breeds similar to Roman farm animals.
A gondola climbs from Reigoldswil to the Wasserfallen in about 10 minutes, with six-person cabins that run continuously, so there is no timetable to learn. At the top station, families pick up kick scooters and helmets and ride a 4 km forest track back down to the valley in 20 to 30 minutes. An adventure playground with a giant wooden sled and climbing tower sits beside the top station.
A wildlife and ride park on a Black Forest mountainside, spread over 36 hectares. More than 200 animals from 25 species live along the forest paths, plus a petting zoo and an aviary.
Rides include a 1km alpine coaster, two 800m summer toboggan runs (one covered), the RiverSplash water ride and indoor coasters. A 218m suspension bridge hangs 30m up, and Luxi's Kinderland is an indoor playground.
The Feldbergbahn is a gondola up the Feldberg, at 1,493 meters the highest peak of the Black Forest. Its enclosed 8-seat cabins take strollers, wheelchairs, bikes and dogs, and two colorful cabins feature Resi, the cow mascot.
At the top, the Feldbergturm's viewing platform on the 11th floor looks across the Black Forest to the Alps on clear days. The first floor holds an interactive Black Forest ham museum.
Solarbob is a toboggan run of over 1,000 meters with banked curves, tunnels, a free speed check and a 540-degree spiral. Riders sit alone or in pairs, get pulled uphill by a solar-powered lift, and set their own speed with a lever on the way down.
Beside it, the rope park runs its courses from one central tower, with a continuous safety line so nobody unclips between platforms.
A 25-hectare zoo and botanical garden in the Rebberg district, at the edge of the Tannenwald forest, with about 1,200 animals. Polar bears, musk oxen and arctic foxes live in the Grand Nord area by the entrance, near the lions and tigers. Further in are red pandas, zebras, a sea lion pool, and a mini farm with a playground. Horizon Afrique, opened in 2025, adds giraffes, pygmy hippos and crocodiles.
Switzerland's most-visited museum covers rail, road, air, water and space travel. Kids can see original locomotives, two Swissair planes, rockets and Mars rovers, a submarine, and a 31.5-meter model of the Gotthard railway. A walk-in cube makes the floor turn into a wall.
Outside, younger kids ride scooters, climb into play buses and take the miniature garden railway. A planetarium, a film theater and a chocolate ride share the site.
Parc des Eaux Vives is a 350-meter artificial whitewater river with class II rapids, just across the French border from Basel. The flow is adjustable and the obstacles movable, and a calm warm-up basin suits first-timers. Kids raft, kayak, ride hydrospeed boards or stand up paddle with the park's instructors, then use the return channel to get back to the start. The Timonerie clubhouse sits by the course.
Gartenbad St. Jakob, the outdoor pool locals call the Joggeli, has a heated 50m pool, a family pool with a 1m diving pit, a non-swimmer pool and a paddling pool. Kids can go down several slides, including a speed slide, or jump from a diving tower with platforms up to 10m over its own pit.
There are also two beach volleyball courts, a kiosk and a restaurant.
Four ferries carry foot passengers across the Rhine between Grossbasel and Kleinbasel. Each hangs from a cable over the river and crosses on the current alone, with no engine. Each has its own name and landing: Wild Maa at St. Alban, Leu by the Münster, Vogel Gryff at Klingental and Ueli at St. Johann. Kids can watch the river push the boat from bank to bank.
Basel's schools break for six weeks in July and August, and there is plenty to fill them. The Tattoo parade brings marching bands through the city center, and on the eve of National Day the Rhine banks fill up for fireworks. Here's what we checked, from Rhine swims and outdoor pools to day trips for theme parks, zoos and mountain toboggan runs across the border in Germany and France.
Circus Knie tours Switzerland with a big-top show, and Basel is one of its stops. The program mixes international circus artists, modern show technology and the horses of the Knie family.
For this tour the company has a new tent and new seating, which brings a new seating plan. It suits kids who can sit through a full circus show and like horses.
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.
Basel starts Swiss National Day a night early with a huge street party along both banks of the Rhine. Families sit at festival benches by the water, eat from more than 90 food and drink stalls, and catch live concerts, alphorns included.
Around 100,000 people come, and the fireworks pack the bridges. It suits kids who enjoy crowds and a late night.
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.
Em Bebbi sy Jazz turns Basel's Old Town into one big jazz evening, with concerts at many spots around the center.
It's come-and-go, so families can wander between sets, stop for a song or two and head home when the kids are done. It suits kids who enjoy live music and can stay out for an evening.
Germany's largest theme park splits its grounds into 18 themed areas, each built around a European country. Rides run from fairy-tale boat trips and the Fjord-Rafting river ride to Pegasus, a junior coaster the whole family can ride, and big coasters like Voltron Nevera and blue fire.
Smaller kids also get a ball pool and an adventure playground. The resort runs Rulantica, a separate water park, and six themed hotels.
Rulantica is the indoor water world of Europa-Park, with a Nordic theme and over 50 slides and attractions across 14 themed areas. Older kids race each other down the eight tubes of Vikingløp, while toddlers climb, roll and slide with the trolls in Trølldal.
From May to September an outdoor area opens as well, with the Svalgurok slide world, sandy beaches and the Svømmepøl pool.
Augusta Raurica is the excavated Roman town at Augst, with more than twenty monuments to view, walk on or touch. Kids can sit in the best-preserved Roman theater north of the Alps, stand inside a Roman sewer channel and explore a furnished Roman house modeled on a Pompeii villa.
The museum puts some finds at kid eye level, and the animal park keeps breeds similar to Roman farm animals.
A gondola climbs from Reigoldswil to the Wasserfallen in about 10 minutes, with six-person cabins that run continuously, so there is no timetable to learn. At the top station, families pick up kick scooters and helmets and ride a 4 km forest track back down to the valley in 20 to 30 minutes. An adventure playground with a giant wooden sled and climbing tower sits beside the top station.
A wildlife and ride park on a Black Forest mountainside, spread over 36 hectares. More than 200 animals from 25 species live along the forest paths, plus a petting zoo and an aviary.
Rides include a 1km alpine coaster, two 800m summer toboggan runs (one covered), the RiverSplash water ride and indoor coasters. A 218m suspension bridge hangs 30m up, and Luxi's Kinderland is an indoor playground.
The Feldbergbahn is a gondola up the Feldberg, at 1,493 meters the highest peak of the Black Forest. Its enclosed 8-seat cabins take strollers, wheelchairs, bikes and dogs, and two colorful cabins feature Resi, the cow mascot.
At the top, the Feldbergturm's viewing platform on the 11th floor looks across the Black Forest to the Alps on clear days. The first floor holds an interactive Black Forest ham museum.
Solarbob is a toboggan run of over 1,000 meters with banked curves, tunnels, a free speed check and a 540-degree spiral. Riders sit alone or in pairs, get pulled uphill by a solar-powered lift, and set their own speed with a lever on the way down.
Beside it, the rope park runs its courses from one central tower, with a continuous safety line so nobody unclips between platforms.
A 25-hectare zoo and botanical garden in the Rebberg district, at the edge of the Tannenwald forest, with about 1,200 animals. Polar bears, musk oxen and arctic foxes live in the Grand Nord area by the entrance, near the lions and tigers. Further in are red pandas, zebras, a sea lion pool, and a mini farm with a playground. Horizon Afrique, opened in 2025, adds giraffes, pygmy hippos and crocodiles.
Switzerland's most-visited museum covers rail, road, air, water and space travel. Kids can see original locomotives, two Swissair planes, rockets and Mars rovers, a submarine, and a 31.5-meter model of the Gotthard railway. A walk-in cube makes the floor turn into a wall.
Outside, younger kids ride scooters, climb into play buses and take the miniature garden railway. A planetarium, a film theater and a chocolate ride share the site.
Parc des Eaux Vives is a 350-meter artificial whitewater river with class II rapids, just across the French border from Basel. The flow is adjustable and the obstacles movable, and a calm warm-up basin suits first-timers. Kids raft, kayak, ride hydrospeed boards or stand up paddle with the park's instructors, then use the return channel to get back to the start. The Timonerie clubhouse sits by the course.
Gartenbad St. Jakob, the outdoor pool locals call the Joggeli, has a heated 50m pool, a family pool with a 1m diving pit, a non-swimmer pool and a paddling pool. Kids can go down several slides, including a speed slide, or jump from a diving tower with platforms up to 10m over its own pit.
There are also two beach volleyball courts, a kiosk and a restaurant.
Four ferries carry foot passengers across the Rhine between Grossbasel and Kleinbasel. Each hangs from a cable over the river and crosses on the current alone, with no engine. Each has its own name and landing: Wild Maa at St. Alban, Leu by the Münster, Vogel Gryff at Klingental and Ueli at St. Johann. Kids can watch the river push the boat from bank to bank.
