Teenagers are hard to impress, and most family outings are built for younger kids. These are plans that work for 13 and up: real adrenaline, a bit of independence, and things they'd pick themselves. Expect rafting, climbing, coasters and laser tag, plus a museum full of moving machines. Here's what we checked, from the whitewater course at Parc des Eaux Vives to the telescope at St. Margarethen Observatory.
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.
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.
Kletterhalle 7 (K7) is an indoor climbing hall with tall roped walls and a separate bouldering room. More than 120 routes have a top rope already hung, so a trained belayer can tie a kid in and climb.
The bouldering room has over 70 problems on walls no higher than 4 m, with thick mats underneath. Families learn together in Saturday taster sessions; kids from 10 have their own courses.
ELYS Boulderloft is a bouldering gym with over 2,000 m² of climbing surface and new problems set every week. Kids under 13 boulder in the New Hall with a parent who climbs too, and can earn a bouldering license that opens the Big Hall.
Younger kids have the movement landscape, a play-and-run area with its own family bistro.
Jump Factory Basel is a trampoline park in Münchenstein with around 20 zones on one ticket. Kids bounce on the mega and long trampolines, launch into the foam pit, run up the warped wall, race down the speed slide and take on a ninja warrior course, climbing wall, battle beam, ropes course and zip line.
Parents who don't jump can wait in the café while kids play.
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.
Lazerfun is an indoor games center. In laser tag, players in sensor vests move through a dark, lightly fogged maze, tagging targets and each other with light beams.
Glow golf is 18 holes of mini golf in the dark across 500 m² of 3D scenery with sound and light effects, and 3D glasses make the scenery pop. Teams of two or four can also try a VR escape room.
An indoor mini golf course with 18 holes, played in darkened rooms under UV light. Fluorescent painted scenery and 3D backdrops glow around every hole, and players wear 3D glasses that make the walls pop out.
The same building has a free-roam virtual reality arena, an arcade with billiards, basketball and air hockey, a bistro and a terrace.
Bowling by ARENA has 14 lanes for classic bowling and HyperBowling, and was the first HyperBowling center in Switzerland. In HyperBowling, touch-sensitive bumpers cover the gutters and players aim for a lit-up color before the pins, which makes it easier for kids to score.
Next to the lanes are four pool tables, darts, air hockey, arcade machines and a kids' corner with a ball pit, whack-a-mole and a crane game.
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.
Museum Tinguely holds the world's largest collection of work by Swiss artist Jean Tinguely: moving machine sculptures built around wheels and motors, most of them still in working order. The permanent exhibition has many hands-on spots where visitors set things in motion.
On the second floor, a glass wall looks into the open workshop where restorers keep the machines running. Solitude Park and the Rhine bank sit right outside.
A public observatory run by volunteers of the Astronomischer Verein Basel. The 1928 dome houses a 20 cm Merz refractor, and three observation huts stand on the grounds. On public nights, kids look at the sky through the telescopes; on sunny afternoons, the Sun gets its turn through suitable instruments.
The grounds also hold MeteoSwiss weather stations, a seismograph, and the Basel climate record kept since 1755.
Fantasy Basel is Switzerland's largest convention for film, gaming, comics and cosplay fans. Kids can watch cosplayers and walking acts, try games, esports and VR, browse comic artists and tabletop games, and catch stars and shows.
It suits gamers and fans of anime, manga and fantasy. Toddlers and kids who dislike crowds and noise will find it a lot.
Teenagers are hard to impress, and most family outings are built for younger kids. These are plans that work for 13 and up: real adrenaline, a bit of independence, and things they'd pick themselves. Expect rafting, climbing, coasters and laser tag, plus a museum full of moving machines. Here's what we checked, from the whitewater course at Parc des Eaux Vives to the telescope at St. Margarethen Observatory.
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.
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.
Kletterhalle 7 (K7) is an indoor climbing hall with tall roped walls and a separate bouldering room. More than 120 routes have a top rope already hung, so a trained belayer can tie a kid in and climb.
The bouldering room has over 70 problems on walls no higher than 4 m, with thick mats underneath. Families learn together in Saturday taster sessions; kids from 10 have their own courses.
ELYS Boulderloft is a bouldering gym with over 2,000 m² of climbing surface and new problems set every week. Kids under 13 boulder in the New Hall with a parent who climbs too, and can earn a bouldering license that opens the Big Hall.
Younger kids have the movement landscape, a play-and-run area with its own family bistro.
Jump Factory Basel is a trampoline park in Münchenstein with around 20 zones on one ticket. Kids bounce on the mega and long trampolines, launch into the foam pit, run up the warped wall, race down the speed slide and take on a ninja warrior course, climbing wall, battle beam, ropes course and zip line.
Parents who don't jump can wait in the café while kids play.
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.
Lazerfun is an indoor games center. In laser tag, players in sensor vests move through a dark, lightly fogged maze, tagging targets and each other with light beams.
Glow golf is 18 holes of mini golf in the dark across 500 m² of 3D scenery with sound and light effects, and 3D glasses make the scenery pop. Teams of two or four can also try a VR escape room.
An indoor mini golf course with 18 holes, played in darkened rooms under UV light. Fluorescent painted scenery and 3D backdrops glow around every hole, and players wear 3D glasses that make the walls pop out.
The same building has a free-roam virtual reality arena, an arcade with billiards, basketball and air hockey, a bistro and a terrace.
Bowling by ARENA has 14 lanes for classic bowling and HyperBowling, and was the first HyperBowling center in Switzerland. In HyperBowling, touch-sensitive bumpers cover the gutters and players aim for a lit-up color before the pins, which makes it easier for kids to score.
Next to the lanes are four pool tables, darts, air hockey, arcade machines and a kids' corner with a ball pit, whack-a-mole and a crane game.
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.
Museum Tinguely holds the world's largest collection of work by Swiss artist Jean Tinguely: moving machine sculptures built around wheels and motors, most of them still in working order. The permanent exhibition has many hands-on spots where visitors set things in motion.
On the second floor, a glass wall looks into the open workshop where restorers keep the machines running. Solitude Park and the Rhine bank sit right outside.
A public observatory run by volunteers of the Astronomischer Verein Basel. The 1928 dome houses a 20 cm Merz refractor, and three observation huts stand on the grounds. On public nights, kids look at the sky through the telescopes; on sunny afternoons, the Sun gets its turn through suitable instruments.
The grounds also hold MeteoSwiss weather stations, a seismograph, and the Basel climate record kept since 1755.
Fantasy Basel is Switzerland's largest convention for film, gaming, comics and cosplay fans. Kids can watch cosplayers and walking acts, try games, esports and VR, browse comic artists and tabletop games, and catch stars and shows.
It suits gamers and fans of anime, manga and fantasy. Toddlers and kids who dislike crowds and noise will find it a lot.
