Switzerland » Entertainment in Basel

Basel has a beautiful medieval old town center, a festival that ranks with those of Venice and Rio de Janeiro, and several world class art museums built by architects like Renzo Piano, Mario Botta and Herzog & De Meuron. Basel's annual Fasnacht, or Carnival, is a Swiss version of Mardi Gras. Highlights include Guggenmusik bands,  open-air skits, a children's parade, and uninhibited carousing.

The world of art is no stranger to Basel and every year, the world's biggest and most influential art fair, the 'ART' is held here. Since opening a few years ago, Fondation Beyeler has become highly popular and it houses an enviable private art collection. The pieces in the Kunstmuseum Basel are equally impressive and masters such as Holbein are well-represented.

Most of the city's cinemas can be found in the Steinen suburb near Barfüsser Square. They all show mainstream films but the enormous Küchlin, a listed building, are the most architecturally impressive. Most of the films produced in a foreign language have subtitles.

The Anatomisches Museum is not for the squeamish and the Museum of Architecture is small but informative. The exhibitions change on a regular basis. If you cross the border to Weil in Germany you can visit the Vitra-Design-Museum, which showcases information about popular culture and has an exquisite collection of contemporary furniture on display.

Classical music is popular the whole Basel. The Academy of Music, the Chamber Orchestra, the Basler Sinfonietta and the Basler Symphonieorchester treat their audiences to first-rate performances time and time again. In the last few years’ rock, pop and jazz have become more and more famous in Basel, perhaps more so than ever before. The main venue for anything non-classical at the moment is the Atlantis. Lesser known bands sometimes perform at the Kuppel, and the Kaserne Basel is the main showplace the alternative scene.