Festivals and cultural events German-Speaking Switzerland

Basel's Night of the Museums is an opportunity to discover 39 museums and 10 cultural institutions in all three countries, from 6 pm to 2 am. Concerts, cultural programs, guided tours (some in French), around 200 exhibitions and events await you. Your Museum Night ticket entitles you to free use of public transport, boats and shuttle buses from 5pm. Special connections run until late into the night. And after the museums, the clubs invite you to party the night away!

Basel's largest open-air cinema. On Münsterplatz, a giant screen is set up throughout August, delighting spectators in an exceptional setting, with the cathedral illuminated. Most films are shown in their original version. The magic of the seventh art is so popular that the festival also takes place in two other major cities in the summer: Geneva and Zurich. In Geneva, the backdrop of Lake Geneva gives an impression of infinity, and the same impression is felt in Zurich. A different way to experience cinema!

Every year in July-August, the equestrian race field turns into a giant movie theater.

It's one of the biggest Latin music festivals in Europe! Tropical South American music sets Helvetiaplatz on fire. The area is cordoned off to make room for the dancers and spectators. An incredible atmosphere! The music and dance goes on, and the tropical sun shines down on Zurich for a few days. The programme includes merengue concerts, national and international DJs and samba dance performances. A large market with 250 stands also offers exotic specialities and drinks.

Showcase of Swiss cinema in various genres of national production and even international co-productions to which Switzerland collaborated. Parallel sections featuring the creations of film students, foreign films, television films, and a retrospective in personal tribute are added to the programme.

History of popular music (250 instruments) and customs from all over Switzerland, exhibition of musical devices (phonograph, jukeboxes, etc.).

Festival of contemporary music in the open air, every year on the first weekend of July in an idyllic location. One of the most important in this part of Switzerland, known beyond the borders.

The Floss Festival is a stage on the Rhine with an eclectic programme of excellent music. For more than twenty years, Basel has been alive with concerts for three weeks at the end of July. The floating stage is in motion, while the audience sits on the riverbank. On stage, the bands play to hundreds of spectators who stroll and stop along the banks of the Rhine. The Floss Festival is free of charge: all you have to do to contribute is throw a few coins into the sailors' nets at the collection.

In early September, Elisabethenstrasse becomes the vibrant heart of the Flâneur Festival. Explore Basel's diversity in three days of exchange, creativity and warm encounters. New brands, innovative and creative workshops, culinary delights and an exceptional musical program on six stages with thirty-five local bands and musicians. Meet one hundred and forty local businesses, from restaurants to boutiques, museums, clubs and theaters. It's a colorful, lively and incredibly beautiful festival. Come and discover Basel in a different way!

The Zürcher Theater Spektakel is an international theater and performing arts festival that has been held every summer in the Landiwiese Park since 1980. For several weeks from mid-August to the beginning of September, street artists from all over the world take to the stage outdoors to enchant you with their shows. It is one of the most important European festivals of its kind! A must-see event for the whole family if you are visiting Zurich during this period.

Every year, the Basel Theatre opens at 17 pm to celebrate Christmas in its own way. Every evening, a musical or literary surprise awaits the curious. In the programme: stories, poems, songs, classic or completely twisted, funny or not… Let yourself surprise!

The outdoor scenes, spread over the right bank, invite you to get out and mix with the crowd, on the shores of blues of local and international interpreters. It's Summerblues time!

The Jazz Festival Suzanne Bebbi Sy Jazz marks the end of school holidays in Basel every year. On several scenes in the city centre, dozens of musicians make tens of thousands of jazz fans vibrate.

For book-makers, the book fair BuchBasel brings together an impressive number of publishers from all over Switzerland and is organising a prize discount. Several exchange forums are held around different themes. Part of the exhibition is devoted to comics. Some authors of French origin are present.