Though most foreign visitors probably come here to attend a trade fair at the Messe, Basel is a discreetly prosperous city with a great deal more to offer. A substantial river port, it sits on a bend of the River Rhine and shares a border with both France and Germany. The area of the city to the north of the river, where the Messe is located, is called Kleinbasel (lesser Basel) and the area to the south is called Grossbasel (Greater Basel), home to the medieval Old Town.

Dominated by the majestic Münster (cathedral), with its soaring Romanesque steeple, the beautiful Old Town is focused on two main squares, Barfüsserplatz and Marktplatz, which are connected by bustling shopping streets crammed with ritzy boutiques. More traditional steep cobbled lanes also run up from either side of each square, leading to peaceful leafy courtyards surrounded by 16th-century town houses and lovely churches.

Kleinbasel is more modern and down to earth, its most notable feature the giant Messe conference centre, located in Messeplatz, some 500 metres east of the central Claraplatz and an equal distance west of Basel Badischer Bahnhof, the German station. However Basel is also notable for a Carnival that ranks with those of Venice and Rio de Janeiro, as well an astounding array important museum and art collections, housed in striking new buildings designed by architects like Renzo Piano, Mario Botta and Herzog & De Meuron. Indeed the “Art Basel” fair has become one of the most celebrated in the world for collectors of and dealers in contemporary art.

Add to all this the fact that Basel’s position on the Dreiländereck (three countries' corner) results in some excellent French restaurants and it’s not hard to see that the city is a wonderful destination for the business and leisure traveller alike.

Basel has been a successful trade fair and congress city since the 15th century and has the largest trade fair site in Switzerland. Today its most important events include "Basel World", the world trade fair for watches and jewellery, and "Art Basel", the trade fair for 20th century art. The Messe can be reached in 10 minutes by taking tram n°1 or 2 at central railway station SBB/SNCF or in 3 minutes by taking tram n° 2 or 6 from the German station Badischen Bahnhof (DB)