BASEL

The pocket-size metropolis

Basel Tourism
Convention Bureau Basel

Aeschenvorstadt 36
CH-4010 Basel

Phone +41 61 268 68 10

At the heart of Europe, Basel seamlessly combines exceptional accessibility with an outstanding meeting infrastructure, making it an ideal destination for conferences, exhibitions, and business gatherings.

The city’s business clusters

As the first Swiss city to achieve “Sustainable Destination Level III – Leading” and its certification as a sustainable destination by TourCert, the city reflects the local commitment to sustainability. Basel is also developing into an important location for information and communication technology (ICT). The city offers a strong digital infrastructure. With initiatives such as the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area and specialized ICT events, the region is growing as an attractive technology hub in Switzerland.

What our city is already known for: It is a world leader in life sciences and home to pharmaceutical giants Novartis and Roche – two of the world’s top five pharmaceutical companies – as well as more than 700 other life sciences companies, the region is a pow- erhouse of research.

Cutting-Edge University Research

The Basel area is a hub for academic excellence and pioneering research. The University of Basel, Switzerland’s oldest university founded in 1460, is complemented by renowned institutions such as the Biozentrum, the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, and the University Hospital. Additionally, the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering of the prestigious ETH Zurich, along with numerous science, technology, and business parks, further enrich Basel’s academic and research landscape.

Meet in Basel: A Premier Conference Destination

Cities that excel in science and business naturally attract high-profile conferences – provided they meet the expectations of today’s event planners. Basel rises to the occasion with its central location, excellent transport links, and state-of-the-art meeting infrastructure. Its compact city layout ensures short distances, making it one of Europe’s leading exhibition and congress destinations. Basel’s appeal extends beyond business: its vibrant cultural scene, including Art Basel – the world’s premier fair for contemporary and modern art – draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.

Effortless Accessibility

Thanks to its prime location in Europe, Basel is easily reachable by train from numerous European cities. Integrated into the high-speed rail network, the city benefits from direct connections via the French TGV and German ICE, reducing travel times to just 3 hours from Paris or Frankfurt, and 4 hours from Milan. Furthermore, the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg offers convenient connections to major European cities, while Zurich Airport is accessible in just 75 minutes by train.

Free use of public transport

Every guest staying overnight in Basel receives a personal guest card, handed out upon check-in. The attractive features of the BaselCard include free use of public transport, plus a 50% discount on admission to Basel’s museums, Basel Zoo, Theater Basel and much more. With a BaselCard, guests can also rent an e-bike for CHF 20 a day.

The Messe and Congress Center Basel

Switzerland’s largest congress venue by sur- face area, is situated in the city center and offers 25 meeting rooms accommodating up to 5,000 delegates. Additionally, with 1,000 hotel rooms nearby and approximately 9,500 guest rooms available in the region (includ- ing Airbnb accommodations).

Swiss but different – This is Basel

Letizia Elia
Director of Basel Tourism

Basel is known for its vibrant cultural scene with almost 40 museums, its architectural highlights and its traditional events such as the Basel Autumn Fair. What makes Basel stand out as a meeting and conference city?

Letizia Elia: Basel definitely stands out with its special location in the heart of Europe. The three railway stations offer excellent connections within Switzerland and other European cities, and the EuroAirport Basel is only 15 minutes away from the city centre. The location in the border triangle of Switzerland, Germany and France also provides an opportunity for visitors to combine a business event with excursions to Central Switzerland or the nearby Black Forest and Alsace. Furthermore, Basel and its Old Town are compact and easy to explore on foot. You will find everything within just a short distance in the city centre. Therefore, Basel is also known as a conference city with everything in easy reach.

Why is Basel a good venue for events?

Letizia Elia: The city is an accomplished host for a wide variety of events – and has been since the Council of Basel in the 15th century and the first Basler Herbstmesse (autumn fair) over 550 years ago. Due to the fact that the exhibition grounds are situated right in the centre, the events often involve the city and participants can enjoy everything Basel has to offer.

How is Basel becoming more sustainable and what are the venues doing?

Letizia Elia: The government of the Canton of Basel-City has already been pursuing a progressive sustainability policy for many years, which promotes sustainable development in Basel’s businesses as well as sustainable events. For example, since 2009, 100% of the electricity produced by the energy supplier IWB (Industrielle Werke Basel) has come from renewable sources, and with its goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2037, the Canton of Basel-City is a pioneer throughout Switzerland. The sustainable development of the city is very important to me personally… With the aim of positioning Basel as a sustainable destination, Basel Tourism supports the city’s tourism businesses in making their processes more sustainable. Some service providers have already implemented a distinct sustainability strategy in their operations and, for example, offset the CO2 emissions of meetings held at their premises.

Basel is a strong business location with innovative start-ups and established multinationals. How do these shape the MICE industry in Basel?

Letizia Elia: In addition to the world-renowned multinationals, Basel also has a university as well as prestigious research institutions with motivated and committed scientists who bring conferences and meet- ings in their field of expertise to Basel. As a result, the city hosts an above-average number of conferences in strong industrial clusters such as life sciences, medtech and informa- tion/communication technology. In addition, the canton provides fi- nancial support for conferences in these areas in order to continue to position Basel as a leading life-sciences location and to make it better known worldwide. We are pleased that a number of major events such as DIA Europe, the Conference of the International Society of Travel Medicine (CISTM) or the International Symposium on ALS/MND will be held in Basel in 2023. We would like to increase the number of such major conferences in Basel in the coming years and win the bid for more European congresses.

Why is Basel “Swiss but different”?

Letizia Elia: With our current campaign “Swiss but different. This is Basel”, we are emphasising that Basel does not conform to stereotypical ideas. Basel offers exciting contrasts that you have to discover for yourself. Here, lively traditions meet innovation, world-famous muse- ums exist alongside a young and dynamic art scene, and a well-pre- served Old Town complements modern architecture. Basel surprises its guests because here they experience Switzerland without the typical Swiss cliché.

What is the latest news from Basel?

Letizia Elia: In June 2022, the Basel Marriott Hotel (formerly Swissôtel Le Plaza) at Messeplatz was reopened after extensive renovation. In addition to direct access to the Congress Center Basel, it offers a total of nine meeting rooms and 239 modern hotel rooms. In the last few years, Basel has also seen some openings of exciting venues. For example, the Stadtcasino Basel is now restored to its full splendour after a four-year renovation period by Herzog & de Meuron. And in April 2022, the Novartis Pavillon in the park of the Novartis Campus was opened as a modern meeting centre with an event space and the permanent exhibition “Wonders of Medicine”.