Basel Shopping

Located as it is at the heart of a geographically compact region - albeit divided by frontiers - Basel offers a wealth of shops of every kind. Daily needs are mainly catered for by two major distributors which cover the whole area. One is Migros, the other is Coop the latter with its headquarters in Basel.

Normal opening hours for urban locations of these stores are 8.30 to 18.30 Mondays to Fridays, until 20.00 hours on Thursdays in the centre of town. On Saturdays, shops on the outskirts close at noon while larger stores and those in the centre of town stay open until 17 hours. These major suppliers are supplemented by a host of local and village shops which are sometimes open until 22.00 hours seven days a week, thanks to a recent loosening up of commercial regulations.

The Swiss love to eat well and their grocery stores reflect this. Though small by some foreign standards, food stops are generally well-stocked with fresh produce and whatever else you need to create a good meal, simple or complex. Even the smallest urban stores often have sections of exotic or imported goods as well as frozen, micro-wave, heat-and-serve and take-out foods. The latter are making an impact on how shelves are stocked as Swiss shoppers reflect the increasing numbers of working singles, couples and families with limited time for traditionally prepared meals. Along with this trend, a growing range of biologically grown or processed foods has been developed to meet concerns about unhealthy or overly modified diets. In addition to the major chain stores, there are a growing number of specialty food shops to be found in the larger department stores or in neighborhoods with a distinct ethnic character, particularly Oriental, American-style, Italian, Spanish or French in nature.

Furniture and Decorations
In the home interiors sector there are small joinery businesses and interior decorators as well as high-quality furniture specialists, quite apart from major outlets such as Ikea and Interio, both located by the Pratteln motorway exit just outside town. When it comes to entertainment electronics and computers, individual retailers; local, national and international chains all vie with one another for the customer's favour.
They cover the entire range from specialised high-end shops to aggressive discount stores with unbeatable special offers. Basel enjoys an excellent reputation in the case of music CDs: well-informed sources claim that these are cheaper here than anywhere else in Europe because many direct importers are based in Basel. There is also a proliferation of pharmacies, with at least one that stays open round-the-clock.
Some parts of town and some country areas still retain an old tradition: the milk truck and the vegetable wagon bring fresh farm produce and milk to your front door, together with cream, cheese and soft drinks. The Coop also has a home delivery service for beverages. It goes without saying that Basel is also present on the internet in a culinary sense. Popular (non-virtual) meeting places include the markets - either that for fresh produce on Marktplatz in the heart of town, or the popular flea markets on Barfüsserplatz and Petersplatz. Nor is Basel lacking in banks: it is here and at the post office that cash can be withdrawn. Credit card shopping has still to take Switzerland by storm.

Switzerland is expensive, but you have very reliable services.

Basel Hotels

Basel Shopping

Visiting Basel?

Visiting Basel?

Basel Hotels