Basel's main station:  Click for location & city map...

Basel SBB is the main station in Basel, the third-largest city in Switzerland after Zurich & Geneva.  It's a major hub for Swiss domestic trains and you'll often find yourself changing trains here.  The SBB simply refers to Swiss Federal Railways, to distinguish it from Basel's other mainline station, Basel Bad Bf.  You'll sometimes also see references to Basel SNCF, this is in effect the same station as Basel SBB, it simply refers to platforms 31-35 used by trains to/from France.

Station overview...

A station first opened on this spot in 1854, but the current station building dates from 1900-1907.  It's a through station (not a terminus) with a historic station building and booking hall on the northeast side of the tracks and a large modern footbridge (the Passerelle)  lined with retail units spanning the tracks, with escalators down to each platform.  See a 3D plan of Basel SBB station at plans.trafimage.ch/basel-sbb (please let me know if this link stops working).

Basel SBB's main station building is on the northeast side of the tracks, it dates from 1900-1907.  The two main station entrances are directly beneath the clock towers.

Main hall, after walking in through the right-hand entrance.  Ahead of you are the archway onto platform 4 and escalators up to the overbridge (passerelle) to platforms 5-17.  The arrow marks the entrance to the SBB-CFF-FFS ticket office.  For platforms 31-35, turn right.

Main hall, taken from the top of the escalators up to the overbridge (passerelle) across the tracks, looking towards the front of the station.  The two main station entrance/exits are visible on either side.  The escalators in the centre lead down to a lower level with left luggage office & lockers.  The original wood-panelled ticket windows are now closed, there's now a walk-in SBB ticket office in the corner of the hall, just out of shot to the right.

Entrance to the new SBB ticket office, in the main hall.

The overbridge or passerelle across tracks 4-17, a modern structure lined with shops & food outlets.  There are steps & escalators down to each platform.  Courtesy of Stefan Moser.

Which platform for your train?

• Finding your train:  The station departure board shows which platform each train leaves from, but you can find out in advance by running an enquiry at the Swiss Federal Railways website www.sbb.ch.

• Platforms 1 to 3:  These are terminus platforms facing south.  These platforms are mainly used by S-Bahn suburban trains.

• Platforms 4-17:  These are the main through platforms.  Platform 4 is adjacent to the main hall, platforms 5-17 are accessed by going up the escalators from the main hall onto the footbridge, then down the escalator onto the relevant platform.  TGV-Lyria trains between Paris & Zurich use these platforms, as do the ICE trains & the Nightjet sleeper trains to & from Germany.

• Platforms 30-35 = Basel SNCF:  These are terminus platforms facing north and used by trains terminating from France, for example the TER regional trains to & from Mulhouse, Colmar & Strasbourg.  To reach them, walk from the street into the main hall, turn immediately right and walk down the long corridor to the western hall.  Walk diagonally across the western hall and outside again onto platforms 31-35. 

  These platforms are sometimes known as Basel SNCF, or Bâle SNCF or just Basel SBB Gl. 30-35, but it's all the same place and all part of Basel SBB station.  You used to access these French platforms through a passageway with passport & customs offices (that passageway is now occupied by he Lora restaurant), but there is now normally free access to these platforms without any border control, as Switzerland & France are part of the Schengen Area.

Platforms 4-17 - the main platforms...

A TGV-Lyria to Paris on platform 6.  In the background is the Passerelle (footbridge) linking platforms 4-17.

View over platforms 4-7 from the Passerelle, with the same double-deck TGV-Lyria visible on platform 6.

Platforms 31-35 = Basel SNCF...

Platforms 31-35 make up Basel SNCF, although they're an integral part of Basel SBB.  TER trains to Mulhouse, Colmar, Strasbourg leave from these platforms.  As Switzerland & France are in Schengen, there's normally free access to these platforms with no border control.

To reach platforms 31-35,walk into the main hall from the street and turn immediately right, into the corridor pictured above left with a Drinks of the World drinks shop and various Migrolino mini-markets.  The corridor leads to the western hall.

You enter the western hall (pictured above right), with the Lora cafe-restaurant on the far side.  Walk diagonally across this hall and out of the doorway in the far left corner onto platforms 31-35. 

Incidentally, the western hall used to be the SNCF booking hall for trains to France.  In the far right corner of the hall you can see the entrance to the former passport & customs passageway that passengers for France had to use before Schengen, now occupied by the Lora restaurant - compare it now with this old photo!

Swiss & French border control kiosks in front of platforms 31-35.  These are normally not in use, you can walk freely past them on either side to reach these platforms without any border controls.  However, gates can be drawn across if they want to do spot checks for any reason.

Platforms 31-35, French TER regional trains to Mulhouse, Colmar, Strasbourg leave from these platforms.

Left luggage, ticket office, ATMs, WiFi...

• There are plenty of left luggage lockers if you need to leave your bags, just down the escalators in the centre of the main hall, see the luggage lockers page for opening hours & prices.

• The modern SBB Travel Centre is on the southeast side of the main hall for national & international tickets & reservations.

  Basel SBB also has at least one French Railways (SNCF) ticket machine, useful if you need to collect tickets booked on the SNCF system, or want to buy a ticket to France in euros.

• There are ATMs in various locations including the main hall.

• The station has WiFi (select SBB-FREE), the first 60 minutes are free (you can have another free 60 minutes after a 2 hour break) and registration requires a text to be sent to your mobile phone.  This may not work with some foreign mobiles, although I've had one report that it worked with a UK mobile.  Feedback appreciated.

Somewhere to eat & drink...

• There are many & various food outlets & cafes around the station.

• Lora (www.lorabasel.ch) is a cafe-restaurant inside the station building itself, an ideal place for a beer, coffee, cocktail or light meal.  Feedback appreciated.

• For a sit-down meal with classic Swiss food, try the Restaurant Steinbock (www.restaurantsteinbock.ch), across the road from the station.

  Walk out of the main station exit, turn right, walk 200m along Centralbahnstrasse (the road along the front of the station) and it's on the other side of the road, facing the station.  Feedback appreciated.

• There are a MacDonald's & Burger King across the road from the main station exit.

• The bar in the Hotel Euler across the road has also been suggested as a quiet place for a drink before your train, with free WiFi.

Restaurant Lora (www.lorabasel.ch) inside Basel SBB station, for a coffee, beer or meal.

Supermarkets & shops...

• Supermarkets:  There are Migros supermarkets of various sizes in several locations around the station, although Migros doesn't sell alcohol.  There's a small Co-op Pronto on the footbridge.  There's a larger Co-op supermarket across the road from the station.

• Beer & wine:  Drinks of the World (the name is pretty self-explanatory, website www.beerworld.ch) has a shop at Basel SBB, in the main building.  Walk into the main station entrance, turn left down the passageway and it's on your left, forming part of the station facade.

Hotels near Basel SBB...

• If you need somewhere close to the station for an overnight stop, the Hotel Victoria is directly across the road from the station with great reviews.  Also highly-regarded and slightly cheaper, is the Hotel Schweizerhof, next to the Victoria, also try the Hotel Euler opposite.

• If you're on a budget you can book budget private rooms in a one-star hotel or backpacker hostel near the station using www.hostelworld.com.

Local transport:  Walking, taxis, trams...

• Walking:  It's easy to walk from the station to most locations in the city centre.  For example, the old marketplace & town hall are an 18-minute 1.3 km walk from the station.

• Taxis:  For a taxi fare calculator see www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=Basel-Switzerland&lang=en.  Taxis are usually plentiful outside the station, although they are not cheap.

• Buses, trams:  See www.bvb.ch.

More information...

• There's a 3D plan of the station at plans.trafimage.ch/basel-sbb

• For more about the station's history see en.wikipedia.org/../Basel_SBB_railway_station

Basel Badischer Bahnhof...

Basel Badischer Bahnhof, usually abbreviated to Basel Bad Bf., is a secondary station in the north of the city.  Trains between Germany & Switzerland call here before or after using Basel SBB.  The name refers to the Duchy of Baden State Railways whose station this once was, and although it's located in Switzerland, most of the station is run by Deutsche Bahn (DB, German Railways).  There used to be border control here, but as Germany & Switzerland are both part of the Schengen area, the old customs controls are no longer in use. 

If you're connecting for other destinations in Switzerland, you should use Basel SBB station.  However, feel free to use Basel Bad Bf if you're heading for northern Basel.  Basel Bad Bahnhof has a pleasant bar, a minimarket, ticket office, taxi rank.