The Basel-Mulhouse airport is the only bi-national airport in the world. It is based in France about 4km to the north of the town of Basel, but is connected to the town by a road that is customs-free. It also serves the French town of Mulhouse, as well as the German town of Freiburg. When arriving at the airport you are given the choice of exiting through the Swiss customs channel or the French channel. Be sure to choose the right one!
To travel to Basel from the airport costs around 3.80CHF (Swiss Francs), or its equivalent in Euro. This ticket is valid for the bus (no. 50 to Basel's train station), and again for any onward journey you may make in the city via tram.
The airport is served by several major airlines, including Swiss, Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa, EasyJet have also built up something of a hub here, with flights from Liverpool and London, as well as some of their European destinations. Air Berlin also serve the airport.
Alternatively, Swiss public transport is so reliable that it may be worthwhile looking in to flights to Zurich or Geneva and getting the train across the country. Again, both these airports are served by budget carriers and national airlines alike.
To check out where to fly to from your local airport we'd advise you visit Skyscanner,
By Train
Basel is served by two major train stations - SBB (SudBasel Bahnhof) and BBB (Basel Badischer Bahnhof). The SBB is the most central, with BBB being based in the north of the city.
Trains run to destinations in Switzerland from SBB, as well as internationally to Germany, France, Holland, Italy and Luxembourg, some of which run overnight.
Connections to Geneva can be made in under 3 hours, and trains to Zurich take around an hour. Neither are especially expensive, and even connections to Paris only take around 6 hours.
For full details of train connections to Basel, we recommend having a look at the excellent RailEurope, as well as the wealth of information found on Seat61.com.
