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Basel · Switzerland

Car hire and driving in Basel

Driving distances to the cities around, the rules that change at the border, and where to compare rental prices.

OverviewFlightsHotelsTrainsBusesCar rentalTours

In Switzerland traffic drives on the right. Picking up at BSL means 6 km (4 mi) into the centre before the trip starts. The emergency number is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1061257 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q11185210 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648814.

Drives from Basel

Car rental from Basel: distances and estimated journey times
RouteCountryDistanceEstimated time
Basel to MulhouseFrance28 km (18 mi)about 26 min
Basel to FreiburgGermany53 km (33 mi)about 48 min
Basel to BernSwitzerland69 km (43 mi)about 1 h 3 min
Basel to ZürichSwitzerland76 km (48 mi)about 1 h 10 min
Basel to WinterthurSwitzerland87 km (54 mi)about 1 h 19 min
Basel to StrasbourgFrance115 km (71 mi)about 1 h 45 min
Basel to BesançonFrance122 km (76 mi)about 1 h 52 min
Basel to LausanneSwitzerland136 km (85 mi)about 2 h 4 min
Basel to VaduzLiechtenstein154 km (96 mi)about 2 h 21 min
Basel to ReutlingenGermany160 km (99 mi)about 2 h 26 min
Basel to NancyFrance162 km (101 mi)about 2 h 28 min
Basel to PforzheimGermany169 km (105 mi)about 2 h 35 min
Basel to LondonUnited Kingdom708 km (440 mi)about 10 h 47 min
Basel to BerlinGermany691 km (430 mi)about 10 h 33 min
Basel to MadridSpain1,200 km (745 mi)about 18 h 18 min
Basel to KyivUkraine1,698 km (1,055 mi)about 25 h 53 min
Basel to RomeItaly741 km (460 mi)about 11 h 18 min
Basel to ParisFrance413 km (257 mi)about 6 h 18 min
Basel to HamburgGermany688 km (427 mi)about 10 h 29 min
Basel to BucharestRomania1,469 km (913 mi)about 22 h 24 min

Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.

Where to compare car hire

ExpediaCar hire from the major suppliers, and the one to look at if the flight or hotel is already booked there. Part of Expedia Group.Check car hire on Expedia (opens www.expedia.com in a new tab)
DiscoverCarsCompares local and international suppliers. Read the counter reviews before you pick.Check rental cars on DiscoverCars (opens www.discovercars.com in a new tab)
Auto EuropeA broker specialising in Europe, often with clearer all-in pricing for US renters.Get European rates on Auto Europe (opens www.autoeurope.com in a new tab)
Rentalcars.comBooking.com's car arm, with wide airport coverage worldwide.Compare suppliers on Rentalcars.com (opens www.rentalcars.com in a new tab)
Every link above leaves this site.

We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.

Common questions

Which side of the road do they drive on in Basel?

The right, as everywhere in Switzerland.

How are the journey times on this page worked out?

From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.