You wouldn’t really come to Basel for the nightlife, and even the locals tend quite often to prefer skipping across the border to nearby towns in Germany or France to let their hair down. Even the presence of university students doesn’t lighten the tone tremendously, and it’s a common moan of students stuck in Basel for the duration that there’s not much to do. Get full information on gigs and dance-nights from Downtown, a free leaflet put out monthly by the Basler Kantonalbank, available from the tourist office and at www.bkb.ch online.

As far as more refined entertainments go, the Basel Symphony and Basel Chamber orchestras both perform at the central Stadtcasino (061/272 66 57), along with a host of guest performers. The city’s Musik-Akademie (Leonhardsgraben 4) has a rock-solid reputation, and also often presents concerts and recitals from students and visiting soloists. Basel’s main draw is its burgeoning theatre scene (universally in German), with the Stadttheater (Theaterstrasse 7) and the Komödie (Steinenvorstadt 63) leading the field; book for both on 061/295 11 33. Of the dozens of smaller theatres, Theater Fauteuil (Spalenberg 12; 061/261 26 10) stands out for the quality of its productions, while the Baseldytschi Bihni (Im Lohnhof; 061/261 33 12) offers a truly incomprehensible evening of drama in the local Baseldytsch dialect. Steinenvorstadt is lined with first-run cinemas.

Clubs and live music

Atlantis, Klosterberg 13 (www.atlan-tis.ch). Universally known as “Tis”, and the most popular venue in Basel, hosting live bands and dance nights, generally with a Fr.15 entrance.

Babalabar, Gerbergasse 4. City-centre club, with plenty of variation in dance styles (nightly), and famed all-nighters (Sat). Fr.10–15.

Bird’s Eye, Kohlenberg 20 (www.jsb.ch). Live jazz every weekend (Thurs–Sun), jazz DJ-ing the rest of the week – very popular, very lively. Around Fr.15.

Hirscheneck, Lindenberg 23. Grungy hardcore, metal and ska acts in this café-bar venue, generally on weekends.

Kaserne,Klybeckstrasse 1b. Focus of Kleinbasel nightlife, a café-bar with adjacent venue for live bands, DJs, readings and happenings. Fr.10–15.

Parterre,Klybeckstrasse 1b (www.eye.ch/schlappe). Folky, jazz-trio music nights, often midweek.