Luggage storage, toilets and drinking water in Basel: what exists and what it costs

Your last day in Basel often starts with one suitcase too many: the room is cleared and the train does not leave until the evening. This page tells you where to leave luggage and what it costs, locker by locker and with the year.

On top of that come public toilets, drinking water and a few services travellers ask about. For those the data is thinner, and we say what is confirmed and what is not.

Where can you store luggage in Basel?

The simplest option is the lockers at SBB station, on the first basement level. According to Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) they are accessible every day around the clock; the basic rental covers six hours and the maximum is 96 hours.

After six hours a surcharge is due, and the locker stays shut until you pay on collection. Prices distinguish between low and high season, and SBB points out that they may rise during regional events and holidays.

Lockers at SBB station

A worked example shows why the daily price is misleading: an S locker for 24 hours in low season costs 5 francs plus three times 2 francs, so 11 francs, and 15 francs in high season. According to an earlier SBB figure there are 74 S lockers, 90 M and 37 L.

On payment methods, SBB's pages contradict each other: one lists Swiss franc coins, common debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and TWINT, while the other leaves the question open. Bring franc coins and a card, and you are covered either way.

What about Badischer Bahnhof?

Badischer Bahnhof has two groups of lockers: one on the German side before the customs container, behind the men's toilets, and one on the Swiss side after customs, between the Travelex exchange office and the entrance hall. On both sides you pay with coins only.

The small lockers measure 24 × 42 × 76 centimetres, the large ones 44 × 61 × 93. On the German side there are 48 small and 18 large lockers, and you extend by paying another daily rate for each 24 hours.

The trap is the currency: travellers arriving from Switzerland rarely carry euro coins, and those coming from Germany have no francs. No exchange option right next to the lockers is confirmed.

Is there staffed left-luggage?

We could not confirm in our sources a staffed left-luggage office at SBB station with opening hours and a price per item. Private platforms advertise drop-off points near the station from 1.95 CHF a day, depending on the partner shop.

Before booking, compare how many bags are included, how long the shop is open, what insurance applies and whether late collection costs extra. A teaser price is not an official rate.

Where can you find public toilets in Basel?

Basel Tourism keeps a map of the public toilets and of the "Nette Toilette" network. The idea is that participating restaurants and shops let non-customers use their toilets for free, with a sticker on the door to show it.

The local directory danbasel.ch lists the self-cleaning toilets at Badischer Bahnhof as free. The sources give no single price for all public toilets in the centre.

What the map does not guarantee: that every toilet is open at all hours, whether you need a code, whether there is a baby-changing table and whether it is wheelchair accessible. The map is a pointer, not a promise.

Can you drink tap water in Basel?

Yes. Basel drinks Rhine water that the IWB utility lets seep through the forest soil of the Langen Erlen and then pumps back up as groundwater, as the canton describes it. The cantonal laboratory tests it regularly: in February 2024, all 60 samples taken from fountains in Basel and Riehen were microbiologically flawless.

Most of the city's public fountains are on the same network as the taps, but we found no official list with locations and seasons. The canton points out that open spouts attract birds and dogs, which is why one fountain sample out of 48 failed in 2022.

So drink straight from the spout, never from the basin, and skip any fountain marked "Kein Trinkwasser" (not drinking water). With a refillable bottle you will not need to buy a single bottle of water in Basel.

What is known about wifi, charging points and pharmacies?

On these three questions the information is thin. Neither a current list of free wifi networks, nor the rates at electric-car charging points, nor the duty pharmacy of the week can be given reliably from our sources.

• Wifi: network names, session length, sign-up with a Swiss number and coverage in basements are unclear. Do not count on a continuous free network; a roaming package is the safe choice.
• Charging points: payment by app or card, roaming, plug type, parking fees on top of the charge and fees after charging ends should be checked in the provider's app before you travel.
• Pharmacies: "open" does not mean "on duty". At night and on public holidays, the duty pharmacy of the day applies, which you need to check on the day.
• Lost property: the station, trams, museums and the Messe each have their own lost-property office. Note the place, time, a description and, for a phone, the IMEI number.

How accessible are the lockers and toilets?

The lockers at SBB station are on the first basement level. Door widths, the height of the controls and the space in front of the lockers are not published, and a broken lift can make the route longer.

Wheelchair users should check step-free access, lift size and the space in front of the locker on site. For the "Nette Toilette" toilets, the map confirms the principle, not the accessibility of each venue.

What applies on fair days and during Fasnacht?

During Art Basel, the large lockers at SBB station, of which there are fewer, go first, although no occupancy figures are published. If you are arriving with big luggage, plan to leave it at the hotel.

During the Christmas market and Fasnacht, toilets in the Old Town are in high demand. The "Nette Toilette" venues are full then, and a break in a museum or at the station is often the better solution.

Photo: 80686, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Which pages help with planning?

Which trains stop at which Basel station and how to change between them is explained in Basel's stations. The way in from the airport is described in EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, and trams and fares in getting around Basel.

If you come by car, free spaces are shown on Basel parking live and the rates in parking in Basel. The map of Basel shows where the stations and districts are.

You will find the right district in where to stay in Basel.

Sources: SBB (lockers, dimensions and rates 2026), bahnhofbasel.de and bahnhof.de (lockers at Basel Bad Bf, 2026), de.bounce.com (private luggage storage, 2026), Basel Tourism (map of public toilets and "Nette Toilette"), danbasel.ch (directory, 2026), Canton of Basel-Stadt (drinking water and fountains, May 2024). No reliable information was available on wifi, charging points, pharmacies or lost property.