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Car Hire at Basel SBB Train Station - For the Best of Switzerland

Conveniently located just to the south of the city centre, Basel SBB is the main railway station in Basel and a very busy hub for domestic services all over Switzerland. Catering for more than a thousand daily departures, it is also Europe’s largest border station and one that is aligned with regular rail services to Germany, France, Austria and beyond.

SBB is much more than just a railway facility due to its wide array of on-site facilities contained within its vast premises. Passengers can choose from a good selection of restaurants, takeaway outlets, fast food services and various shops (over fifty in total) selling clothes, souvenirs and electronic items, etc, as well as a modern health centre with a well-stocked chemist.

After Zurich and Geneva, the beautiful city of Basel is the third-largest city in Switzerland and visitors are spoilt for choice when it comes to museums, with over forty on offer all over the city, including the famous Museum of Art (the Kunstmuseum) and the Historical Museum (Historisches Museum) which is housed in a lovely 14th-century church. And animal lovers won't want to miss Basel's excellent Zoologischer Garten (Zoo), one of the most visited tourist attractions in Switzerland.

With a car hire from Basel SBB Train Station you'll have access to some of the most beautiful places in the country, such as the ancient town of Solothurn, one of the oldest Roman settlements north of the Alps. Another excellent day-trip option is the drive to Titlis in the Alps, which at 3,020 metres is one of the highest accessble mountains in central Switzerland.

Auto Europe is the best choice for people visiting the city of Basel and other key destinations in the northern and central parts of the country. With more than 28,000 pick-up and drop-off locations available in over 190 countries, we are one of the world's leading car hire companies, offering the widest possible range of vehicles with the collaboration of the industry's most prestigious suppliers.

You can book a cheap car rental at Basel SBB Train Station online in just a few seconds through Auto Europe's state-of-the-art search engine. Alternatively, why not ask our award-winning rental specialists for assistance and they will be more than happy to find you the best deal. For added peace of mind, take a look at the user ratings and comments posted by previous customers in the city on our Basel car hire reviews.

Station Information

First opened in 1854, Basel SBB Train Station is a very busy through station (not a terminus) housed in a historic building dating back more than a hundred years. The booking hall on the north-east side of the tracks is particularly impressive and the station's large modern footbridge known as the Passerelle stretches right across tracks 4-17 with dozens of retail units catering for passengers' needs. The name SBB simply refers to Swiss Federal Railways and was added to distinguish it from Basel's other mainline station, Basel Bad Bf. Its two large entrances are directly beneath the station's two impressive clock towers.

Where to pick up my car hire at Basel Station

Several global companies offer car hire services in central Basel, while some such as Europcar have their offices in very close proximity to the station entrance. When you arrive to collect your car rental at Basel SBB Train Station, please make sure you have all the necessary documents at the ready, including your passport, driving licence etc. in order to make the pick-up procedure as quick and seamless as possible.

Europcar at Basel SBB Train Station Güterstrasse 115 Basel, Switzerland 4053 +41 61 205 9090

Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 7.30am-midday/1.30-6pm, Sat 8am-midday and Sun 4-6pm

Station facilities

Tavellers who rent a car at Basel SBB Train Station will find everything they need under its roof in an area covering around 16,000 square-metres in total. There are chemists, restaurants, take-aways, service companies and various other outlets catering for all passengers' needs. The station's large on-site shopping centre is open 365 days a year, which means that visitors can do all their shopping on Sundays too. Serving beer, coffee, cocktails and light meals, Lora is one of the most popular cafés inside the station building, but for a proper sit-down meal of classic Swiss food it's best to try the Steinbock restaurant just across the road from the main entrance. There's also a MacDonald's and Burger King close by. For groceries and other foodstuffs, there are a selection of Migros supermarkets of various sizes in different locations around the station, plus a small Co-op Pronto on the footbridge. Drinks of the World also has a shop at Basel SBB, which is one of the best places for a relaxing drink before boarding your train. Furthermore, there are plenty of left-luggage lockers if you need to leave your bags, with the majority located just down the escalators in the centre of the main hall. The modern SBB Travel Centre is on the south-east side of the main hall and offers national and international tickets and reservations, etc. Basel SBB Train Station also has a French Railways (SNCF) ticket machine, which is 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 around the station, including the main hall. The station also has Wi-Fi (select SBB-FREE) with the first 60 minutes neing free of charge, although you can have another free 60 minutes after a two-hour break.

How to get to and from Basel SBB Train Station

It's quick and easy to drop off your car rental at Basel SBB Train Station. When arriving via the A5 motorway, you'll need to pass through the border control near Weil am Rhein just outside Basel and enter the city on the same road (which will then be the A2/3 once you're in Switzerland). Then you'll pass through the north of the city centre which continues on to other Swiss cities such as Zurich, Berne and Lucerne. To get to the station once you're inside the city centre, just look for the Bahnhof SBB signs in Grossbasel, one of the largest districts in Basel's inner city. As you would expect, SBB is very well connected for people arriving from all directions, with trains from France arriving at the French railway station which is right next to SBB. Although there are no direct trains from Basel Airport, passengers arriving at Basel Airport can easily pick up their car hire at Basel SBB Train Station by boarding any of the frequent airport buses which offer a quick 5-minute connection into the French, Swiss and German rail networks for regional and high speed InterCity connections to and from several major European cities. You can also travel by tram from the airport to SBB and the tram stops just outside the terminal building. Almost all trains run from 2 Basel SBB about 1 km south of city centre. Within Switzerland, SBB trains take just under an hour to Zurich and Bern, two per hour; there are good connections across the entire country.Taxis are usually plentiful outside the station, although they are not cheap. Directly outside the station building is the Centralbahnplatz, which is a major hub of the Basel tramway network, and the Basel terminus of a direct bus service to Basel Airport. It's very easy to walk from the station to most locations in the city centre, such as the old marketplace and town hall, which lie about 20 minutes from the station exit.

Parking tips

Basel (like everywhere in Switzerland) is a very well-organised city with an excellent road system supported by good parking options. You can park your low-cost car hire at Basel SBB Train Station at one of the popular P+R (Park + Ride) car parks located in key oarts of the city and connected to Basel's extensive public transport network. Other parking options in the heart of the city centre include Parkhaus Steinen (Steinenschanze 5), Parkhaus Aeschen (Aeschengraben 9), Parkhaus Elisabethen (Steinentorberg 5), Parkhaus Anfos (Henric Petri-Strasse 21), Parkhaus Europe Parking (Hammerstrasse 68), Badischer Bahnhof (Schwarzwaldstrasse 160), Apcoa Parking Switzerland AG (Gartenstrasse 150) and Parking Kunstmuseum (St.Alban-Graben 3a), all of which are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with full security services. In total, some 4,000 spaces are available in and around the city centre, plus paid on-street parking is permitted in certain zones, but you'll need to make sure that you always buy a ticket from the nearby machine and place it on your dashboard. For parking in Basel's blue zone, you will need to buy a parking disc at a post office, set the time of your arrival and place it in the car window, after which you will be able to park for free up to 1.5 hours.

Useful links

Basel Tourist Info