Shops and Services
Opening hours in Basel
Opening hours for grocery stores and supermarkets are Monday to Friday from 8.00 a.m. - 6.30 p.m., and from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. on Saturday. Several grocery stores are open until 10.00 p.m. In the city centre, some shops remain open after 18.30 every day. The major shopping centres on the edge of the city (M-Parc, St. Jakob-Park, Stücki) also remain open until 8.00 p.m. during the week. Many petrol stations run a convenience store, and some of these stay open until midnight. Only very few stores open on Sundays (at the railway stations for example). There are no 24-hour stores in Basel.
Grocery shopping
Most of the needs of daily life are covered by the two major retailers: Migros and Coop. These two chains also run large department stores and DYI-stores. Many small retailers and specialty shops in the neighbourhoods complement the choice of shops.
In some areas of the city, the milkman and local farmers will bring local produce directly to your door. Apart from that, there are the usual pizza and Asian deliveries and online supermarkets, delivering your shopping home. You can buy fresh regional produce every day on the Marktplatz, and there is a vegetable market on Saturdays on the Matthäusplatz in Kleinbasel, as well as on the Vogesenplatz (St. Johann) and on the Tellplatz (Gundeli) im Grossbasel.
Post office services
There are branches of the Post in all city districts. Opening hours are usually from 7.30 a.m. to noon, and from 2.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. on weekdays, and on Saturday morning. In some smaller post offices, opening hours are shorter, and some services are not offered. The Main Post Office near Marktplatz is open from 7.00 through to 18.00, the Post Office at the Train Station is open late and on weekends. Stamped letters can be placed in one of the yellow letterboxes. "A-Post" (first class) letters arrive the next day, "B-Post" (second class) letters arrive within two to three days.
Banks
Several Swiss banks have branches throughout the city, in which all transactions are possible. The opening hours are normally 8.30a.m. to noon and 1.30 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Identification papers will normally have to be produced when opening an account.