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Where to go in April / Switzerland in April / Basel & northwest Switzerland / April

Switzerland · Countryside

Basel & northwest Switzerland
in April.

Illustration of Mittlere Brücke and Basel Münster from the Kleinbasel Rhine promenade
Basel’s old town across the RhineDestination view, not month-specific.

Is April a good time?

Temperature unit

Mild days.
A steady visitor season.

April averages 62°F afternoons, with about 10 rain days. Later April is typically warmer.

Afternoons
62°F
Rain days
10
Visitor demand
76%of June peak

Historical Nordwestschweiz regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers Basel; conditions vary within the region.

Overall match

5.9/10 · scores & priorities

What matters most?

Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%

#6 of 12 months here · Balanced mix

Weather7.1/10Very good
CrowdsSteady all yearsimilar all year; overnight stays do not measure queuesFor its size, quieter than most of Europe this month
CostExpensivefor Europe; Switzerland-wide price level

Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.

Plan your April

What to expect.

What should I pack?

Afternoons around 62°F (17°C): light layers; nights around 41°F (5°C): a warm coat. Bring rain gear: about 10 days with at least 1 mm of rain. About 14 hours of daylight.

A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights & daylight Show detailsHide details

About 14 hours of daylight.

Sunrise 06:41Sunset 20:1541°F62°F00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00

The sun rises about 06:41 and sets about 20:15 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 41°F (5°C); afternoons reach about 62°F (17°C). Expect rain on about 10 days in a typical April.

Typical afternoon
62°F (17°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Aprils
Night low
41°F (5°C)
average daily minimum
Daylight
13h 34m
on the 15th, computed from latitude

Early, middle or late?

Early or late April?

Late April is typically warmer. The afternoon high averages 59°F on the 1st, versus 64°F on the 30th. Historical wet-day frequency rises from 35% to 51% between those dates.

Early April 1 April

59°F

Typical afternoon high

35% historical wet-day frequency

Mid April 15 April

62°F

Typical afternoon high

32% historical wet-day frequency

Late April 30 April

64°F

Typical afternoon high

51% historical wet-day frequency

Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.

Daily calendar & holiday datesApril 2027 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar

April 2027 calendar

Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2027.

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
159°259°360°460°
561°661°761°861°961°1061°1161°
1262°1362°1462°1562°1663°1763°1863°
1963°2063°2163°2263°2363°2463°2564°
2664°2764°2864°2964°3064°

Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event

Afternoons warm from about 60°F (16°C) in the first week to 64°F (18°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 32–51%. Local schools are out 12–23 April 2027.

Some schools here are off between 1 and 23 April 2027 (spring holidays); the dates differ across the region. Elsewhere in April 2027, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: France 47%, Netherlands 23%, Belgium 29%, Greece 23%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)

Crowds and cost

Visitor season

Will it be busy?

Steady all year. April averages 76% of June's overnight stays per day. Overnight demand varies little across the year.

Overnight stays across Nordwestschweiz do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights. For its size, quieter than most of Europe this month.

Hotel price season

Will it be cheaper?

About usual. Estimated from national hotel prices and local visitor demand; no measured regional room rate is available.

Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.

Switzerland as a whole
Well above EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 171 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.

Year-to-year variation

How much does April vary?

Across the recorded years

In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 58°F (14°C) and 69°F (21°C); in 9 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 62°F (17°C). Rain days ranged from 4 to 18; half the years had 9–13.

Rain days in each April

Historical rain days; exact figures in the table below. 2011: 4 rain days420112012: 17 rain days172013: 12 rain days122014: 10 rain days102015: 9 rain days92016: 18 rain days182017: 11 rain days112018: 8 rain days82019: 10 rain days102020: 4 rain days42021: 9 rain days92022: 11 rain days112023: 16 rain days162024: 13 rain days132025: 10 rain days102025
Rain days
10
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 17 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
6 of 30
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no April in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
17 of 30
rated very good or better
See every recorded AprilHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
Historical monthly averages, not daily extremes.
YearAfternoon highRain days
201167°F4
201259°F17
201360°F12
201464°F10
201562°F9
201660°F18
201759°F11
201869°F8
201961°F10
202068°F4
202158°F9
202260°F11
202358°F16
202462°F13
202564°F10

Checked against 7 local weather stations. How we check

Compare dates

March, April
or May?

Historical regional averages. Overnight demand vs June peak, measured as average stays per day.
Typical conditionsMarAprMay
Afternoons55°F62°F68°F
Rain days111015
Overnight demand69%76%93%

March: Cooler afternoons than April. March guide →

May: Warmer afternoons and more rain days than April. May guide →

Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues.

Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with April Show comparisonHide comparison

Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. April stays as your reference.

Hotel stays vary little through the year. September has a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than April.

Your comparison

April or March?

Overnight stays vary little through the year.

National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest about usual. No measured regional room rate is available.

Read the March guide →
April compared with another month
Typical conditionsAprilMarch
Afternoons62°F55°F
Nights41°F35°F
Rain days1011
Visitor seasonSteady all yearSteady all year
Overall / 105.95.4
Month rank#6#8
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
All 12 months. Scores and ranks follow your priorities. Explore the whole year.
MonthOverallRankHighLowRain daysWeatherVisitor season
January4.3#1243°F30°F154.0Steady all year
February4.9#947°F30°F95.0Steady all year
March5.4#855°F35°F116.1Steady all year
April5.9#662°F41°F107.1Steady all year
May6.0#568°F48°F157.4Steady all year
June6.3#477°F56°F138.0Steady all year
July6.4#279°F58°F138.0Steady all year
August6.4#379°F57°F117.9Steady all year
September6.5#171°F51°F118.4Steady all year
October5.8#762°F44°F117.0Steady all year
November4.8#1051°F36°F125.0Steady all year
December4.4#1145°F32°F164.2Steady all year

Near here

Nearby places in April

Nearby regions, nearest first. Distances are centre to centre, as the crow flies; they are not road distances or journey times.

Elsewhere in Europe

Better April weather than Basel & northwest Switzerland

Basel & northwest Switzerland's weather ranks 87 of 117 countryside regions this month. These countryside regions outside Switzerland have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with Basel & northwest Switzerland.

All of Switzerland in April · Everywhere in April

How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details

Hotel stays are steady all year here: this month is 76% of the busiest and 8% below average. That counts overnight stays, not how busy the sights are. That means about 7,700 overnight visitors on a typical April night across the region, 47% of them from Switzerland itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 840 more: 11 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.

Climate suitability (HCI:Urban, 0–100)70
How our weather was checked7 open weather stations in this region, January and July: afternoon highs typically within 2°F (0.9°C), night lows within 1°F (0.3°C).
Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day6
Busiest month hereJune · 8
Visitors as share of people present0.6%
Rank among Europe's regions this month22nd percentile
Domestic share of nights47%
Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights11
Visitor share if every platform night were extra0.7%
National hotel-price seasonSwitzerland historical 2024–2025 index: About usual (−1% vs its average month). Not a local room quote.
Population used1.2 million
Statistical regionCH03 · Nordwestschweiz

Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national. Full method · this region's data.