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

Switzerland · Countryside

Basel & northwest Switzerland
in August.

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

Is August a good time?

Temperature unit

Warm days.
A steady visitor season.

August averages 79°F afternoons, with about 11 rain days. Later August is typically cooler.

Afternoons
79°F
Rain days
11
Visitor demand
97%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

6.4/10 · scores & priorities

What matters most?

Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%

#3 of 12 months here · Balanced mix

Weather7.9/10Very 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 August

What to expect.

What should I pack?

Afternoons around 79°F (26°C): T-shirt weather; nights around 57°F (14°C): a sweater and a light jacket. Bring rain gear: about 11 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 06:23Sunset 20:4257°F79°F00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00

The sun rises about 06:23 and sets about 20:42 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 57°F (14°C); afternoons reach about 79°F (26°C). Expect rain on about 11 days in a typical August.

Typical afternoon
79°F (26°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Augusts
Night low
57°F (14°C)
average daily minimum
Daylight
14h 19m
on the 15th, computed from latitude

Early, middle or late?

Early or late August?

Early August is typically warmer. The afternoon high averages 80°F on the 1st, versus 76°F on the 31st. Historical wet-day frequency falls from 46% to 37% between those dates.

Early August 1 August

80°F

Typical afternoon high

46% historical wet-day frequency

Mid August 15 August

80°F

Typical afternoon high

34% historical wet-day frequency

Late August 31 August

76°F

Typical afternoon high

37% 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.

Public holidays · 2027: 1 Aug Independence Day.

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

August 2027 calendar

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

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
180°
280°380°480°580°680°780°880°
980°1080°1180°1280°1380°1480°1580°
1680°1780°1880°1980°2079°2179°2279°
2378°2478°2578°2677°2777°2877°2976°
3076°3176°

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

Afternoons cool from about 80°F (27°C) in the first week to 77°F (25°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 34–46%. Local schools are out 1–6 August 2027.

Some schools here are off between 1 and 15 August 2027 (summer holidays); the dates differ across the region. Public holidays: 1 Aug Independence Day. Elsewhere in August 2027, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: Germany 73%, Italy 100%, Spain 100%, Netherlands 90%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)

Crowds and cost

Visitor season

Will it be busy?

Steady all year. August averages 97% 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 August vary?

Across the recorded years

In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 72°F (22°C) and 83°F (28°C); in 10 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 79°F (26°C). Rain days ranged from 9 to 18; half the years had 11–13.

Rain days in each August

Historical rain days; exact figures in the table below. 2011: 13 rain days1320112012: 13 rain days132013: 11 rain days112014: 18 rain days182015: 11 rain days112016: 11 rain days112017: 15 rain days152018: 11 rain days112019: 11 rain days112020: 13 rain days132021: 13 rain days132022: 10 rain days102023: 13 rain days132024: 9 rain days92025: 11 rain days112025
Rain days
11
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 14 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
6 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
1 of 15
of the last 15 Augusts had at least one day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
21 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded AugustHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
Historical monthly averages, not daily extremes.
YearAfternoon highRain days
201179°F13
201279°F13
201377°F11
201472°F18
201581°F11
201679°F11
201780°F15
201883°F11
201980°F11
202080°F13
202173°F13
202282°F10
202380°F13
202482°F9
202580°F11

Checked against 7 local weather stations. How we check

Compare dates

July, August
or September?

Historical regional averages. Overnight demand vs June peak, measured as average stays per day.
Typical conditionsJulAugSep
Afternoons79°F79°F71°F
Rain days131111
Overnight demand98%97%93%

July: More rain days than August. July guide →

September: Cooler afternoons than August. September guide →

Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues.

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

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

Hotel stays vary little through the year. No other scored month has a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than August.

Your comparison

August or July?

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 July guide →
August compared with another month
Typical conditionsAugustJuly
Afternoons79°F79°F
Nights57°F58°F
Rain days1113
Visitor seasonSteady all yearSteady all year
Overall / 106.46.4
Month rank#3#2
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 August

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 August weather than Basel & northwest Switzerland

Basel & northwest Switzerland's weather ranks 104 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 August · Everywhere in August

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

Hotel stays are steady all year here: this month is 97% of the busiest and 17% above average. That counts overnight stays, not how busy the sights are. That means about 9,800 overnight visitors on a typical August night across the region, 43% of them from Switzerland itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 1,300 more: 13 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.

Climate suitability (HCI:Urban, 0–100)75
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 day8
Busiest month hereJune · 8
Visitors as share of people present0.8%
Rank among Europe's regions this month12th percentile
Domestic share of nights43%
Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights13
Visitor share if every platform night were extra0.9%
National hotel-price seasonSwitzerland historical 2024–2025 index: About usual (+3% 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.