Pick up a Mobility Ticket at your hotel for free use of public transport and head to the nearest Basel Tourismus office (Stadt-Casino, at Barfüsserplatz or SBB train station) to buy a 24-hour Basel Card (www.basel.com/en/baselcard, $27).  This gives you freebies such as entry to Basel Zoo and reduced entry fees to Basel's 40-odd museums. For the cheapest breakfast in town grab a coffee and croissant at Ristorante Spiga (www.spiga-ristorante.ch, $5.25).  In summer, swimming in the Rhine is a popular (free) activity. For lunch, pick up a freshly cooked Swiss sausage, served with bread and mustard, at one of the Marktplatz stalls for about $8.  Use your Baselcard to take a free two-hour city tour (departing from Tinguely Fountains at 2.30pm six days a week). Retire to the stylish Basel Youth Hostel (www.ymcahostelbasel.ch , $57.60  for a shared room) after a pizza at Piadina-Bar Margherita (Steinenvorstadt 60, from $13.50).

TOTAL: $111.35

EASY DOES IT

Start with a hearty brunch at Les Garecons (www.lesgarecons.ch/en, from $10.75),  then set off to explore Basel on foot. Follow the signs for five walks across the Old Town (www.basel.com/en/basel-foot ) and take a ferry across cross the river  for just $2.15. While away a couple of hours at the fascinating Basel Paper Mill museum (papiermuseum.ch/en/the-museum, $20 or $10 with the Baselcard discount). Enjoy lunch at super-cool Acqua (www.basel.com/en/gastronomy/acqua, from $27)  then head off for a spot of pampering at the Dampfbad spa at St Johann (www.dampfbadbasel.ch, entry $43). Enjoy a pre-dinner drink at Consum, a popular wine bar in Kleinbasel (www.consumbasel.ch, from $9.15  for a glass of wine). Traditional Swiss dishes are on the menu at the charming Gifthuettli restaurant (gifthuettli.ch/en, mains from $34). A night at Hotel Rochat, close to the city centre, starts from $160  for a double room (www.hotelrochat.ch).

TOTAL: $306.05

SPLASH OUT

Indulge in a lavish breakfast at the renowned patisserie-café, Confiserie Schiesser in Markplatz (www.confiserie-schiesser.ch, from $40)   and while you're there, buy a box of handmade chocolates for a friend (or you). Fondation Beyeler is a must-do for lovers of art and architecture; the Renzo Piano-designed museum, about 25 minutes by tram from the city centre, houses an impressive collection of modern art (www.fondationbeyeler.ch, $38). Lunch at the 15th-century guildhouse Schlüsselzunft is supremely civilised (schluesselzunft.ch, $60  for two courses). After browsing the shops in Freie Strasse (off Markplatz) pop into the lavish Hotel Les Trois Rois for a reviving glass of Champagne (www.lestroisrois.com, $25.50).  While dining at Restaurant Atelier in the art hotel Teufelhof, visit the basement to see the 10th-century city walls (www.teufelhof.com, $80  for two courses). Swissôtel Le Plaza offers Swiss style and service (www.swissotel.com  , from $250).

TOTAL: $493.50

The writer was a guest of Basel Tourismus