Davidoff of Geneva traces to 1911, when Henri Davidoff opened a Geneva tobacco shop later run by his son Zino; the Davidoff cigar brand launched in 1968, created in Cuba under Zino's direction. Oettinger Davidoff Group, based in Basel, has owned the business since taking over the shop in 1970.
Best for Swiss-heritage cigars from the original 1911 Geneva tobacconist
Davidoff of Geneva traces its origin to 1911, when Henri Davidoff, who had recently fled Kiev with his family, opened a tobacco shop on the Boulevard des Philosophes in Geneva. His son, Zino Davidoff — born in 1906 — took over management of the shop in the 1930s and built the personal reputation that would eventually attach to the Davidoff name; as a young man he had traveled through Cuba, Honduras, and Brazil studying tobacco cultivation.
The Davidoff cigar brand itself, distinct from the original tobacco shop, was born later: in 1968, the brand's now-iconic oval white cigar band was introduced on cigars created in Cuba under Zino Davidoff's direction. In 1970, the Oettinger Group acquired Zino Davidoff's Geneva shop, and under Dr. Ernst Schneider the company began building Davidoff into an international retail and cigar brand. The Geneva flagship reopened after renovation in 2015 under a standardized design concept explicitly built around the tagline "Davidoff of Geneva – since 1911."
Today the non-cigarette side of the business operates as the Oettinger Davidoff Group, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, with retail operations including US shops trading as Davidoff of Geneva. Those stores carry cigars across multiple collections, cigarillos, humidors, cutters, lighters, and pipe tobacco — the current range documented on the brand's US retail site does not itself reference leather goods or fragrances.
Since 1904, Läckerli Huus has devoted itself to the Basler Läckerli, the region's spiced honey biscuit. It also produces chocolates and gift assortments.
The world's largest pharmaceutical museum with a fascinating shop. Historic apothecary items, natural remedies, and pharmaceutical curiosities. Switzerland's chemical industry heritage.
Best for Historic apothecary items, natural remedies, and pharmaceutical curiosities
Bergli Books is a Basel-based publisher and bookshop, at Mittlere Strasse 4, specialising in books about Swiss life and culture, from cookbooks to children's titles. Its children's book Swisstory received the International Crystal Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
Confiserie Bachmann is a long-established family confiserie and bakery with several Basel branches. It makes Basler Läckerli, pralines and seasonal specialities, including a Läckerli for football club FCB.
Best for Basler Laeckerli, pralines and Basel bakery specialities
Confiserie Bachmann began in 1942, when Anton and Lydia Bachmann opened a bakery at Drosselstrasse 50 on the Bruderholz in Basel. In 1947 the family added a confiserie with a tea room at Blumenrain 1 by the Schifflände. By 1954 production had moved there entirely. A second shop followed in 1962 with the purchase of the Konditorei Kümmin on Gerbergasse. A third opened at Centralbahnplatz 7 by the main station in 1986. Anton Bachmann created the Schoggiweggli in 1975, a chocolate roll that remains a house staple. In 1984 the confiserie introduced the Schoggi-Läckerli, a chocolate variation on the traditional Basler Läckerli. The sons Gregor and Philipp Bachmann took over the management in 1980. Aurel Bachmann, Gregor's son, has run the business since 2015 as the third generation. All production has been concentrated in the Blumenrain building since 1993. The shop and café there reopened in August 2009 after a rebuild. In 2017 the firm marked its 75th year with 60 staff across its Basel locations. The house makes its products fresh each day by hand, without additives, using regional ingredients where possible. In December 2023 Aurel Bachmann relaunched the Läckerli packaging in pink and black under the Baseldeutsch spelling Baasler Läggerli. The project was carried out with the Basel agency Yellow. He told Prime News that the confiserie calls itself the most Basel of the Basel Läckerli makers, a claim he described as a little provocative.
Trading on Basel's Marktplatz since 1870, Confiserie Schiesser is Switzerland's oldest coffeehouse, known for Basler Läckerli and handmade chocolates with a first-floor tea room; after a 2026 bankruptcy, owner Stephan Schiesser's brother Rudolph bought and reopened it.
Best for Basler Läckerli and handmade chocolates with a first-floor tea room
Confiserie Schiesser has stood on Basel's Marktplatz since 1870, long enough to be described as Switzerland's oldest coffeehouse, and for generations it operated as a family business through five generations of Schiessers. Its Basler Läckerli — the dense, spiced honey-and-almond biscuit that is a defining Basel specialty — along with handmade pralines and chocolate produced in an in-house manufactory, built the shop's reputation, backed by a bakery turning out the cakes sold at the counter.
The business hit a real crisis in 2026: longtime owner Stephan Schiesser died in April, and the confiserie went into bankruptcy that June. It didn't stay closed. Rudolph Schiesser, Stephan's brother and a former hotel director at Basel's Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, bought the business out of bankruptcy, keeping it in family hands and resuming operations under the Schiesser name.
The shop's first-floor tea room, overlooking the Marktplatz, remains the place to experience it as intended: a cup of the house's own hot chocolate, a butter croissant, and a view down onto Basel's central market square, in a room that has watched that square operate for over 150 years. For anyone tracking Basel's historic confiseries, Schiesser's survival through 2026 makes a visit now feel like witnessing a genuine second chapter rather than just an old address.
Johann Wanner's Basel house makes Christmas baubles and ornaments by hand, and its work has dressed trees at the White House, the Vatican and Buckingham Palace. The shop stays open year-round in the old town.
Best for Handmade Christmas ornaments and festive decorations
Basel's largest department store at the heart of the city. Swiss and international brands, extensive food hall with local specialties. The rooftop terrace offers views of the Rhine.
Best for Swiss and international brands, extensive food hall with local specialties
Basel's most charming shopping street in the Old Town. Independent boutiques, artisan workshops, antique shops, and cafés along cobblestone lanes. The Spalentor gate anchors this atmospheric district.
Best for Basel's most charming shopping street in the Old Town
Sutter Begg is a long-standing Basel family bakery and confiserie with branches across the city and region. It bakes bread, pastries and confiserie in the local tradition.
Area names come from each shop’s published address record; ORBIS does not invent neighbourhoods.
ORBIS city intelligence
Choose Basel gifts by their intended use: Läckerli Huus is a place to compare packaged confectionery, while Beschle gives you a reason to consider pastries as well as chocolate. The Pharmacy Museum shop offers a different kind of souvenir, displayed in historic pharmacy furniture. These three stops support a modest shopping visit without turning it into a survey of every department store in the city.
Laeckerli Huus lists its old-town branch at Gerbergasse 57. Its other Basel locations include Greifengasse and the SBB station, so check the address rather than treating the house name as one storefrontS1. The range includes original Basler Läckerli alongside chocolate-covered versions. Cream caramels and gift tins give you other ways to put together a food giftS2.
Confiserie & Chocolatier Beschle traces its family business to 1898. Its range includes the Beschle Ring and Basler Sunnereedli, with a separate chocolate offering under Beschle Chocolatier Suisse. The house lists Schneidergasse 21 and Aeschenvorstadt 56 among its Basel addressesS3.
Pharma Museum Shop Basel occupies the historic fittings of the former Barfüsser pharmacy. The museum describes its own tea blends and herbs among the stock. It also sells apothecary vessels and soaps. Museum publications offer another way to explore the subjectS4.
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗
Visit official site ↗