Basel Fasnacht | Children's Fasnacht

The Basel Fasnacht starts on the Monday after Ash Wednesday and lasts three days. Fasnacht 2018 happened during 19th - 21st February and like every year it attracted hundreds of thousands of people from far and near. Lasting three days, the carnival is a wonderful way to experience the local traditions and culture.

Morgenstreich is the official start of the Fasnacht - it begins at 4 am on Monday followed by a big procession called the Cortege during the afternoon. The first day ends with drummers, flutists and 'Gugge' music bands taking to the streets in the evening. After a fabulous Day 1, we were waiting with excitement for Day 2 and we were not disappointed. Although Day 2 (The Tuesday) does not have any official parades, it was still a lot of fun especially in the afternoon when the children take over the carnival.

Families with children wearing beautiful home-made costumes and masks take to the streets. There are no official procession routes and as such you will find families wandering all the main streets showing off their children's costumes, throwing confetti and distributing candies and other sweet treats. Like the Cortege on Monday, this was also a lot of fun. We watched the procession waiting near the Middle Bridge (Mittlere Brücke) and then wandered around the city streets enjoying the drums and piccolo music that was playing on most streets.

Tuesday night sees the Gugge music bands performing on stages near Marktplatz, Barfüsserplatz and Claraplatz with hundreds of spectators enjoying the catchy music.