Cargo Bar
St. johanns-rheinweg 46, underneath johanniter bridge and restaurant chez donati see eat, +41 61 321 00 72. cool/artsy bar on the board of the rhine . art events, movie nights, book readings, and lots of drinks into the wee hours. (http://www.cargobar.ch).
Rio Bar
Barfã¼sserplatz 12, +41 61 261 34 72. starting point for many a late night and inevitable station in the upringing of every self-respecting local 'bohemien', real or imagined. have a seat in a booth for four to six if you have or like company, or at the bar. serves only bar fare - to lay a foundation for your drinks: the main pursuit in this basel classic.
Fassbar
See under eat mid-range.
Brauner Mutz
A classic beer hall situated at barfã¼sserplatz. a good place to get in contact with locals and have a beer or two. never mind sitting at a table that still has a stool that's not taken.
Campari Bar
Adjacent to kunsthalle.
Unternehmen Mitte
(http://www.mitte.ch), gerbergasse, between marktplatz and barfã¼sserplatz) cafes for smokers and non-smokers at unternehmen mitte. interesting hangout and modern-style bar with lots of seating indoors and outdoors. on some evenings, it becomes a venue where you can enjoy classical musicians wed evenings and watch tango dancing thu. see also cafes.
Pickwicks
Steinenvorstadt. brit/irish pub. friendly atmosphere spills out onto the pavement.
Restaurant Kunsthalle
Strictly the brown schluuch section. see under eat splurge.
Basel PubCrawl
(http://pubcrawl-basel.ch), every monday night the basel pub crawl winds its way to the bset bars and clubs in basel. led by multi-lingual guides, tourists, locals and everyone in between combine to have a good time.
Fischerstube
Rheingasse 45. +41 61 692 66 35. the oldest brewpub in switzerland, with ueli bier (http://www.ueli-bier.ch) micro-brewery on plain view in the back of the restaurant. the nice selection includes a particularly excellent wheat beer. also good fish cuisine. right next door, at rheingasse 41, is restaurant linde, +41 61 683 34 00, where you can help yourself to a pint of ueli at a "self-service" beer table. these are good hangouts during fasnacht - if you can get in!
BarRouge
(http://www.barrouge.ch/), messeplatz, in the messeturm, basel's tallest building, take the express elevator to top 31st floor: a a cool modern-style bar with panoramic views of the city - even from the stalls in the bathroom! +25 years club
Klingenthal
Brandgasse in the heart of the small red light district. one of the rare places that do warm plates after midnight and therefore a place for professional ladies to have their break. they are having a break, so don't intend to do business with them in there. quite a rough atmosphere sometimes but definitely not a dangerous place to go.
Roter Kater
also in the red light district. small bar with a hotel that rents rooms on a "short timeline basis". although definitely used as a "contact room", still a nice little dodgy bar with still affordable prices after midnight. best of all: you don't get chatted up.
Fasnacht - "Cliquekeller"
During fasnacht many of the cliques open up their practice/social rooms to the general public, to enjoy less expensive drinks and food than in most restaurants and bars. these places are often in cellars hence the name, many in the alleys on the hill between the university and marktplatz. check for colorful fasnacht lanterns above the doors. worthwhile, as they sometimes easier to get into during fasnacht than the standard bars - and more fun: decorated in fasnacht regalia of past years, they are run by cheerful volunteers and homebase to the cliquen, who come to relax after some hours of roaming the streets. the tone tends to be bit rough, but don't let that scare you, it's not personal. be courageous and try out your baseldytsch and see a bit of basel normally closed to tourists. you also get to see a few of switzerland's ubiquitous nuclear shelters, as some of the cliquekellers double up as bunkers.