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BACKGROUND: Art Basel (June 4-8) is the world’s preeminent art fair. For one thing, it’s truly international in terms of the works and the dealers represented, not to mention the 50,000 plus visitors who make the pilgrimage to the charming city on the Rhine every year. It’s also widely acknowledged to attract the best art, and competition among dealers to be among the 300 exhibitors is fierce. Says Tony Meier, of Anthony Meier Fine Arts, in San Francisco: “It’s an unparalleled opportunity to view and learn what’s on the contemporary-art market and what prices are. Nothing touches it.”

THE BUZZ: This year’s Art Basel coincides with the opening match of the Euro Cup, the large-scale soccer event hosted by Switzerland and Austria this year. The opening match (Switzerland versus the Czech Republic) is scheduled for Saturday, June 7, the day before Art Basel closes, so expect crowds of noisy soccer fans flooding the city. At the fair itself, the big news is Thomas Hirschhorn’s massive new sculpture called Hotel Democracy (it’s being sold through London’s Stephen Friedman Gallery). The Swiss artist has not shown any works in his home country due to “political reasons” in five years. Ellsworth Kelly and Takashi Murakami are also making the trip to Basel this year as well (Kelly’s drawings will be on sale at New York’s Matthew Marks).

LAY OF THE LAND: The top dealers get front-row stands near the ground-floor entrance. New art by younger artists is upstairs. Works priced under €5,000 (about $7,770) are marked with a yellow dot. Negotiating is hit or miss, but ask for 10 percent off and no one will be insulted.

WHAT TO EXPECT: Art Basel is a commercial venture above all. For evidence, just watch the crowd sprint through the door at 11 A.M. on opening day to scoop up prizes, many of which sell during the first forty-eight hours. Prices range from $100, for a print, to several million dollars, for a new work by a coveted artist like Jeff Koons.

INSIDER TIPS: Wear comfortable shoes and pack Band-Aids (in case of blisters) and a lightweight scarf, since it gets cold in the exhibition hall. Bring a notebook to jot down items you like and the phone numbers of the booths showing them. Check off what you’ve seen on the map provided to avoid confusion. Also, don’t visit with a big group, as individual tastes and paces vary.

PERFECT TIMING: If you prefer to just look and learn, come later in the week—but before the crowds arrive, on the weekend—when the dealers have more time to chat.

QUICK BREAK: For lunch, most people grab a quick bratwurst in the fair’s central outside courtyard. Tables and chairs are at a premium, so get a friend to stalk available seating while you wait in line for the food.

SEE: Andrew Fabricant, of the Richard Gray Gallery, recommends a visit to Basel’s Art Unlimited, a show of sixty large-scale installations by mostly younger artists in a hall next door to the main fair.

LISTEN: Even if you’re not in the market for a new acquisition it’s worth the trip to hear the luminaries speaking at Art Basel Conversations. On June 4, for instance, Cuban-American artist Jorge Prado will converse with conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner. On Thursday, June 5, a panel of experts will discuss “Forming Cultural Institutions in Eastern Europe,” a hot topic at the moment (Zaha Hadid, for instance, is designing the planned Guggenheim Hermitage Museum in Vilnius, Lithuania).

SOUND ADVICE: The important thing is not to make this a cultural marathon, trying to view all 2,000 works housed in the one building in a single day. “It’s so visually stimulating that your brain gets fried quickly,” says London-based art collector Jolana Vainio. Take some time out to visit the excellent exhibits, timed to coincide with the fair, at Basel’s main museums: Fernand Léger at the Fondation Beyeler (www.beyeler.com), Robert Therrien at the Kunstmuseum Basel (www.kunstmuseumbasel.ch) and Andrea Zittel and Monika Sosnowska at the Schaulager (www.schaulager.org). Show your Art Basel day pass at any art museum in the city during the run of the fair to get one reduced ticket price.

BASICS: The fair opens to the public on June 4 and runs through June 8 (hours are from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.). You need a VIP pass for the June 3 vernissage (11 a.m. to 9 p.m.); if you know a participating gallery, ask the staff to secure you one.