  We present UBVRI photometry for the old open cluster NGC 6253. From
comparison of the observed colour-magnitude diagrams with simulations based on
stellar evolutionary models we derive in a self consistent way reddening,
distance, and age of the cluster: E(B-V) = 0.23-0.32, (m-M)$_0$ = 10.9$\pm$0.1,
metallicity roughly double than solar, and age $\simeq$ 3 Gyr. The cluster has
a binary sequence, discernible even through the field contamination, suggesting
that about 1/3 of the cluster members belong to binary, or multiple, systems.
