Strasbourg – What to See and Do

Strasbourg - What to See and Do

Today on the blog we have something different for you - a short travel reflection on the romantic town of Strasbourg from one of our inner-circle of followers and readers, Linda. Read what to see and do in Strasbourg benefiting from Linda's recent travel experience of visiting this fairytale town in northeastern France.

I love it when I receive emails from readers excitedly sharing their upcoming travel plans or, after they've returned home, sending me photos and short writings about their time exploring la belle France.

Learning from the experience of other travellers can be very helpful with their honest reviews of places, comments on what they didn't like and even just finding out what their itinerary looked like.

Here's Linda's travel writings on Strasbourg, which I thought you might particularly like to read now (after all your comments, likes and shares) after we recently shared our gorgeous photos of Strasbourg at Christmas time in our Advent Calendar on Facebook and Instagram.

Linda's travel reflections on Strasbourg

Travelling from Australia, we always try to make the most of that long flight, so following a tour in Germany, we caught a train to Strasbourg, then hired a car to drive to Colmar and around the wine route.

We were surprised at how many different aspects there were to Strasbourg, embracing both the old and the new, with different quarters of the city.

European Parliament's Headquarters

The city of Strasbourg is the official site of the European Parliament, meeting in the modern Louise Weiss building since 1999 in the European Quarter. This institution is legally bound to meet here for 12 sessions a year, lasting about four days each. Whilst other work takes place in Brussels and Luxembourg City, all votes must take place in Strasbourg.

The European Court of Human Rights is an international court set up in 1957; delivering more than 10,000 judgements leading governments to alter their legislation and practice in a wide range of areas to do with civil and political rights. The building was designed in 1994 by a British architect.

Petite France, Strasbourg

‘Petite France’ is a historic quarter of the city where the River Ill splits up into a number of channels that cascade into an area that was, in the Middle Ages, home to the city’s tanners, millers and fishermen. 

The sloping roofs of many of the buildings include open lofts where the hides were once dried. Part of the 14th century ramparts that surround old Strasbourg, three bridges (Ponts Couverts) span the river, distinguished by their four stone towers.  As we cruised along the river through locks and under bridges, we had a good view of the medieval architecture in this quarter.

Find out more about Petite France from the official Tourism Bureau of Strasbourg. 

Cathedral Notre-Dame

The Gothic cathedral, Notre-Dame, was begun in 1176 and is constructed of ornately carved pink sandstone from the Vosges Mountains. There are many sculptured figures adorning the outside walls.

Cathedral Notre-Dame - Astrological clock

A “Pieta”, an intricate, carved “Angels Column” (13th century), an Astrological Clock (16^th century) with carved figures that enact Christ’s Passion and some beautiful stained glass windows made this an interesting place to visit.

Place Kleber, Strasbourg

Situated in the main commercial centre, Place Kleber is the central square of Strasbourg. 

Pride of place is given to the statue of Jean- Baptiste Kleber, a general in the French Revolution.

On the edge of this Place stands one of Strasbourg’s most famous buildings, Kammerzell House, one of the most ornate and well preserved medieval civil housing buildings in late Gothic architecture.

Following the French defeat in 1870, Germany planned to make Strasbourg the capital of the Reichsland of Alsace Lorraine, so there are many buildings in the German Quarter that reflect this influence .

We came across a touching war memorial, dating from 1936, in Place de la Republique. It features a woman with her two sons, one who died for France and the other for Germany. This was a sad reality for the people of Alsace during the two World Wars.

Apart from absorbing all this history, we enjoyed relaxing in the Parc de L’Orangerie with its beautiful plantings and lake. 

As far as eating in Strasbourg, we could not resist the array of sweet temptations, the cheese tastings, or the superb array of tempting menus at the many restaurants. 

What can I say, we loved Strasbourg and all this romantic town had to offer. 

Thanks to Linda for sharing what to see and do in Strasbourg. Find more ideas of what to see and do in Dinan, Pontrieux, Beaune, Lyon or Honfleur.

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