Strasbourg, France Hotels and City Guide

Strasbourg - Attractions

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Strasbourg is historic, prominent and prosperous, and the combination of these qualities in a relatively small city is one element of its appeal. Its fine cuisine, outlined elsewhere in this guide, is rich enough to energize a visitor's wanderings. An historic center, now designated a World Heritage Site by Unesco, has a superior cathedral and intriguing streets, all built around the Ill river. This river's close connection to the nearby Rhine was what first made the city a convenient meeting place for some of the traders, politicians and soldiers of Europe. Boat rides around the center's waterways are recommended by many knowledgeable guides. Three quarters of an hour's walk takes the wanderer from the old centre to the neighbourhood where some of the most modern of the city's buildings house European governmental and judicial institutions.

Strasbourg Attractions

Strasbourg Cathedral (Cathédrale de Nôtre Dame)
Place de la Cathédrale, Strasbourg
Nôtre Dame towers over the old town of Strasbourg. Built between 1120 and 1439 on the site of a Roman temple, the cathedral was the highest building in medieval Europe, and one of the finest. Stendhal and Victor Hugo admired it; Goethe wrote that "its loftiness is linked to its beauty".

Palais Rohan
Place du Château, Strasbourg
An eighteenth-century building, once home of the powerful Rohan family that gave Stasbourg several bishops, is now home to three museums: the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Musée des Beaux-Arts and Musée Archéologique, of which the Decorative arts museum is the best known.

Musée Alsacien
23 quai St-Nicholas, Strasbourg
Shows a collection of the region's painted furniture and other artifacts, in a house built in a local vernacular style.

Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame
Place de Chateau, Strasbourg
Shows damaged sculptures and other treasures from the cathedral.

Musée Historique
3 place de la Grande Boucherie, Place du Marché-aux-Cochons-de-Lait, Strasbourg
Shows material connected to the history of the city

Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain
1, Place Hans Jean Arp, Strasbourg
A striking modern building which holds an interesting survey of modern European art featuring the work of many lesser known artists.

Petite France
Strasbourg
A district made up largely of old buildings, some now housing well-reputed restaurants and chic shops, near the cathedral.

Quartier Allemand (German Quarter)
Strasbourg
Late nineteenth century classicism is the keynote style of this district, built in the period after 1871 when Alsace was part of the German empire: now its central square is named for the French state as the Place de la République

Orangerie, Quartier des XV
Strasbourg
Formerly a residential neighborhood of the grande bourgeoisie, and still a site of a famous park, L'Orangerie is best known for being the home of three pan-European institutions. Nearby lies Strasbourg's busy convention center.

European Parliament Complex
Strasbourg
The European Parliament complex in Strasbourg is made up of three buildings: the Louise Weiss Building, the Winston Churchill Building, the Salvador De Madariaga Building.

The Council of Europe
Strasbourg
Also situated in this complex of European institution buildings.

European Court of Human Rights
Strasbourg
A futuristic building, designed by Richard Rog

Strasbourg Shopping

Gourmets will find shopping a pleasure in Strasbourg, a city with a tradition of making foods that are both refined and hearty and which is the centre of a region, Alsace, that makes many fine wines. The city's Christmas market, which runs through December, is a well known draw.

Strasbourg Shopping Neighbourhoods

In the centre of old Strasbourg, near the cathedral, is an old fashioned shopping street, the Grandes Arcades. Place Kleber hosts an open air market twice a week. The area of Petite France has a number of chic and traditional shops.

Hotels in Strasbourg, France