One Day in Strasbourg
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Explore the blend of German and French culture in this delightful French border city.
What To See in Strasbourg; a Guide: (Jump To)
Despite being in France, Strasbourg is part of our Germany Two Weeks Itinerary.
History of Strasbourg
Strasbourg is located in France just over the Rhine River from Germany. Archaeological evidence shows that the fertile farming area has been inhabited by humans since the Stone Age. Historically, the city has spent time as a German and French state. The most recent territorial swap was at the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 when it again became part of Germany. Germany held control of the region for nearly 50 years until it was ceded back to France at the end of World War I.
As you might suspect, the city is a melting pot of German and French culture. The streets are lined with German black and white split timber-beam architecture while the cafes are filled with delicate French pastries.
FlixBus to Strasbourg
We arrived in Strasbourg via FlixBus from Europa-Park at about 7:30 pm. The FlixBus drops you just south of the historic city center. A fifteen-minute ride on the public tramway takes you to Gare Centrale, the main train station. Our hotel, Lagrange Apart’HOTEL, was a few steps away.
Lagrange Apart’HOTEL Strasbourg
The Lagrange Apart’HOTEL is an inexpensive modern hotel perfectly located near the central train station and a mere six-minute walk to the start of the historic city center. They put us in a corner room with a view of the nearby tramway. The rooms had massive metal shutters over each window. Lowering them at night created an impenetrable sound and light barrier. We also used the coin-operated laundry facilities for our mid-trip laundry refresh. The only strange thing was that the front desk was not maintained after hours. Arriving at the hotel after dinner means using a traditional key in a janky lock on a side door to get back in. Not a big deal, but something we weren’t expecting at a traditional hotel.
Strasbourg One Day Itinerary
The next morning we were up early to explore the historic city center. The Canal du Faux-Rempart, a part man-made and part natural offshoot of the Ill River forms the Grande-Île, an island at the city center. In early times the city was fortified with a wall along the river and canal protecting the Île from outside attack.
The entirety of the Grande-Île is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. City planners have recently deemed the entire area a pedestrian priority zone, so it is easy to navigate on foot, with trams, or on bicycles.
We started our day with some pastries from a cafe in Place Kléber, the city’s largest public square. The square is home to numerous cafes, a small shopping mall, and the famous Aubette building with its Avantgarde interiors. It was a bit early, before the bustle of the day. It was great to enjoy a coffee in the brisk autumn air as we watched the city start to come alive.
Caffeinated for the day, we walked across the island and over the canal, pausing on the bridge to enjoy the beauty.
The Palais du Rhin, a 19th-century Prussian palace was our destination. I knew the interiors would be closed during our Saturday visit, but the exterior architecture including the massive dome and the adjacent gardens were well worth a visit.
Strasbourg is a museum city. Lovers of museums will rejoice in the modern art at Musée D’art Moderne Et Contemporain and they will ogle over medieval art at Musée de l’Oeuvre Notre-Dame. Visitors to the Musée Archéologique will ruminate at traces of the fertile riverside city’s archeological past.
The only museum that looked interesting to us was the Musée Zoologique. Inside is a vast collection of specimens including taxidermy of 18,000 birds and 10,000 mammals. The museum is home to the 200+-year-old specimen collection of naturalist Johann Hermann. The displays are tightly packed into the old building. Viewing the myriad of dead creatures is equally fascinating and eerie. (Note: the museum is closed for renovation).
We returned to the city center with a tranquil walk along the Ill River. I can’t begin to describe the beauty of this walk. White swans swim by as you walk under massive Weeping Willow trees hanging over the riverbank. Around every corner, a beautiful church tower peeks above the rooftops. As we walked a man and his son selling were selling produce from a boat. It’s hard to believe this place exists.
We climbed up from the riverwalk past Palais Rohan, an 18th-century royal palace that now houses multiple museums, and into the Place du Château an open city square alongside the city’s most famous landmark the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg.
The cathedral, built from 1176 to 1439, is the tallest existing medieval structure in the world. It held the title of the world’s tallest building for two and a quarter centuries, ending in 1874 with the construction of St. Nikolai's Church (which we visited earlier in the trip in Hamburg).
For €8 each, we took the steep and narrow 330 stairs to the observation deck atop the church. At the top, a 360-degree view of the historic city center is on display. On a clear day, you can see as far as the Vosges mountains to the West and the Black Forest to the East.
In lieu of lunch, we stopped at a cafe for a Bavarian pretzel and a slice of Black Forest cake. We spent much of the afternoon shopping in the area around Place Gutenberg. There are shops down a multitude of cobblestone streets. They range from large department stores like Galeries Lafayette and Fnac to smaller boutiques. We even encountered a sidewalk antique sale.
As the evening began to wind down we walked to Barrage Vauban, a dam on the Ill River. The dam was built in the late 1600s as a defense mechanism allowing the citizens to raise the water level and flood downriver to slow down attackers. Now the arched dam serves as an indoor display for sculptures. There is also a viewing platform on the top.
Nearby is the quarter of the city known as Petite France. This is a very popular part of town with, perhaps, the most beautiful parts of an already magnificent city. Geranium-filled flower boxes and split-bean homes fill the slim cobblestone lanes lined with shops advertising on centuries-old rod iron signs.
There are many popular restaurants here, most with ample outdoor dining. We enjoyed a quiet and relaxing dinner with a view of the lovely view of the canal and dam.
In the morning we will take the train to the spa town of Baden-Baden for the day before reaching Stuttgart.
Things To See in Strasbourg:
Grande-Île
Place Kléber
Palais du Rhin
Musée D’art Moderne Et Contemporain
Musée de l’Oeuvre Notre-Dame
Musée Zoologique
Scenic walk along the Ill River
Place du Château and Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg
Barrage Vauban
Petite France Quarter
This is part of our Two Week Germany Itinerary.
