Strasbourg is the perfect overture to all that is idiosyncratic about Alsace – walking a fine tightrope between France and Germany and between a medieval past and a progressive future, it pulls off its act in inimitable Alsatian style. Roam the old town’s twisting alleys lined with crooked half-timbered houses à la Grimm, feast in cosy winstubs (Alsatian taverns), and marvel at how a city that does Christmas markets and gingerbread so well can also be home to the glittering EU Quarter and France’s second-largest student population.
Cathédrale Notre-DameCATHEDRAL
Nothing prepares you for your first glimpse of Strasbourg's Cathédrale Notre-Dame, completed in all its Gothic grandeur in 1439. The lace-fine facade lifts the gaze little by little to flying buttresses, leering gargoyles and a 142m spire. The interior is exquisitely lit by 12th- to 14th-centurystained-glass windows, including the western portal's jewel-like rose window. The Gothic-meets-Renaissance astronomical clock strikes solar noon at 12.30pm with a parade of figures portraying the different stages of life and Jesus with his apostles.
Grande ÎleHISTORIC QUARTER
History seeps through the twisting lanes and cafe-rimmed plazas of Grande Île, Strasbourg's Unesco World Heritage–listed island bordered by the River Ill. These streets – with their photogenic line-up of wonky, timber-framed houses in sherbet colours – are made for aimless ambling. They cower beneath the soaring magnificence of the cathedral and its sidekick, the gingerbready 15th-century Maison Kammerzell (rue des Hallebardes), with its ornate carvings and leaded windows. The alleys are at their most atmospheric when lantern-lit at night.
Petite FranceHISTORIC QUARTER
Criss-crossed by narrow lanes, canals and locks, Petite France is where artisans plied their trades in the Middle Ages. The half-timbered houses, sprouting veritable thickets of scarlet geraniums in summer, and the riverside parks attract the masses, but the area still manages to retain its Alsatian charm, especially in the early morning and late evening. Drink in views of the River Ill and the Barrage Vauban from the much-photographed Ponts Couverts (Covered Bridges) and their trio of 13th-century towers.
AIR
Strasbourg's international airport (www.strasbourg.aeroport.fr) is 17km southwest of the city centre (towards Molsheim).
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