Strasbourg is a city that wears two identities at once. It is the capital of Alsace, a region that has passed between France and Germany more than once over the centuries, and you can feel both influences everywhere, in the food, the architecture and even the local dialect. It is also one of the official capitals of the European Union, alongside Brussels and Luxembourg, which gives a small city an outsized presence on the world stage.

The historic centre, the Grande Île, was the first entire city centre in the world to be given UNESCO World Heritage status, back in 1988, and it earned that status for good reason. Strasbourg began life as a Roman camp called Argentoratum, grew into a major medieval trading city, and by the time you are wandering its cobbled streets today, you are walking through a genuine blend of Gothic cathedral spires, half timbered Alsatian houses and, a little further out, the grand Haussmann-style boulevards of the Neustadt, the district built during the German imperial period and added to the UNESCO listing in 2017. Few cities let you see French and German architectural history sitting side by side quite so clearly.

Strasbourg has also been the official seat of the European Parliament since 1952, and it still hosts the Parliament’s plenary sessions today, twelve four day sittings a year, inside the Louise Weiss building. It is the largest hemicycle of any European institution, and the building itself, along with the surrounding Quartier Européen, is open to visitors, free of charge, if you want to see where European law actually gets debated. It is a short drive from the old town, in its own dedicated district, so worth planning as a separate stop rather than something you stumble on while wandering.

Officially in Strasbourg

The European Parliament building, a short drive from the old town

Into the Old Town

We spent a good chunk of our time wandering the old town, past Strasbourg Cathedral with its astronomical clock, the ornate half timbered Maison Kammerzell, Place Gutenberg and down to the Ponts Couverts and the Barrage Vauban. It is the kind of old town you can happily get lost in for hours.

Strasbourg Cathedral

Cookie, in front of St Thomas’ Church

La Petite Alsace, tucked away in the old town

One of the old town’s ivy-covered corners

Petite France and the River

Petite France was every bit as pretty as the photos suggest, all timber framed houses and canals. We put Cookie in a little beret for the occasion, which he tolerated rather than enjoyed, he was far more interested in sniffing every doorway than posing for photos. We also stumbled on a lovely stretch of river just outside the old town, worth the wander if you have the time.

Petite France

Cookie, unimpressed with the beret

The river we stumbled on outside the old town

The Food, Obviously

The weather was kind to us here, warm and sunny without tipping into uncomfortable, which made it easy going for Cookie too. Still, it was very warm at lunchtime, so we ducked into a quaint little café to shelter from the heat, which turned out to be a lovely find in itself. We also had savoury crepes that were genuinely delicious, and between the two of us we frequented more boulangeries than I care to admit. The macarons and the tarte au citron were absolutely fantastic, easily some of the best we had on the whole trip.

One of many boulangerie stops

Alsace wine country making itself known

Would I Recommend Strasbourg? Yes, especially for a weekend.

Strasbourg is worth visiting, it is a genuinely nice city. I would treat it as a city break or a weekend getaway rather than a long stay. Any more than 2 to 3 days and I would start looking at day trips out into the surrounding region instead, which is exactly what we would have done with more time. Compared to the smaller towns and villages we had visited before this, it did feel quite a lot more tourist focused, so go in expecting a proper city rather than a quiet escape.

Where to Stay

We stayed at the Citadines Eurometropole Strasbourg, a self catering apartment hotel with a pool and sauna. It is not right in the centre, but we would happily book it again. Here are a few other price points around the city too.

Our Stay

4 Star

Citadines Eurometropole Strasbourg – Restaurant & SPA

A self catering apartment hotel with a swimming pool and sauna. Not in the city centre, but well worth it, we liked it a lot as a base for exploring.

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3 Star

Le Grand Hotel By Stay Collection

A friendlier price point if you would rather stay closer to the centre than our base did.

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4 Star

Hotel Kaijoo by HappyCulture

Another solid mid range alternative to our own base, for exploring the city.

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5 Star

Hotel & Spa REGENT PETITE FRANCE By Stay Collection

If you want to treat yourselves, this sits right in Petite France, about as central and polished as Strasbourg gets.

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Day Trips We Would Have Booked

If we had spent more days in Strasbourg, these are the day trips we would have booked to explore further afield.