Strasbourg

Understand

Strasbourg is the ninth largest city in France with nearly half a million inhabitants in a metropolitan area spanning across the river into the German city of Kehl, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. The city is the seat of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Ombudsman, the Eurocorps, the European Audiovisual Observatory and, most famously, the European Parliament, which also holds sessions in Brussels. Strasbourg is a popular tourist destination primarily thanks to the beautifully preserved and pedestrian-friendly city centre, which can be explored on foot or bicycle in a few days. Don't forget that Strasbourg's appeal now brings tourists to the city throughout the year, with large tour groups especially frequent during the summer months and during the annual winter market. 1 Tourist Office of Strasbourg, Place de la Cathédrale. 09:00 to 19:00. If you ask whether they have maps they try to sell you one for €1.50 - be sure to ask if they have free maps, what you then get is basically the same as the paid one. They also sell a variety of self-guided walking tours through the town (Middle Ages, Renaissance, Modern and Contemporary) for €1 each, and can arrange bike tours through the Faubourgs (the suburbs of Neudorf and Neuhof). (updated Aug 2024)

Getting there

By plane Strasbourg has its own airport, however there are (relatively) nearby airports which have a wider range of destinations:

1 Strasbourg International Airport (SXB IATA) (southwest of the city, at Entzheim). There are domestic and international flights. Air France is the principal operator. Destinations include Casablanca, Istanbul, Madrid Barajas, Brussels and Amsterdam Schiphol among others. A train runs to the town centre (€4, including a tram connection, valid for 90 min. If you only need to get to the central station, buy your ticket not from the machines in the arrivals hall but on the train platform directly where the ticket will cost €2.30). The travel time is 9 minutes and the frequency is 15 minutes. (updated Mar 2023) Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport BSL IATA: there is a short bus connection to the railway station of Saint-Louis, which is 1 hr 20 min by train, from the main Strasbourg train station. Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport FKB IATA is about 60 km (37 mi) away in Germany. The best way to get to Strasbourg is by bus from the airport to Baden-Baden Hauptbahnhof (Main Station); from here trains run to Strasbourg, normally with one change (45 min-1 hr). Flibco operates buses to from the airport and on to Strasbourg. Stuttgart Airport STR IATA is about 110 km (68 mi) away. Driving by car should take about 2 hr in normal traffic. There are direct buses connecting the city to Stuttgart airport in 2 hr 15 min. Travelling by train, you will most likely have to change once or twice. Due to the excellent train connection to Paris, it may make sense to fly into Charles de Gaulle airport and take the TGV from there. Air France and some of its partners offer combined tickets in an air rail alliance.

By train Strasbourg is well served by regional, national and international train services, predominantly by SNCF (French Railways), but also by Deutsche Bahn (German Railways). Strasbourg is the eastern terminus of a major high speed rail line and thus served by numerous TGV and some ICE trains, most of which continue onwards to Paris or Germany respectively. Major destinations include the following major towns and cities with multiple daily departures. Journey times are approximate, some require TGV trains: Paris 1 hr 50 min, Dijon 2 hr, Lyon 3 hr 40 min, Metz 1 hr 15 min, Nancy 50 min, Marseille 5 hr 30 min, Besancon 1 hr 40 min, Luxembourg 1 hr 40 min, Mulhouse 50 min, Basel 1 hr 25 min, Frankfurt 1 hr 45 min, Stuttgart 1 hr 20 min, Munich 3 hr 40 min, Saarbrücken 1 hr 30 min by direct local train, Brussels 3 hr 40 min. The TGV Est Européen

Getting around

Strasbourg is most easily explored on foot, and the historic city centre can easily be explored in a day or two. To be able to cover more ground, you should consider hiring a bike or using the public transport network.

By bike Strasbourg is ideal for cycling - the city center is flat and there are plenty of bike lanes and bike paths. You can rent bikes at:

the automatic or manned bike sharing stations vélhop. rue du Maire Kuss, in front of the train station rue des Bouchers, on the south bank of the Ill river, near the rue d'Austerlitz and the Porte de l'Hôpital tramway station. Bikes are allowed on trams except during peak hours. More information on cycling in Strasbourg is available on the Strasbourg website.

By bus and tram

Buses and trams in Strasbourg are operated by the Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS). A few dozen numbered bus lines and six tram lines (named A to F) and two bus rapid transit/BRT ('BHNS') lines (named G and H) serve the city. A single ticketing system covers bus and tram. Tickets are sold in 'tabacs' (newsagents), tourist offices, CTS boutiques or from vending machines at tram stops. Tickets (even ones from the vending machines) should be validated before use, either in the machines on tram station platforms or in the machine by the driver when you board the bus. Summary of fares (as of may 2025): CTS fares website

Aller Simple (one way) €2.50 Aller Retour (round trip) €3.80 10 x Aller Simple (1 contactless ticket suitable only for one person) €17.30 24H Individuel (24-hr ticket for one person) €4.60 Trio (one day ticket for up to three people) €10.40 Prices are slightly lower if loaded onto a Badgéo card, CTS App or topped up on contactless ticket. CTS App works only with French Sim cards (as of Oct 2018). If you're using the buses and trams a lot, Europass tickets are available from all automatic ticket machines for either 24 hours or seven days. The Europass Mini is valid on all local tram, bus and train services, including those that cross the border to Kehl. The full Europass ticket also covers the local transport of the Ortenau Tarifverbund in Germany including Offenburg (information in German only).

Parking 4 P+R Ducs d'Alsace, Rue des Ducs. Park & Ride. Combines parking plus tram ticket. 8 min ride to downtown with tram A €7.20/day. (updated May 2025) 5 P+R Baggersee, Avenue de Strasbourg. Park & Ride. Combines parking plus tram ticket. 15 min ride to downtown with tram A or E €7.20/day. (updated May 2025) 6 P+R Elsau, Rue Suzanne Valadon. Park & Ride. Combines parking plus tram ticket. 11 mi

See

Grand Île 1 Cathédrale Notre Dame. Built between 1176 and 1439 and with a 142-m tower (the highest cathedral tower in France), the Gothic cathedral is undoubtedly Strasbourg's finest architectural highlight. Check out the astrometric clock inside the cathedral. Free admission. (updated Sep 2018) 2 Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre Dame - Medieval and Renaissance Art, place du Château. A splendid museum of medieval religious art related to the cathedral. €6.5. (updated Sep 2018) 3 Maison Kammerzell (The Kammerzell house) (to the left of the front of the cathedral). The intricately carved half-timbered frames decorating the upper floors date from 1589. (updated Sep 2018) 4 Palais des Rohan. French-style palace, built after the acquisition of the town by the French (1681). Home to the Museum of Fine Arts, the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Applied Arts. (updated Sep 2010) 5 Musée Alsacien (Alsatian Museum), 23-25, Quai Saint-Nicolas (just across the river from the Ancienne Douane), ☏ +33 3 88 52 50 01. M W-F 12:00-18:00, Sa Su 10:00-18:00. This museum features articles from the daily lives of Alsatian peoples from the 13th to 19th centuries: clothing, furniture, toys, tools of artisans and farmers, and religious objects used in Christian, Jewish, and even pagan rites. The exhibits are in rooms connected by wooden staircases and balconies in adjacent multistory Renaissance-era houses around a central courtyard. Admission €6.5. (updated Sep 2018)

Petite France

Petite France is the name given to the small area between the rivers, just south of the Grande Île. It is home to some of Strasbourg's prettiest and most photogenic streets and buildings, with half timbered townhouses leaning out over the narrow cobbled streets. Petite France resembles Colmar (a city an hour south), with picturesque canal and half-timber houses.

6 Ponts Couverts (Covered Bridges), Ponts Couverts. The Ponts Couverts are three bridges dominated by four towers from the 12th and 14th centuries. The bridges got their name from their roofs, which they lost in the 18th century. The towers are the remains of the ancient ramparts. (updated Jun 2025) 7 Barrage Vauban (Vauban Dam), Place du Quartier Blanc. The Barrage Vauban is a bridge, weir and defensive work erected in the 17th century. At that time, it was known as the Great Lock (grande écluse), although it does not function as a navigation lock in the modern sense of the word. Today it serves to display sculptures and has a viewing terrace on its roof, with views of the earlier Ponts Couverts bridges and Petite France quarter. (updated

Do

Walking around the old town is a very nice way to pass a day. And there are lots of good cafes to stop and rest in as you make your tour. Boat tours along the Rhine offer views over both Strasbourg and neighbouring Germany. Batorama offer several river tours lasting from around 45 minutes to a few hours, costing around €10 per person. 45-min tours run around the town center and the European district. Boats can be found below Place du Marché aux Poissons. Football: RC Strasbourg Alsace play soccer in Ligue 1, the top tier in France. Their home ground Stade de la Meinau (capacity 26,300) is 2 km south of town centre. Christmas Markets can be found in many places, but the most important and beautiful are place Broglie and place de la Cathédrale, although they are crowded. They are the best places to drink mulled wine (vin chaud) and to eat Christmas cookies (Brädeles).

Buy

From time to time, the city organizes a general market in vast parts of the center, where many street vendors offer various products and the shops join in with special discounts. Then, the city center on the island is partly closed for parking or driving and the trams don't go on the rue des Francs Bourgeois. Information about regular market dates is hard to find on the net. If you manage to track down the date of this market, write it here and don't miss it.

Marché aux Puces (flea market), rue de Vieil-Hôpital. W and Sa. (updated Sep 2010) 1 Place des Halles, 24, place des Halles. M-F 09:00 - 20:00, and Sa until 20:00. A shopping centre with over 100 shops and restaurants north of the city center, but within walking distance. (updated Sep 2010) Shopping centre Rivetoile, Place d'etoile (between the Etoile Polygone and Etoile Bourse tram stops). This new development has shops similar to Place des Halles as well as higher budget shops and a selection of cafes. (updated Sep 2010) Try Galeries Lafayettes at rue du 22 Novembre and Printemps at 1-5 rue de la Haute Montée. Rue Hellebardes and Gutenberg offer designer clothes and men's clothes. Bruno Saint Hilaire has designer clothes for men and a shop in 8, rue Gutenberg. There is a low-budget, secondhand clothing shop in 6, rue de la Lanterne, and various gadget shops can be found in rue des Juifs. For cheap groceries, including local wines and beers, try one of the three outlets of Norma, a German discount chain whose three outlets are at the corner of rue St Michel and rue Ste Marguerite near the central train station; at 79, Grand'Rue near the centre of Grand Île; and at 27, rue des Frères near the Cathedral. Open M-F 10:00-20:00, Sa 09:30-19:00.

Eat

Alsatian specialties are numerous and can be eaten in many traditional restaurants, in the city or in the neighborhood. Particularly you shouldn't visit Alsace without having the sauerkraut (choucroute in French). Choucroute seems to have a standard price throughout Alsace of €14. Don't be too dismayed by this seemingly high price as what is brought to you is a heaping plate of Sauerkraut (big enough for 2 people) as well as sausages and other meats. This is usually translated as "garnished sauerkraut" on English menus, when in doubt ask your server. There is also a delicious fish choucroute. Other specialties include the Alsatian pork-butcher's meat, Flammeküche or flams (tartes flambées in French) which is a sort of wafer thin pizza made with onion-cream sauce, Baeckeoffe, beef and pork stew cooked, with potatoes and carrots, usually served for two or more persons and Fleischnackas, mixed beef meat presented like spirals and served with salads.

Budget 1 Au Brasseur, 22 Rue des Veaux, ☏ +33 3 88 36 12 13. This a restaurant and microbrewery. Try one of their beers and a tarte flambé. Has a small children's menu. (updated Sep 2022) 2 Flam's, rue des Frères (near the Cathédrale), ☏ +33 3 88 36 36 90. Serves a great variety of flams (tartes flambés) and has an amazing winelist for a budget joint. (updated Sep 2022) 3 L'Épicerie, 6 Rue du Vieux Seigle, ☏ +33 3 88 32 52 41. Features sandwiches "tartines". Food from noon to night. Tables on street and inside. (updated Sep 2022) 4 Le Frangin, 33 Rue des Frères, ☏ +33 3 88 35 04 14. Two doors down from Flam's, it serves a wide range of home-cooked pasta and pizzas at reasonable prices. Offering pizza and pasta main courses, meat dishes and Alsatian beer. The owner is friendly and the food is good, satisfying Italian cooking. (updated Sep 2022) 5 Restaurant universitaire La Gallia, 1 Place de l'Université, ☏ +33 3 88 15 73 72. The oldest university restaurant in France, in a 19th-century building, built by the Germans (which explains the ceiling decorations). It is the last French university restaurant that is managed by students. Not a culinary triumph, but very affordable. (updated Sep 2022) 6 Le Saladin, 41, Grand'Rue, ☏ +33 3 88 32 12 32. Tunisian/Algerian couscous and kebabs. No alcohol. (updated Sep 2022) 7 Le Zorba, 61 Rue de Zurich, ☏ +33 3 88 36 99 51. This little Greek restaurant in the Krutenau area features sandwiches, souvlaki, and kebabs. (updated Sep 2022) 8 Al Boustane, 31 Rue de la Krutenau, ☏ +33 3 88 36 27 85. This Lebanese restaurant features sandwiches and kebabs. (updated Apr 2022)

Drink & nightlife

Beer: Alsace is the first beer-producing region of France and Strasbourg has many breweries. Best known are Kronenbourg and Fischer, whose factories can be visited for free, with free drinks at the end of the tour. Alsatian white wine: usually drunk with Alsatian food, but also with fish. The main varieties are Gewürtztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Gris. They have a particularly floral flavour and are well worth investigating. Explore it on the Alsace Wine Route with free tastings everywhere.

Bars 1 Les BerThoM, 18 Rue des Tonneliers, ☏ +33 3 88 32 81 18. Beer bar near la place Gutenburg. Spacious with an agreeable atmosphere. 2 Café Bar de l'Odyssée, 3 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, ☏ +33 3 88 16 22 03. Bar with an intimate interior. Great place to enjoy a game of backgammon.

Sleep

There are many hotels around the station, especially in the place de la Gare and in the rue du Maire Kuss, but this area does not offer consistent quality for accommodations. Most international hotel chains are represented with the usual 2- or 3-star hotels, many of which host the large tour groups who come on weekend breaks. If your budget allows, try staying on the Grande Île (city centre). Most of Strasbourg's hotels are fully booked during the Christmas Market period (December) and when the EU parliament is in session for a few days every month, usually for the period around the tenth. Book ahead if in doubt, as last minute accommodation can be difficult to find during these periods.

Budget 1 CIARUS, 7 Rue Finkmatt, ☏ +33 3 88 15 27 88. offers a variety of hostel accommodation, with rooms from 1 to 8 beds. Rates start at €27/night, and there's a canteen. (updated Mar 2017) 2 Auberge de Jeunesse HI Strasbourg, 9, Rue des Cavaliers, ☏ +33 388 45 54 20, [email protected]. 20 minutes bus ride from town and fifteen minutes from the European Institutions, this youth hostel is in a leafy suburb close to the Rhine. (updated Mar 2017) 3 Auberge de Jeunesse René Cassin, 9 Rue de l'Auberge de jeunesse, ☏ +33 3 88 30 35 16. Ten minutes from the city centre, this hostel offers a restaurant, bar and activities for guests. (updated Mar 2017) 4 Hôtel F1, 55 Av. du Rhin, ☏ +33 891 70 54 01. A budget hotel. (updated Mar 2017) PV-Holidays Adagio Strasbourg Place Kleber, ☏ +33 1 58 21 55 84. Self-catering apartments situated in the heart of the historical quarter of the “Grande île”, just 10 minutes walk from the TGV station. Each of the 57 apartments sleep 2-4 people, are air-conditioned and completely fitted out: kitchen, television with international channels, etc. Located in the centre of the Alsatian capital makes this Aparthotel an ideal stopover location for business trips or for a long weekend. Car park less than 300 m away.

Mid-range 5 Cardinal de Rohan, 17, rue du Maroquin (right by the cathedral), ☏ +33 3 88 328511, fax: +33 3 88 756537. 6 Hôtel Cathédrale, 12-13 Place de la Cathedrale (right across from the cathedral), ☏ +33 3 88 221212, fax: +33 3 88 322302. Best location of any hotel in Strasbourg, stylishly decorated, and more affordable for rooms without views of the cathedral. €55-150. 7 Hotel Hannong, 15, rue du 22 Novembre (near the center of Grand Ile), ☏ +33 3 88 321622, fax: +33 3 88 226387. It has a stylish bar and restaurant, facing a fairly quiet street. 8 Hôtel Vendôme, 9, place de la Gare / 19 rue du Maire Kuss (across from

Go next

Sélestat — with Haut-Koenigsbourg castle nearby Alsatian Vineyard Route Colmar Kaysersberg Riquewihr Obernai Marmoutier — about 35 km (22 mi) from Strasbourg, has a beautiful 12th-century abbey church Germany, in the Black Forest region: Kehl is a short ride or walk across the river (bring your passport if you're not a EU citizen - the German police do spot border checks - July 2025). Offenburg is the end of the TER line, a 30-minute ride away, at the foot of the mountains of the Black Forest.