Getting here:
The direct train from Paris Gare
d’Est is a TGV non-stop, taking around 2h20 and costing £35 second class, £60
first class, each way. The tram stop at the station is 3 levels down – check
which platform takes you into town so you don’t go the wrong way!
Travel deal:
If there’s 2 of you, get a Trio
ticket from the ticket machine. This lasts 24 hours from first validation, for
3 people, on all the buses and trams. It costs €6. That’s right, only €6 for 3
people!
For one person, there is a €4.10
ticket called Alsa+ which does the same thing.
Hotel:
We’ve got three for you, which you
choose depends on how adventurous/cheap you are!
Hotel Hannong, 15 Rue de 22
November
A luxury boutique hotel, which my
sister stayed in. Over £100 a night, but literally inches away from all of the
high-end shops, close to tram stop, and has reduced deal for next door’s very
safe
car park.
Adagio Aparthotel, 106 Avenue de
Strasbourg
Only 20 minutes tram-ride from the
city centre, literally at the main tram stop. Under £50 per night, this is our
cheap-but-great recommendation. Has internet and self-catering facilities too.
Holiday Inn Illkirch, Boulevard
Sebastien Brandt, Parc d'Innovation, Illkirch
This is out of town, in a research
park in nearby Illkirch. We stayed here because of the great deals you can get
on Reward Nights from IHG – 15,000 points for a Junior Suite – trust me, this is
a bargain! The room had 2 TVs, a king-size bed and separate lounge. The hotel
is a 10 minute walk from the tram stop Campus D’Illkirch, which is on the A
line 25 minutes out of town.
If you decide to stay here, let us
know and we’ll give you info on food, nearby shops and clear directions. It’s
not hard!
Tourist Information:
There is a tourist office in the
rail station. This has all of the information you need.
There is also a tourist office at
17 Place de la Cathédrale, which has a souvenir shop as well. You can get 30%
discount in the shop with the Strasbourg Pass (see below).
Both open 9am – 7pm.
Strasbourg Pass:
This could well be the best value
pass ever. For €15 you get:
Free entry to one museum (worth
€7) and half price entry to another
Free boat trip (not between 2pm
and 4pm inclusive) worth €12.50
Half-price ride on mini-train
showing sights around town
Free cycle hire for half a day
Free viewing of Cathedral’s
astronomical clock as it chimes at 12.30pm (arrive East Door 11:35am)
Free entry to Cathedral tower – a
big climb but worth it!
Eating:
Alsacien specialities:
Choucroute is a plate of
sauerkraut (big enough for 2 people) as well as sausages and other meats.
Flammeküche or flams, a 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.
Flams, rue des Frères near the
Cathedral. A sort of Pizza Hut version of flam. Strictly for tourists after an
easy life or families who want a fun cheap eat. It is not great, but serves a
great variety of flams and their “all you an eat” deal is a good one. Try to
find somewhere more authentic, though.
Le Foyer Des Pêcheurs
The BEST place for flams is out of
town, in a small forest near the Campus D’Illkirch tram stop. It’s walkable but
is unlit at night, so you may want to take a taxi. They cook their flams in an
outdoor oven, while you sit under the stars, and keep bringing you food until
you beg for mercy. An Alsacien delight.
1 Chemin du Routoir, 67400 ILLKIRCH
Tel: 03 88 66 14 85
Maison Kammerzell is next to the
Cathedral and is a tourist trap par excellence. The half-timbered building
dates back to 1427, and the décor includes pre-WW1 murals. The food is local
specialities, but it’s not the best you can get. Ask your hotel for their top
tips.
For a healthy and delicious lunch,
OUR top tip is Vertuose, 19 rue d'Austerlitz
Salads, wraps, sandwiches, wine …
all with excellent service. To eat in (or outside) or to go, you will love your
lunch and your body will love you too!
Other places we used for an easy
bite:
McDonalds – in the city centre
just SE of Place Kleber
Café de l’Ill – outdoor café on
Place du Marche aux Cochons de Lait
Kohler Rehm – outdoor café in
Place Kleber
Comptoir Kanter – nice café in the
main station with a good breakfast offering
Sights:
Boat trip: Batorama tours are
available from the quay behind the Palais des Rohan. They last about 90 min and
go through Petite France and up to the European institutions.
Mini-train: a 40 minute ride,
starting in Place Gutenberg, taking you through the historical parts of town,
which you can visit on foot later.
Cathédrale Notre Dame: with a 142
metre tower (the highest in France).
The tower has over 330 steps and
is worth it. The Astronomical Clock in the cathedral is open all day, but rings
noon at 12.30pm (don’t ask). The cathedral closes when it is ringing, you have
to queue separately.
Nearby on place du Château is the
Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre Dame – a museum of medieval religious art related to
the cathedral (closed Monday)
All museums are open 6 days a week
from 10am to 6pm
Palais des Rohan:
Museum of Fine Arts, the
Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Applied Arts (all closed Tuesday)
nearby, the Historical Museum
(closed Monday)
Musée Alsacien, quai
Saint-Nicolas: (closed Tuesday). 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 houses around a central courtyard. A
fantastic historical visit.
Museum of Modern and Contemporary
Art, 1 place Hans-Jean Arp (Closed Monday)
Works by Kandinsky, Max Ernst and
Picasso, and temporary exhibitions. It is also home to the first-floor Art Café
with views across the canals, good food and cheerful service
Petite France: the area of the
city between the rivers, home to some of Strasbourg's prettiest and most
photogenic streets and buildings, with half-timbered townhouses. On Saturdays
there is a fleamarket stretching from Petite France to the Palais des Rohan, in
front of the Bourse.
Take tramline E to Droit de
l’Homme and walk from here to see:
Parc de l’Orangerie: avoid the
zoo, which is small, instead look for the storks nesting around the Orangerie
building.
European institutions: Council of
Europe (Le Palais de l'Europe) (1977), built by Henry Bernard; European Court
of Human Rights (1995), built by Richard Rogers; European Parliament (1999),
built by Architecture Studio
Place Kléber, the largest in the
city and home to the renovated L'Aubette building with its 1920s De Stijl
interior, which is only open Wed-Sat 2-5pm
Shopping:
Shopping centres:
Place des Halles, 24, place des
Halles, with over 100 shops and restaurants north of the city centre, tram stop
Ancienne Synagogue Les Halles.
Rivetoile, opened at the end of
2008 at Place d'Etoile, at Etoile Bourse tram
Auchun hypermarket and other
shops, at Baggersee tram stop on the A line south of town.
Gingerbread: an Alsacien
speciality. The best shop for it is Pain d’Epices, 14 rue des Dentelles, run by
Mireille Oster. She has over 15 different flavours of what would be unfairly
described as gingerbread – the name Pain d’Epices really means honey spice
cake. You will buy all of your take-home gifts here!
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