Things to do in Strasbourg
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Strasbourg
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best overall: warm terraces, vineyard cycling, full excursions and crowds below summer and December peaks.
Spring: storks return, gardens come alive, pack layers as Rhine weather turns in a day.
Summer: open air events and boats at their best, but August brings heat, Parliament recess and some closures.
Darkens fast, then the Christmas markets transform the city in the last week.
Christkindelsmärik to 24 December, magical and on weekends almost unmanageably crowded at top prices.
Coldest and quietest: cheapest hotels and emptiest museums, but no markets and limited boats and terraces.
What's on
- Christkindelsmärik 27 November-24 December
Christmas markets across Place Broglie, the cathedral squares and Place Kléber with its great tree.
- Pelpass Festival May
Indie and pop festival that opens the festival season.
- Fête de la Musique 21 June
Street music across the city for the summer solstice celebration.
- Été à Strasbourg July
City summer programme with open air cinema, riverside events and cathedral sound and light in many years.
- Festival Musica Usually mid September to early October
Major contemporary music festival, with about 40 performances.
- Vendanges September-October
Harvest celebrations and new wine evenings across the Wine Route villages.
- ST-ART late autumn
Contemporary art fair held in late autumn in many years.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Strasbourg
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg
Pink sandstone Gothic cathedral with a famous astronomical clock and a platform climb for the best city panorama.
Petite France
Timbered tanners houses along the Ill canals, best walked early morning or at blue hour before crowds build.
Ponts Couverts
Surviving medieval bridge towers at the edge of Petite France, part of the classic canal walk.
Barrage Vauban
Vauban dam with a free rooftop terrace giving the definitive view across the towers to the cathedral spire.
Batorama
Seventy minute boat loop through Petite France, Neustadt and the European Quarter that orients a first visit.
European Parliament
Free visits and, in plenary weeks, a public gallery seat while MEPs debate in the Louise Weiss hemicycle.
Parliamentarium Simone Veil
Exhibition inside the Parliament complex explaining how the institution works before you see it in session.
Council of Europe
Working European institution across from the Parliament, worth seeing for exteriors and exhibitions.
Where to stay in Strasbourg
Grande Île
first choice for almost everyone
UNESCO island with the cathedral, Petite France and winstubs on your doorstep, at the highest prices.
Orangerie / European Quarter
quiet, space and a second visit
Elegant avenues around the park and institutions, larger calmer hotels and a short tram into the centre.
Krutenau / Bourse-Esplanade
local life, under 35s and longer stays
University quarter of bars and small restaurants, lower prices and still walkable to the cathedral.
Gare / Tribunal
value and transport
Widest spread of mid and budget hotels and unbeatable for trains, choose well reviewed streets over the station square.
Think twice about
- Hautepierre
Large post war estate with no sights or hotel stock, higher petty crime reports and no walkability advantage.
- Neuhof
Far residential suburb with no sights or hotel stock worth the name, basing here loses Strasbourg walkability.
- Elsau
Far residential suburb with no visitor sights or hotel stock, check the map on any suspiciously cheap rental.
- Cronenbourg
Far residential suburb with no visitor sights or hotel stock, basing here means commuting into the centre.
Best restaurants in Strasbourg
Au Crocodile
Strasbourg most famous dining room, one-star modern Alsatian tasting menus in a formal art filled room.
Restaurant 1741
One star dining in a bourgeois mansion opposite Palais Rohan, split into intimate salons and a chef counter.
Les Plaisirs Gourmands
Acclaimed connoisseur detour in a residential suburb, quieter and more local than the island stars.
Chez Yvonne
Iconic winstub since 1873, order coq au Riesling with spaetzle and lewerknepfle and book ahead.
Le Clou
Insider classic winstub steps from the cathedral with traditional dishes and seasonal suggestions.
Maison Kammerzell
Restaurant inside a 1427 timbered house by the cathedral, kitchen justifies the address, try fish choucroute.
Le Tire-Bouchon
Winstub in the Marché-aux-Cochons-de-Lait cluster where high review volume points to reliable mid range eating.
Le Kuhn
Highly rated winstub quarter alternative named for strong scores at a mid range average spend.
Best bars in Strasbourg
Code Bar
Cocktail bar named in the also list for an evening drink in the centre.
L'Abattoir
Krutenau bar named for the student quarter night out side of Strasbourg.
Outdoor things to do in Strasbourg
Alsace Wine Route
Cycle vineyard paths between Obernai, Barr and Andlau with cellar door tastings and Vosges castle views.
Colmar
Smaller pretty counterpart to Strasbourg with Little Venice canals, old houses and the Unterlinden Museum.
Riquewihr
Walled wine village of 16th century houses in a near perfect ensemble, reached by bus from Colmar.
Ribeauvillé
Wine village below three ruined castles, linked to Riquewihr by a five kilometre vineyard walk.
Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg
Complete mountain fortress at 757 metres with furnished imperial rooms and views to the Black Forest.
Mont Sainte-Odile
Convent on a mountain terrace with sweeping views and the prehistoric Pagan Wall running through forest.
Golf du Kempferhof
Robert von Hagge forest course with water on most holes, the headline stay and play golf pick near Strasbourg.
Golf de la Wantzenau
Friendlier championship course with seven tee sets, a compact course and a praised clubhouse terrace.
Best hotels in Strasbourg
Hôtel & Spa Régent Petite France
Former ice mill on the Petite France canal with spa and rooms over the water, the signature luxury address.
Hôtel Cour du Corbeau - MGallery
Sixteenth century inn around a timbered courtyard steps from the cathedral, intimate and romantic.
Hôtel Les Haras
Former national stud farm turned design hotel with brasserie, spa and over a hectare of calm grounds.
Sofitel Strasbourg Grande Ile
Full service luxury chain option on Grande Île, listed alongside the independent splurges.
Le Bouclier d'Or
Intimate luxury stay in Petite France, named as a quieter alternative to the big canal hotels.
Villa La Florangerie
Villa garden luxury in the Orangerie quarter, calmer than a Grande Île base.
Hôtel Léonor
Renovated historic hotel around a courtyard terrace, praised for decor and centrality without splurge prices.
BOMA Hôtel
Lifestyle boutique on Rue du 22-Novembre with a lively restaurant bar as an evening base.
Is Strasbourg expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €90 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €220 a person |
| Splurge | €450 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg: a few days ahead
- Batorama: a few days ahead
- European Parliament: a few days ahead
- Vélhop: a few days ahead
- Opéra national du Rhin: weeks ahead
- Théâtre National de Strasbourg: weeks ahead
- La Laiterie: a few days ahead
- Alsace Wine Route: a few days ahead
- Christmas market accommodation a year ahead for the best, months ahead for anything decent.
- Winstub and popular restaurant dinners one to three days ahead, a week plus in December and on weekends.
- Batorama online in advance always in season and in December.
- Check timed options for the cathedral platform, Parliament plenary weeks and Haut-Kœnigsbourg in summer.
- Golf tee times, Wine Route rentals and tastings, and opera ahead on weekends and in harvest season.
Is Strasbourg safe?
- Pickpockets are the real risk in crowded trams, the cathedral queue, Batorama boarding and the Christmas markets.
- Use a cross body zipped bag, keep phones out of back pockets and wallets off cafe tables.
- Expect cordons and tram diversions near Parliament during demonstrations and sessions, follow police guidance.
- Clipboard and petition distraction near stations is the main scam to watch for.
Strasbourg travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Cathedral square terrace restaurants with photo menus and touts: walk two streets for a better winstub for less.
- Trying Colmar, Riquewihr, Eguisheim and Haut-Kœnigsbourg in one summer day: pick one village or take a guided tour.
- Suspiciously cheap apartments in far suburbs: check the map before booking.
- December repricing at every hotel tier: availability, not price, becomes the real problem.
Getting around Strasbourg: public transport and more
- Arrive by train: TGV from Paris in under two hours on fastest services, TER for Colmar, Sélestat and Obernai.
- Tram and walk is the whole system: six lines, Grande Île largely pedestrianised and flat, validate tickets.
- Do not drive into Grande Île: use park and ride at tram termini instead.
- Watch tram tracks on a bike and cross them at an angle, the classic visitor cycling injury here.
- Tram D runs to Kehl in Germany as a normal city ride: carry ID and note German shops close Sundays.
Who Strasbourg suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Strasbourg your trip
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