Strasbourg

Introduction

Strasbourg

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Strasbourg might be the most famous for being the co-seat of the European Union, together with Brussels in Belgium. This border town, with around 275,000 inhabitants, lies on the river Ill. It is the capital of the Alsace region, and of the department of Bas-Rhin. The entire old centre of the city, was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg

The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg (in English: Cathedral of our lady) is an old Gothic church, although some parts can be descriped as Romanesque. Construction began already in 1015, and its tower has a height of 142 metres. The cathedral also houses an 18-metre high astronomical clock, one of the largest in the world.

The City Center

The City center of Strasbourg that stretches along the Ill river, was placed on the Unesco World Heritage list, and is one of the highlights of a visit to Strasbourg. It has a medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the Petite-France district alongside the Ill and in the streets and squares surrounding the cathedral.

Events and Festivals

• The Strasbourg International Film Festival is a festival with attention for new, upcoming independent filmmakers from around the world.

• The annual Christmas Market takes places on several square close to the Cathedral, during the last month of the year. Most markets have their own theme.

Weather

The climate of Strasbourg is pretty moderate. In winter temperatures are not really cold. On average it is 3 °C during the day and 0 °C during the nights. In summer the temperature can rise to 24 °C during the day in July and August, with night temperature of around 13 °C. Rain can fall in the entire year. Most of the rain falls in the summertime

Getting There

By Plane

Strasbourg Airport (SXB) offers flights with Air France and a number of other airlines operating flights throughout west and south Europe, as well as Tunis, Casablanca and Algiers.

By Train

French Railways, SNCF offers a wide range of links. Destinations include Metz (1¼ to 1¾ hours, four to eight daily), Nancy (1¼ hours, 10 to 17 daily) and Paris’ Gare de l’Est (four to 4¾ hours, nine to 13 daily). Internationally, there are trains to Basel (1¼ hours, 11 to 16 direct daily) and Frankfurt (2½ hours, eight or nine nondirect daily). Regional destinations are Colmar (35 to 60 minutes, 35 daily weekdays, 22 daily weekends), Dambach-la-Ville (one hour, 12 daily on weekdays, five to six daily weekends), Obernai (26 to 45 minutes, 20 daily weekdays, five to seven daily weekends) and Sélestat (20 minutes, 24 to 42 daily).

By Car

Strasbourg lies on the A35 motorway, that goes north to south, though the Alsace region. The N4 connects to the German border, and the German town of Kehl on the other side of the Rhine. On the German side of the border runs the A-5 autobahn. To reach Strasbourg you have to leave the A-5 at the exit Appenweier, and connect to the E-52 (also known as the Straßburger Straße, that connects to the N4 on the French side of the Rhine.

By Bus

Strasbourg city bus number 21 links place Gutenberg with the Stadthalle in Kehl, the German town just across the Rhine.
Eurolines has quite a few services throughout France and other Europe.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• University of Strasbourg

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

La Poste in France is also referred to as the PTT (short for postes, télégraphes et téléphones). The mailboxes are painted bright yellow and often there is a slot for local city mail and another slot for "outside mail". Normally there is a queue in the post office, but most of the post offices have the self service machine installed which is quite easy to operate. Nowadays many of the tabac and even some of the souvenir shops also sell postage stamps. Normally an overseas postcard costs almost as much as sending a letter.
Post offices are generally open from 8:00am to 7:00pm Monday through Friday, and 8:00am to noon on Saturdays. Apart from the basic job of mailing letters, most of the post offices do some banking activities also and some even have photocopy machines and cyber cafes for internet access.