7 Reasons You’ll Fall in Love with Strasbourg, France
Why visit Strasbourg? I have dreamed of moving back to France ever since I spent my junior year of college studying abroad in this alluring country. But for years I’ve wondered where in France I would make my nest. Now that I’ve visited Strasbourg, though, I know. If I could, I’d pack my bags to move to this city tomorrow. Here are seven reasons why you, too, will fall in love with this charming French town with a German accent.
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1. The Beauty of Strasbourg’s Old Town
France is a country that focuses on beauty in its language, food, fashion, and architecture. It’s really something, then, that Strasbourg stands out for its beauty. It’s like dancing with Cinderella at a ball attended by supermodels. From the town’s medieval half-timbered houses to its scenic canals and soaring Gothic cathedral, Strasbourg will charm even the most stoic traveler.
2. The Tallest Medieval Building in Europe
Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Strasbourg is not only beautiful but also it is the tallest medieval building in Europe. The church is home to an impressive astronomical clock, which was built in 1842 and features a depiction of the beginning of life until man’s death. Climb to the top of the cathedral for a gorgeous view of the Alsatian countryside.
3. A Blend of French and German Cultures
Strasbourg is situated along the Rhine River in the Alsace region of France, across from Kehl, Germany. Look for an appealing blend of German and French influences in the city’s cuisine, culture, and appearance. It’s not just geography that links these two countries, though. Strasbourg’s tumultuous history also plays a large role.
In the late 17th century, Strasbourg seceded from the Roman Empire and declared itself part of France. The city was seized 100 years later and became part of the German Empire. In 1918, Strasbourg was reborn as French. Then the city was taken by Hitler in 1940 and, again, was declared part of Germany. Four years later, the city was liberated by the Allied Forces, making Strasbourg French.
With each conquest, Strasbourg’s citizens were forced to speak only French or German (or Alsatian, a German dialect) by those in power. This created a multilingual and multicultural city.
Thankfully, the two countries reside happily side-by-side today. In fact, there’s no need to even show passports when crossing the border.
4. Delicious Alsatian Cuisine
Only Île-de-France and its capital city, Paris, boast more starred restaurants than the Alsace region in France. Alsatian cuisine combines traditional German food with French flair.
As the capital of Alsace, Strasbourg is home to brasseries, bakeries, and breweries, as well as fancy restaurants offering prix-fixe fare. In addition to delicious German-style beers, you can sip the region’s renowned Riesling wines with your meals. Below are a few Alsatian dishes to look for when visiting Strasbourg.
Tarte Flambée
The incredibly crave-worthy Alsatian equivalent of pizza is tarte flambée. It’s made with a thin, crispy rectangular crust and topped with crème fraîche, white cheese, thinly sliced onions and lardons (a French-style bacon of sorts).
White Asparagus
If visiting Strasbourg in spring, then you must order a plate of Alsace’s famous white asparagus, traditionally eaten with ham and fresh-made mayonnaise.
Roasted Pig Knuckle
Called Alsace choucroute garnie in French or schweinshaxe in German, roasted pig knuckle is a favorite dish in Strasbourg. Traditionally this tender piece of meat has a crispy skin and is served with potatoes and horseradish. I didn’t try this dish, but our fellow Viking cruisers raved about this delicacy. Adventurous eaters will definitely want to give it a taste!
Kugelhopf
Pop into a local bakery to purchase another local specialty, kugelhopf, an Alsatian brioche cooked in the shape of a crown and traditionally filled with raisins and almonds.
Read more about Strasbourg’s restaurant offerings via TripAdvisor.
5. Storks and More at Parc de l’Orangerie
It isn’t every day that you see a stork’s nest, much less several such nests one after the other, all housing a mama or daddy stork guarding their eggs. That is, unless you are in Strasbourg, of course.
Storks are the symbol of Alsace and are said to bring good luck and fertility. Hence, the fable of storks delivering babies. Storks add to the fairytale feeling of a visit to Strasbourg.
Wander through Strasbourg’s affluent neighborhood near Parc de l’Orangerie to view plentiful storks nesting in trees, chimneys, and rooftops. I felt lucky indeed to see so many of these large birds up close.
Parc de l’Orangerie boasts grassy promenades, a tiny zoo, and a small lake with row boats for rent. The park is about a 30-minute walk from Strasbourg’s Old Town.
6. Shopping in Strasbourg
Strasbourg is big enough to have lots of shops and restaurants to explore while being small enough to maintain a welcoming village vibe. Be sure to pick up some mementos of your time in this unique Alsatian city.
Strasbourg overflows with shops peddling cheeses, stork-shaped souvenirs of all sorts, Alsatian textiles and cookware, and French fashions.
My favorite store, though, was the famous French sweets boutique, La Cure Gourmande. Their beautiful boxes filled with cookies, chocolates and candies make a sweet souvenir of your time in France, or a lovely hostess gift for friends at home.
7. The Capital of Christmas
Throughout France, Strasbourg is known as the Capital of Christmas. In fact, the city’s famed Christkindlesmarik is the most popular Christmas market in the country. It features more than 300 outdoor stalls, stretching across the city center. Dating back to 1570, this is one of the oldest Christmas markets in all of Europe.
You can’t miss the 100-foot Great Christmas tree in Place Kléber. Bright, shimmering ornaments and lights decorate the tree.
Strasbourg’s Christmas market runs from late November through Christmas Eve each year. Even if you can’t visit during the holiday season, you will find darling Christmas decorations and ornaments sold at shops throughout Strasbourg all year long.
Love for Strasbourg
I fell tête over pieds for Strasbourg during a Viking River Cruise on the Rhine. Ever since my visit to this friendly, picturesque city I can’t stop daydreaming about someday living in this French city. Can you blame me?
Explore More of France
Read my tips for visiting Montpellier, the vibrant city where I lived for a year during college.
Take a peek at the best vacations in France for kids according to family travel experts.
Learn about the best things to do in Paris with kids.
Add theme park play to your France vacation with these helpful Disneyland Paris tips.
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Have you ever become smitten with a destination and wished you could move there? Where? Let us know in the comments below!
A Note from The Travel Mama: Viking River Cruises hosted my Rhine River cruise. All opinions are mine, as always.
I’m german originally from my hometown Karlsruhe but live in London since almost 20 odd years.
Karlsruhe(population 300k-400k) located right at the border to France, is a nice town with a lovely castle in middle seems really boring in comparison to Straßburg, considering that the town has approx. a population of 300k or so(?).
Strasbourg seems like a cute million city that never gets boring and is always lively, we(a)ther it’s summer or winter! Every corner has a new surprise just waiting for you, something nice and unexpected.
I wish all towns could be as lively and cute as S:)
One can only fall in love with Strasbourg…
Strasbourg really is easy to fall in love with. In fact, my family is considering going to Strasbourg for a whole month next summer! If we do, we’ll be sure to stop by Karlsruhe to see the castle!
Did you happen to see black forest cuckoo clocks sold in Strasbourg shops?
Hi Jurgen – I don’t remember seeing any Black Forest cuckoo clocks in the Strasbourg shops but I wasn’t looking for them either. We saw plenty of them during our trip to the Black Forest: https://travelmamas.com/germanys-fabled-black-forest-with-viking-river-cruises/ Good luck in finding your cuckoo clock!
Thank you, it makes perfect sense!
I’ve been researching the city a bit. Thanks for the tip on language. My husband and I both speak French to a fair degree and would be fluent in a year. Husband is fluent also in German so that would help a lot too!
“French with a German accent” sounds like the perfect description. We will know in the next two months if the job transfer comes through, there are well over 20 people in line for this position so it’s all up in the air. We were SO close to moving to Ireland a few months ago but the job fell through, the disappointment took weeks to get over) . I’ve moved to Strasbourg in my head, already! I will let you know if it happens.
Thank you again.
Hello!
I know this is a very late comment but thanks for your blog. We may be moving to Strasbourg (husband will work part of the week in Zurich so it would work for our family, our kids are pre-teens and older child). I am DYING at the home prices! Yikes!
I am looking for a more “French” culture rather than German. Would you consider Strasbourg about 50/50 in terms of the mix of cultures? How about the language commonly used in restaurants/stores/on the street?
Thanks!
Susalis – How exciting for your family! I am so incredibly jealous! I would say that Strasbourg definitely feels like France with a German accent. French is the primary language but someone who speaks only German could get by easily. I would say Strasbourg was more like 60 or 70% French, 40 or 30% German in terms of the mix of cultures, but I was there for a short time so it’s hard for me to say. Really, Strasbourg has its own culture, which is a delightful blend of the two with its own feel all together. Does that make sense?
Hi Colleen
The blog on falling in love with Strasbourg in France stole my heart. The German French cultural blend of this town, and the cuisines you have written about makes me long to visit it at the earliest. Really saving money, for it.
Amarjit – Oh, how I hope you can go! I really loved this city so very much. Best wishes in saving up for your Strasbourg adventure!
thought you might like to know that this article is starting to be passed around on FB by folks from the American/Canadian ex-pat group in Alsace. (Americans in Alsace).
Nice to read about the city most of us now call home. It truly is as beautiful a place to live as it is to visit. Make sure that if you ever do take the plunge, you don’t forget to join the association.
For those coming to visit, I hope you have a great time. There are tons of things to see, and you can spend days just wandering the streets – exactly like people who have lived here for years still do. There’s also tons of great places to eat and drink, but we’re not allowed to give all the secrets to tourists…
One thing – they call it La Petite France because that is where the hospital was for soldiers with syphilis (‘The French Disease’). Not as glamorous as it sounds…The centre of the old town was – as it is today – at the Cathedral, which is celebrating its 1000-year anniversary this year. The main crossroads of the Roman town (founded 12 BC) was at present-day Rue du Dôme, and Rue des Hallebardes, at the North-west corner of the Cathedral.
One more travel tip – remember that on the first Sunday of each month, all public museums in France are free.
Best to all.
Hi Krys – Oh, don’t tempt me even further! I just told my husband that there is an ex-pat group in Strasbourg ready for us to join once we move. He laughed because his job keeps us stateside but I told him never say never! Thank you for the explanation about la Petite France (our tour guide actually shared this tidbit with us) and for correcting me about the location of Strasbourg’s Old Town. I have updated the post to more accurately reflect this. Great tip on the public museums too! I am not going to give up on my dream of living in France again so maybe I’ll see you around the streets of Strasbourg someday?!
looks amazing, the perfect couple getaway for piece and quiet.
I’m in love with strasbourg too, that’s why i have a blog on this subject : http://www.blogkapoue.com ! Enjoy my city !
Jacktyphus – I checked out your blog and it looks like a wonderful resource for those looking to visit your fine city. I will definitely read up before I visit Strasbourg again!
Thank you for sharing! We are headed to Strasbourg in November, and this post makes me so excited! Can’t wait to explore this region of France!
Kirsten – I am so jealous! Have a great time!
I am officially hungry, thirsty and relaxed after reading this. Agree with Phil that the “Cinderella” sentence is fabulous!
Merci beaucoup, Mary!
best line ever: “It’s like dancing with Cinderella at a ball attended by super models”
Thank you, Phil! 🙂
Strasbourg looks lovely! I have been wanting to go on a river cruise in Europe for so long but wasn’t sure which one. I thought I was leaning toward the Danube but now I’m not so sure!!
Lisa – I know what you mean. All of the Viking River Cruise itineraries look so enticing. I’m so pleased we chose the Rhine Getaway, but there’s so many great options to choose from.
We have never been to Strasbourg, but been to Paris many times. If Strasbourg is half as charming as Paris, I would love it see it. 🙂 Sounds like it is. I will have to make sure to see if the next time we are in France. Thanks for all the great info on this beautiful city.
Samantha – I love Paris but it can seem overwhelming in size and attractions. I like that Strasbourg is big enough to have lots of restaurants and shops, but small enough to still have that friendly village feel. I hope you get to visit Strasbourg someday!
I go in 2 weeks and am very excited . Thank you for your post