Strategically sited on the banks of the Rhine, Strasbourg, has bounced back and forth between France and Germany for generations. Today it is Frances's most important political city outside Paris - the seat of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Parliament.
The city was a major commercial centre in the Middle Ages and it reached its zenith in the Renaissance.It later became a centre for the Reformation which brought major religious upheavals throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. .
As wellas being a major political centre Strasbourg is also an exciting city in its own right with its own opera house, the only national theatre outside Paris and an impressive collection of museums around a substantial cathedral. The city centre has remained little changed since the Middle Ages with narrow, traffic-free streets flanked by timbered houses and it is now classed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Visitors are mainly attracted to the medieval centre, the pink limestone gothic cathedral and the Petite France district of half-timbered homes and narrow streets that are criss-crossed with pretty canals.
Key attractions are the Notre Dames Cathedral with its huge 142m high steeple and its museum of sculpture, furniture and tapestries; the 18th century Rohan Palace, a sort of mini Versailles and the Museum of Modern Art which has a collection that includes Monet, Picasso, Magritte and Klimt.
Other tourist draws are two magnificent parks - the Orangerie Park with its lake and zoo and Pourtales Park that has many modern sculptures scattered through its 60 acres.
Almost the entire city centre of Strasbourg is traffic free and there is an extensive bus and tram network. The railway station has services to most European cities notably Frankfurt, Brussels, London, Paris and Bourdeaux.
Strasbourg is on the central European motorway network to Paris on the A4, to Munich via Stuttgart on the A8 and the A5 to Frankfurt. The Entzheim International Airport is 12km south west of the city with international flights to most European cities and excellent links to Paris. Approximate flight times from London are 90mins.
