Sightseeing
Overview
The key attraction of Strasbourg has to be its pink limestone Gothic
Cathedral, on place de la Cathédrale. Most of the
museums are clustered around this focal point and many are housed
in the 18th-century Palais Rohan. This area is
easily reached by foot or by tram to the Grand’Rue or Homme
de Fer.
The Petite France district, the former home of
the city’s millers, tanners and fishermen, should not be missed.
It has Hansel and Gretel-style half-timbered houses,
flourishing geraniums and narrow streets crisscrossed by canals.
This is the stuff of fairy tales, so it is hardly surprising that
Alsace has given rise to a rich folklore tradition. The canals lead
to the Ponts Couverts, constructed as part of the
14th-century fortifications, the watchtowers still stand. The Barrage
Vauban (Vauban’s Dam), designed to protect Strasbourg
from river-bound attack, is close by.
Other districts for visitors to explore include the imposing European
Institutions in northeast Strasbourg, with Richard Rogers’
visually striking European Court of Human Rights
and the grandiose German Quarter, constructed during
the Prussian occupation of 1870, dominating place de la République.
The city’s university is nearby, across the Ill and Aar rivers.
Visitors should pay a visit, if only to see the remarkable zoological
and scientific collections at the Musée Zoologique,
situated in the heart of the campus.
Strasbourg’s museums form a close and co-ordinated network
and are free on the first Sunday of every month. Information is
provided online (website: www.musees-strasbourg.org)
and via a central information telephone line (telephone number:
(03) 8852 5000).
Tourist Information
Office du Tourisme (Central Tourist Office)
17 place de la Cathédrale
Telephone number: (03) 8852 2828. Fax number: (03) 8852 2829.
E-mail: info@ot-strasbourg.fr
Website: www.ot-strasbourg.fr
Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 0900-1900 hrs,
Sunday 0900-1800 hrs.
Other tourist offices are located at Galerie à l’en-Verre,
place de la Gare and on avenue du Pont de l’Europe
(route du Rhin).
Passes
The Strasbourg-Pass is available for purchase at
the Central Tourist Office and in hotels. Valid
for 3 days, the pass includes 5 free offers (to one of the 8 museums,
ascent to the Cathedral platform, the Astronomical
Clock, a boat tour through the Old Town
and use of a bicycle for one day) and 5 half-price
offers.
Also available is the Passe des Musées de Strasbourg
(telephone number: (03) 8933 9629, e-mail: info@museumspass.com;
website: www.museumspass.com),
which allows free access to all of Strasbourg’s museums and
exhibitions. The pass is available for purchased at Strasbourg’s
museums for €25 and is valid for 1 month on any 4 days. Serious
culture vultures planning a year’s stay in Alsace may be tempted
by the annual pass, valid for 1 year, which offers access to 120
museums in Alsace, Switzerland and Germany, also available for purchase
at participating museums. This costs €53 for 1 adult or €92
for 2 adults.
Key Attractions
Cathédrale Notre-Dame
(Notre Dame Cathedral)
The Cathedral shares Strasbourg’s history of piggy-in-the-middle,
falling under Protestant control after the Reformation and returning
to the Catholic Church when Louis XIV took control of the city in
1681. Although shrouded in cobwebs of scaffolding, this huge building
still stands proud, its steeple (completed in 1439) reaching 142m
(466ft). The interior is rather plain but highlights include the
intricate façade with its three portals dedicated to the
life of Christ and Last Judgement, the Eglise and Synagogue statues
(the originals are located at the Musée de l’Oeuvre
Notre-Dame) and the colourful rose window over the west portal.
The Horloge Astronomique (Astronomical Clock) strikes at 1230, as
a cock flaps its wings and the stages of life (represented by child,
boy, adult and old man) march to meet death. The climb to the top
platform, from which there is an outstanding view over the city,
involves ascending (and descending) 332 steps, this should only
be contemplated by fit and healthy visitors.
Place du Château (south entrance) or Place de la Cathédrale
(main entrance)
E-mail: oeuvre-notre-dame@cus-strasbourg.net
Website: www.oeuvre-notre-dame.org
Transport: Tram line A to Homme de Fer or tram line B to place Broglie.
Opening hours: Monday-Friday 0900-1730 hrs,
Saturday and Sunday 1000-1730 hrs (January-October), Monday-Friday
0900-1630 hrs, Saturday and Sunday 1000-1630 hrs (November-December).
Admission: Free (Cathedral),€3 (roof
platform),€0.80 (Astronomical Clock).
Musée
de l’Oeuvre Notre-Dame (Notre-Dame Museum)
The original pair of statues (circa 1230) of Eglise (a symbol of
the victorious Church) and the blindfolded, defeated Synagogue (representing
Judaism), is the main treasure of this museum. Other highlights
include the Tête du Christ (Head of Christ), part of a stained-glass
window from the mid-11th century, the sculptures of Nicolas Gerhaert
de Leyde and the still-life paintings by Sébastien Stoskopff.
This rich collection of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance sculpture,
furniture and tapestries extends over 3 floors of 14th- and 16th-century
buildings.
3 place du Château
Telephone number: (03) 8852 5000.
E-mail: oeuvre-notre-dame@cus-strasbourg.net
Website: www.oeuvre-notre-dame.org
Transport: Tram line A to Homme de Fer or Grand’ Rue; tram
line B to place Broglie.
Opening hours:
Tuesday-Sunday 1000-1800 hrs.
Admission: €4.
Palais Rohan (Rohan Palace)
This mini-Versailles was built between 1732 and
1742, as a residence for the city’s French princely bishops,
including Cardinal Louis de Rohan. The château houses 3 museums
and a gallery. The basement is devoted to the Musée Archéologique
and covers the period from the Palaeolithic Age to AD800. The Musée
des Arts Décoratifs, located on the ground floor, comprises
the luxurious apartments of the cardinals of Rohan (used as guesthouses
by Louis XV and Marie-Antoinette) and a collection of Strasbourgeois
clocks and china. The Musée des Beaux Arts, located on the
first floor, displays European paintings from the Middle Ages to
1870.
2 place du Château
Telephone number: (03) 8852 5000.
E-mail: musees@cus-strasbourg.net
Transport: Tram line A to Homme de Fer or Grand’Rue; tram
line B to place Broglie.
Opening hours:
Wednesday-Monday 1000-1800 hrs.
Admission:
€4 per museum or gallery.
Musée
Alsacien (Alsace Museum)
This intriguing museum of day-to-day life and Alsatian traditions
is housed in three 16th and 17th-century buildings. The hotchpotch
collection includes kitchen equipment, furniture, toys and a miniature
18th-century toy synagogue.
23-25 quai Saint Nicolas
Telephone number: (03) 8852 5004. Fax number: (03) 8843 6418.
Website: http://www.musees-strasbourg.org/
Transport: Bus 10 to place Corbeau.
Opening hours:
Wednesday-Monday 1000-1800 hrs (January-March and July-August),
Monday-Saturday 1200-1800 hrs, Sunday 1000-1800 hrs (April-June
and September-December).
Admission: €4.
Musée
d’Art Moderne et Contemporain (Museum of Modern and Contemporary
Art)
This museum, with its glass façade looking onto the quayside,
is an ultra-modern addition to Strasbourg’s buildings. The
impressive permanent collection of paintings from the 1860s to the
1950s includes work by Monet, Signac, Arp, Picasso, Magritte and
Klimt. From the 1950s to the present day, Brecht, Filliou, Pérez
and Manetas are represented. There is also an art library, concert
hall and café-restaurant.
1 place Hans-Jean Arp
Telephone number: (03) 8823 3131. Fax number: (03) 8823 3132.
E-mail: mamcs@sdv.fr
Website: http://www.musees-strasbourg.org/
Transport: Bus 4 or 10; tram line B.
Opening hours:
Tuesday- Saturday and Sunday 1100-1900 hrs, Thursday 1200-2200
hrs.
Admission: €5.
Further
Distractions
Parc de
l’Orangerie
Located just opposite the Palais de l’Europe, this is the
largest and oldest park in the city. The beautifully proportioned
pavilion, with its creamy white walls and central fountain, was
constructed in honour of Empress Josephine, in 1804. However, the
oldest paths were designed by Le Nôtre, two centuries earlier.
The lake allows for boating in summer. The park has a zoo, ‘mini-farm’
and stork enclosure, although visitors should not be surprised to
see free-flying white storks nesting on many of the roofs and in
the trees.
Avenue de l’Europe
Transport: Bus 6, 30 or 72 to Orangerie/Palais de l’Europe.
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Admission:
Free.
Parc de Pourtalès
In the 19th century, Countess Mélanie de Pourtalès
would receive high society in the beautiful château, situated
at the heart of this 24-hectare (59-acre) park. Contemporary sculptures
are scattered throughout the gardens. Some, such as Claudio Parmiggiani’s
La Forêt regarde et écoute (‘the forest watches
and listens’), which consists of bronze ears grafted on to
tree trunks, are so well blended in with the landscape that some
locals still have not spotted them.
Rue Mélanie Transport: Bus 15 to Mélanie.
Opening hours: Daily dawn to dusk.
Admission:
Free. |
