Rue du Bain-aux-Plantes in the Petite France quarter
COMPILED BY RORY GOULDING, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM KERRY CHRISTIANI. PHOTOGRAPHS: WESTEND 61/GETTY, SASS, ACHIM/GETTY
SIGHTS
Cathedrale Notre-Dame £
(cathedrale-strasbourg.fr)
Strasbourg's cathedral was completed in all its Gothic grandeur in 1439. The lace-fine facade lifts the gaze to flying buttresses and leering gargoyles. The interior is exquisitely lit by stained glass, including the jewel-like western rose window. The astronomical clock strikes solar noon at 12.30pm with a parade of figures portraying the different stages of life and Jesus with his Apostles. A staircase twists up to the 66m-high viewing platform, from which a spire soars another 76m.
Grande Tie
History seeps through the lanes and cafe-lined plazas of Grande Ile, Strasbourg's World Heritagelisted island bordered by the River 1ll. These streets - with their photogenic line-up of wonky, timber-framed houses in sherbet colours - are made for aimless ambling. They cower beneath the magnificence of the cathedral and its sidekick, the gingerbready, 15th-century Maison Kammerzell, with its ornate carvings and leaded windows. The alleys are at their most atmospheric when lantern lit at night.
Palais Rohan £
(musees.strasbourg.eu; 2 place du Chateau)
Hailed a 'Versailles in miniature', this opulent 18th-century residence is replete with treasures. The Musee Archeologique takes you from the Palaeolithic period to AD 800. On the ground floor is the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, where rooms adorned with Han nong ceramics and gleaming sil