Alsace & Strasbourg

The historic center of Strasbourg, known as Grande Île, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It boasts stunning examples of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, including the iconic Strasbourg Cathedral with its intricate facade and impressive spire. The city's charming half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets, and picturesque canals add to its undeniable allure. Childhood dreams come alive in Alsace’s fairytale towns, and there are also the mighty castles on their lofty crags commanding attention and conjuring images of harrowing battles long past. Explore the half-timbered buildings lining the cobblestone streets of Strasbourg and Colmar, walk the narrow alleys of medieval Eguisheim, wander around the 15th Century mountain fortress of Haut-Koenigsbourg, and taste some of the finest wines in the world while following the great Alsatian Wine Route.

Things To See and Do

• Walk the hallways of the lavish 18th-Century Palais Rohan, the former residence of the cardinals and prince-bishops of the House of Rohan. The Palais is so opulent it is dubbed a miniature version of the Palace of Versailles.

• Soak up fantastic views of Strasbourg from the belfry of the 15th-Century Cathédrale Notre-Dame, the city’s iconic Gothic cathedral featuring leering gargoyles, flying buttresses and a soaring 142-metre spire.

• Amble along the twisting lanes and narrow streets of Grande Île, Strasbourg’s UNESCO-listed island. Sherbet-coloured timberframed houses line these streets and come nightfall, watch as they come alive with lit lanterns.

• Check out the impressive collection in Colmar’s Musée d’Unterlinden which includes prized medieval stone statues, works by Picasso and Monet, and the awe-inspiring Rétable d’Issenheim, the late-Gothic altarpiece created by the sculptor Nicolas of Haguenau and painter Mathias Grünewald.

• Drop by Cave de Ribeauvillé, the oldest winegrowers’ cooperative in France, and stock up on wine!

• Take in sweeping views of the Vosges, Black Forest and the Alps from the ramparts of Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg, the turreted red-sandstone castle overlooking the Upper Rhine Plain.

• Stroll through Colmar’s lovely Little Venice quarter where halftimbered storybook houses line the waterway.