Strasbourg Revisited: the European Metropole on the Rhine

During the 1990s, I used to visit Strasbourg on a frequent basis, as the city is about 2 hours by train from Freiburg, where I used to live. Beside being a pretty city with an impressive cathedral, picturesque old town with scenic medieval timber framed houses, Strasbourg also offers good shopping opportunities, with many French supermarkets, French departmental stores stocked with French clothing labels available only in France proper, and high-end haute-couture boutiques which make my knees go weak and my bank accounts empty during its summer sales and winter sales periods. Sometimes I even went to Strasbourg with an empty suitcase, only to return with it filled to the brim with French delicatessen and fashion booty from the latest sales in town.

Back in the 1990s, when the use of Euro was still in the planning phase and France's natiobnal currency was still the French Franc, Strasbourg was a good place for fashionistas to indulge themselves. No offence to German designers, but it was simply more fun to shop in Strasbourg for handbags, shoes, accessories and dresses than in most German cities. Due to the relative strength of the Deutschmark vis-a-vis the French Franc, department stores and shopping centres in Strasbourg provide excellent value for money for those coming over from Germany. In addition, Strasbourg is the undisputed local culinary stronghold of France, with countless restaurants and bistros offering ridiculously delicious trademark Alsatian specialities such as the mouthwatering Tarte flambee, the crispy Alsatian white wines made from local Gewurztraminer grapes, as well as some of the best foie gras France has to offer. There is no shortage of restaurants serving French cuisines from other regions of France as well. As a matter of fact, Alsace has one of the highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, and one does not need to go far or dig deep into the pocket to have a wonderful meal: even ordinary places such as Paul the Bakery, whose products consist mostly of all kinds of French breads and pastry items, also offer great value set lunch menus for less than 10 euros.   

With the introduction of Euro in the early 2000s, prices have risen several fold in France. As Strasbourg is the city where the headquarters of several European institutions and international organizations are located, it is hardly surprising that life in Strasbourg after Euro has become so much more expensive than it once was in the 1990s. With so many European bureaucrats and employees of various international organizations stationed in this city, Strasbourg actually feels much more 'European' than Paris or Lyon.

The unique thing, about Strasbourg is, unlike other major French cities, Strasbourg has long been part of a wider German sphere of cultural influence that also includes many other notable cities on or near the Rhine, such as Basel in Switzerland and Luxembourg. Admittedly the French elements have always been there too, due to the city's location on the eastern-most fringe of metropolitian France and the western-most border of German-speaking Central Europe, but Strasbourg certainly feels so much more Teutonic than other cities in France, and its strategic position on the Rhine, at one of the most important crossroads in a pan-European geo-political map, makes this city a highly prized asset repeatedly fought over by France and Germany in the previous two centuries.

The Strasbourg of today is politically and geographically a French city, though the Germanic influences remain strong. Many locals speak French and the native Alsatian dialect, which is classified as a branch of Alemannic dialects closely related to the tongues spoken in neighbouring regions of Basel (as well as other parts of German-speaking Switzerland), Swabia, and Baden. However it is also not too difficult to navigate your way around Strasbourg with English, as this city has a large expatriate population due to the presence of various European and international instutitions. 

Since 1988, the entire old city centre of Strasbourg has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site and designated pedestrian only zone. Amongst the top tourist attractions of Strasbourg's city centre include the beautiful Gothic-style sandstone Cathedral of Our Lady, famous for its single-dome design, and an abundance of medieval Rhineland-style colourful timber-framed houses which now serve as cafes, shops, hotels and restaurants.

Strasbourg was an Imperial Free City in the Holy Roman Empire - which explains in part the city's close historical association over the centuries with German-speaking parts of Central Europe - and was home to many notable personalities in the Middle Ages as well as the Early Modern period. One of the most well-known Protestant Reformer and founder of Calvinism, Jean Calvin, spent several years preaching at several churches in Strasbourg as a free preacher. The churches at which Calvin once preached are still in existence and in active use, albeit they had been architectually modified since Calvin's time. Other notable natives of Strasbourg include quite a wide array of people covering different fields, from Madame Tussaud of the wax work fame, to Arsene Wenger, the current manager of FC Arsenal; even Ludwig I of Bavaria, a Bavarian king, was born in Strasbourg and served as an officer in the French army before inheriting the throne to the Kingdom of Bavaria.

One fine example of such congregation of well-preserved medieval timber houses can be found in the Petite-France district in downtown Strasbourg, also known as the Gerberviertel (Tanners' District). 

One nice way to visit Strasbourg is to take a ride on the glass roof river boat that leaves from the pier next to the majestic medieval cathedral and travels upstream on the canal that divides Strasbourg's inner city centre into two separate parts. The boat will pass through some of the most scenic districts of the old town, including the picturesque Petite France quarter with all its medieval timber-framed buildings and canal-side cafes, before turning back at the Barrage Vauban, where the 17th century Vauban military fortifications are located. 

On a sunny day, the narrow medieval streets of Petite France are full of tourists armed with multiple cameras eager to capture the beauty of this ancient quarter. This was the must-see place for anyone visiting Strasbourg: while still living in Freiburg, I used to take all those who came to visit me in Freiburg on a day-trip to Strasbourg, and would spend a few hours touring the old town, spending some money in French food and fashion industries, stroll along the canal that flows through the old town, before having a cafe au lait and a scenic meal at one of the local restaurants and bistros in the city centre, accompanied by a bottle of good Alsatian white wine, some Pâtés, Flammkuchen, or Quiche Lorraine, and enjoy a nice evening in this beautiful medieval city on the Rhine.

Nowadays it is very easy to travel to Strasbourg. Direct TGV trains connect Paris to the west and Stuttgart+Karlsruhe in the east with Strasbourg. Regular regional trains to Strasbourg's Gare Centrale depart from Offenburg, Baden-Baden, Kehl and even Karlsruhe. There are 4-5 buses per day, operated by Lufthsansa, connecting downtown Strasbourg and Strasbourg airport with Frankfurt am Main international airport.

Copyrights@2012. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.