I%26#39;ll be in Strasbourg for a month beginning May 22 and I%26#39;m looking forward very much to the time there. Are there some neat little restaurants or special interest places that you can tell me about? Or anything else I should know and probably don%26#39;t?
|||
I don%26#39;t recall the name of the restaurant we ate at, but it%26#39;s located by the square which faces the main street (sorry I don%26#39;t remember the name too). It was an Alsatian restaurant that was crowded when we ate dinner there. Food was mostly boiled vegetables and meats and they were excellent.
In short, while in Strasbourg make it a point to sample some Alsatian cuisine and wine.
Strasbourg is a beautiful city and you will enjoy visiting.
|||
Don%26#39;t miss the %26#39;Maison Kammerzell%26#39; facing the cathedral! The restaurant is a must-see built arount 1450, very beautiful and the food very good and typically Alsatian. It%26#39;s not cheap but a good place for a special dinner. There are, too, several less expensive little %26#39;winstub%26#39; in the same area where you can taste Alsatian cooking and our wines ( Saint Sepulcre in rue des Orfevres, Le Clou in rue du Chaudron ....) If you want to take home a nice souvenir go to Vitrines d%26#39;Alsace, place de la Cathedrale. There are boat tours on the Ill (little river going all around the very city center), departure behind Chateau de Rohan, near the cathedral again. This way you can see a lot of the old town without your feet hurting! I hope you%26#39;ll enjoy!!!!
|||
Colmar is a nearby little town worth visiting.
If you can catch the Colmar boys choir, they%26#39;re worth listening. The Alsace region currently has the world%26#39;s attention when it comes to this musical art form.
|||
You%26#39;re there for a long time. I hope you have something to do other than look at the sights - there aren%26#39;t that many of them.
The cathedral was the best for me. I could sit in there for hours - and the viewing platform wasn%26#39;t open when we were there.
Also, there%26#39;s a variety of museums - select what you want to see depending on your interests and time. The contemporary art museum is well worth a visit. We particularly enjoyed the permanent collection - and there%26#39;s a lovely cafe with a rooftop view over %26quot;petite france%26quot;, the quaint old part of Strasbourg.
The European government buildings are very interesting - if you%26#39;re into architecture. But beware that you can only get in if the EP etc are IN SESSION (although that usually means you can%26#39;t get accommodation because the bureaucrats take it all). All were closed for business when we visited in February, and public access was not allowed.
Apparently there are pleasant and popular gardens adjacent to the government buildings - they were desolate during our winter visit.
There is a nice cafe - again with views - from the top of Printemps - the department store. It%26#39;s on the 8th floor from memory - and there are not many tall buildings in Strasbourg. Have a coffee there and get your bearings - the food is OK and moderately priced.
Frankly, I didn%26#39;t think Strasbourg was up to much cuisine-wise. I%26#39;m sure we didn%26#39;t do enough searching - it was cold and were not inclined to wander the streets at night. We did come across a nice little market on Friday, near one of the main tram stops. It had a variety of stalls, including some with local produce.
Don%26#39;t bother with a canal boat tour unless you have nothing else to do. The English commentary was excruciating.
It%26#39;s not such a big city, but the trams are great for getting around in a hurry. Quite fast and frequent.
Strasbourg is obviously a base for visiting the wine country. We didn%26#39;t do much of that given it was winter. Neighbouring Colmar is a lovely daytrip, no matter the weather.
|||
If you%26#39;re really struggling for things to do, here%26#39;s a few more ideas.
(1) Take a Rhine cruise. That%26#39;s kind of nice.
(2) Take a tour of parts of the Maginot Line or Seigfried Line. Such tours of fortifications are available. There%26#39;s also gazillions of sobering tombstones from way too many battles from way too many wars up and down this borderline.
(3) If you%26#39;re American, you may be interested in doing a study of the US Army%26#39;s dumb attacks on the German Seigfried Line in the last year of WW2. What a waste of lives to get nowhere! The Colmar Salient is something to look into. That happened not far from Strasbourg. I wouldn%26#39;t go off the beaten path since there are still many unexploded bombs in the region.
|||
Hi!
We went to Strasbourg and Alsace for one week last September and had a great time.
Our favourite restaurant there was Le Clou in Rue du Chaudron, not to far from the Cathedral. The atmosphere, the food and everything was really nice, and the prices not too high either. Lots of locals ate there, which is a good sign!
Have a nice trip!
|||
I definitely would NOT miss Colmar...when you are there, you have to eat at a place called %26quot;Schwendi%26quot;. Order a tarte flambe,a rosti, and a salad...it is more than enough for two people and very affordable.( If you need an English menu, they have it). It is in the center of the town and not difficult to find. (You will see the Schwendi fountain, just turn in a circle until you see the restaurant.) Since you are there for a month, I would also definitely recommend a drive up the %26quot;wine road%26quot;. My favorite villages are Riquewihr, Kayersberg, and Ribeauville. You could also tour the castle Haut-Koenigsbourg. There is a really amusing place called the %26quot;monkey mountain%26quot; where there are literally hundreds of monkeys running free and you fan feed them. http://www.montagnedessinges.com/ Also, you could drive up to the highest point in the Vosges, The Grand Ballon. There is a luge that you can ride!! Also, there are a few really beautiful lakes in the Vosges. I can%26#39;t think of the names, off the top of my head, but there is also one that has a casino right on the lake. If you are interested in history, there is a place called %26quot;le linge%26quot; that is an old WWI battle sight. It is pretty much untouched, and you can walk right through the trenches and barbed wire..etc....We found it right at dusk and were alone there. It was a very sobering, memorable experience. For shopping, I would recommend spending a day in Freiburg, Germany. It%26#39;s not far, and everyone I know in Alsace goes there to shop, as the selections are much better, and the prices are much lower. I don%26#39;t know if you speak French, but if you speak any German it could help. The Alsatians that I know who do not speak English usually are pretty fluent in German.
|||
You will have a great time! Do visit the Alsacian Museum (almost opposite the boat trip station on the other bank of the River Ill), and also do the trip around Strasbourg. There are also the lovely gardens of the Orangerie to visit - near the Council of Europe), with their boating lake and mini-zoo (free and humane). There are VO movies at movie theatres in the town centre (you%26#39;ll need to look in the local newspapers (L%26#39;Alsace or Derni��res Nouvelles d%26#39;Alsace) for details, also a wonderful ENGLISH BOOKSHOP called The Bookworm in the Rue de Paques, just alongside the Les Halles shopping mall. Kiera and Della who run it both speak fluent English!
If you hire a car, go north to visit Soufflenheim and Betschdorf which are famous for producing Alsacian pottery (watch the potters in action too), and pop over the Rhine into Germany to try the Caracalla Spa Baths at Baden Baden. You could also venture south to the Ecomus��e, which is a museum of working crafts and old houses close to Ensisheim, and of course visit my home town of Colmar. You could also visit Haut Koenigsbourg Castle (just off from St Hippolyte) and the Monkey mountain in one day.
For those with a sweet tooth, (but you%26#39;ll need a car to get there) there is a recently opened Chocolate Museum (with tastings!!) at Geispolsheim -- lovely tea (sorry hot chocolate)room and shop, but the signing is poor (blame the local council who don%26#39;t want to put them up!) so make sure you get a map!
Don%26#39;t forget that the Strasbourg Tourist Office are here to help - you can get loads of info from them on Place de la Cathedrale.
Be aware of pickpockets, but other than that Alsace is really pleasant and safe.
Oh and another little thing .... apart from the BIG shops, working hours here are from 8 am (except shops which open between 9.30 and 10) to 12 noon and from 2 pm to about 6 pm (shops stay open later). Certainly in rural Alsace, not a cat stirs between 12 and 2 because we%26#39;re all busy enjoying a good lunch! Don%26#39;t hesitate to ask if you need further info, and have a great stay .... there%26#39;s plenty to fill a month, and with excellent rail connections, you can also visit Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg! Have a great time!
|||
Dear Spirit,
I%26#39;m a journalist. I%26#39;ll be writing articles about foreigners who chose to visit Alsace. Since I know you%26#39;re going to Strasbourg very soon, I%26#39;d like to know why you chose to go to Alsace and not somewhere else...
If we can meet somewhere, when you%26#39;re here in Strasbourg, i%26#39;ll be very glad writing an article about an American (alone, or with his wife/husband/ family) visiting Strasbourg.
Please, let le know.
Alexandre MENDEL, STRASBOURG, FRANCE
|||
Hi, I%26#39;d like to thank Spirit for asking the question and Alsacienne for the detailed answer. My husband and I will be inStrasbourg for 3 nights from June 26 as he attends a conference and for Alsace and Champagne for about 10 days in total. I have copied Alsacienne%26#39;s response et je vous remercie de tout coeur.
Tasma
No comments:
Post a Comment