The bars and restaurants whose tables spill on to the pavements and squares range from gourmet burger joints to Michelin-starred gastronomy, while sleek-nosed trams snake past on the main streets along with the buses, they keep traffic low, and cycle lanes shadow most major roads. The student population here is the second-largest in France, and their presence adds to the vibrant atmosphere – it’s a miracle that a city with so many timber-framed buildings never feels twee. The student population here is the second-largest in France, and their presence adds to the vibrant atmosphere Still, even here, amid the stone facades of the university the Kaiser built to help “Germanise” his new people, Strasbourg’s inability to pick a style and stick with it is very noticeable, be it the neo-classical library or the pretty Jugendstil facade of the nearby houses. Bridges of various designs connect the Grande-Île to the even grander Neustadt, where German emperor Wilhelm I established the new town that doubled the population in the wake of the Franco-Prussian war in the late 19th century. Strasbourg’s history radiates from its colourful centre outwards, and the street names, given in two languages, are a reminder of how often this land has changed hands between Germany (where it was originally part of the Holy Roman empire) and France. Photograph: Bildagentur-online/Schickert/Alamy For orientation, the dark gothic spire of its 13th-century cathedral can often be spotted above the sloping roofs – the extravagantly carved tower is 142 metres high, and can be climbed for an epic view over the city.īarrage Vauban. You can cross the island by foot in 15 minutes, if you don’t get lost among its mazy alleyways. From the beguiling jumble of medieval buildings lining its canals to the wide, tree-lined avenues of the Neustadt, from Renaissance palaces to the Richard Rogers/Claude Buche-designed European court of human rights, this is a city whose architectural eclecticism tells the tale of the continent and maintains a hopeful vision of its future.Īt its heart lies the Grande-Île, encircled by the River Ill and the canals built to bolster first its security and later its industry. Tucked away on Alsace’s eastern border, Strasbourg pulls off the trick of being both quirkily regional and a beacon for post-national modernity. A view of the Place de la Cathédrale from one of the towers.