Strasbourg is located in eastern France in the prefecture of Grand Est. Today, about 275,000 people live in the city proper with around 800,000 in the larger metropolitan area. It lies on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite the German city of Kehl.

Strasbourg is the seat Council of Europe, of the European Court of Human Rights and of the European Parliament. A lot of people also consider Strasbourg to be the de facto capital of the European Union but really it is Brussels that has that distinction.

Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Île (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988, with the newer area "Neustadt" being added to the site in 2017. Strasbourg is immersed in Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a cultural bridge between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the second-largest in France, and the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant culture.

The city is filled with stunning architecture of all periods, fascinating museums, covered bridges over the river and spacious squares filled with cafés, restaurants and bars.

We truly hope you can join us on this action-packed intro to our time in Strasbourg. 

There are multiple ways of arriving to Strasbourg.  Many direct flights arrive from Canada and USA into Paris CDG Airport at various times during the day.  It is a 2-hour TGV train from Paris to Strasbourg.  Many flights also arrive into Frankfurt Airport and it is a 3-hour train ride from Frankfurt to Strasbourg.  And there are flights which connect into Strasbourg Airport from various European centres such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Brussels although these are with smaller local airlines.  Official check-in time is 3:00 pm but all efforts will be made to have the rooms ready in advance if possible. 

Check-in to the Hôtel de l’Europe.

The Hôtel de l’Europe Strasbourg is situated in the picturesque Petite France neighborhood of the city, perfectly accessible on foot to the best of everything.  The hotel is dedicated to sustainable operation.

Some time to unpack, relax and explore the neighborhood before our afternoon and evening programs begin. Strasbourg is a magnificent city.

5:00 pm Rendezvous in the hotel lobby for a quick welcome and run-down on the upcoming program. 

Short walk through the Historic Center of Strasbourg to the Quai des Pêcheurs for a 1 ½-hour cruise in the Bateaux de l’Ill along the scenic canal system that encircles the main island of the city.  An overview of the city’s main sites and lots of drinks and snacks onboard. 

After our floating visit, we walk to the Petite France part of town for a traditional Alsatian dinner at one of the city’s most famous restaurants – La Maison des Tanneurs dites “Gewerstub”.  In business since 1572. 

With their high roofs with open-to-the-air attics, the tanners' houses are easily recognizable in this Petite-France district of Strasbourg.  This was an area of working class people, mostly tanners who meticulously cleaned the animal skins in the river so that they could absorb the tannin and achieve the suppleness necessary for other tanning operations. Then they dried them in these attics whose notched roofs let the air through.

Restored by a group of eight wine merchants and transformed into a restaurant in 1949, the Maison des Tanneurs has been run by numerous generations of the same family ​​since 1956. They are dedicated to preserving the architecture of this beautiful house and maintaining a high standard of Alsatian food and wine.

Following dinner we walk back to our hotel.

Overnight: Hôtel de l’Europe, Strasbourg.

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Full buffet breakfast from 7:30 am in the restaurant of the hotel. 

Following breakfast we enjoy a guided cultural walking visit of some of the city’s major sites.  Strasbourg Cathedral.  Place Gutenberg.  Place Kléber.  Kammerzell House.  We’ll be sure to be at the Astronomical Clock at 12:30 when it does its major performance.

The Cathedral Notre Dame
Strasbourg’s cathedral is one of Europe’s finest Gothic structures and owes a great deal of its charm to the pink sandstone from the Vosges with which it was built. 

The central doorway is the most richly decorated and the tympanum is made of four historiated bands, the first three of which date from the 13th century while the fourth is modern.  They depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments.  The beautiful 13th-century clock doorway is the cathedral’s oldest and consists of two adjacent Romanesque doors separated by a statue of Solomon.

The cathedral’s most popular feature is its astronomical clock, designed by mathematicians and built by Swiss clock-makers between 1550 and 1574.  It stopped in 1780 but a Strasbourg native called Schwilgué studied it for 30 years and then rebuilt it between 1838 and 1842. 

The seven days of the week are represented by chariots led by gods who appear through an opening below the dial.  Diana starts off the week on Mondays then come in order Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Apollo. 

A series of automata strikes twice every quarter hour while on the hour Death deals the blow.  On his last stroke, the second angel of the Lion’s Gallery reverses his hourglass.  The clock is ½ hour behind normal time so the midday chiming occurs at 12:30 pm and this is when the big event of the clock takes place with a huge parade of figures and activities.  The Apostles pass in front of Christ, Jesus blesses them as the cock flaps his wings and crows three times, a reminder of Peter’s denial of Christ. 

A moveable feast today as we have a walking visit of multiple gourmet establishments with drinks along the way.  Local gastronomic guides from Strasbourg will take us around. Tastings will include Crémant d’Alsace sparkling wine, farmhouse Munster cheese, local gingerbread, Kugelhopf, foie gras, pretzels, tarte flambée both savoury and sweet and eau de vie.  No need for a formal lunch!

Munster or Munster-géromé is a strong tasting, soft cheese made mainly from milk from the Vosges, between the regions of Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté. 

Kugelhopf is a very rich combination of part bread and part cake. The tall angular shape of the Kugelhopf inspired the American bundt cake. Though it originated in Austria, this sweet raisin-filled yeast bread has become a specialty of Alsace where it is often served for breakfast or brunch.

An eau de vie is a clear, colorless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. Some commonly available flavors are eau-de-vie de poire (pear), de pomme (apple), de mirabelle (yellow plum), de pêche (peach), de framboises (raspberry). 

Late afternoon we finish our gourmet circuit (unless you want to keep going!) and there will be time to browse the shops or relax in a sunny café. 

We reconvene at the historic wine cellars of the Hospices de Strasbourg for a fun and informative winetasting. 

Wines and The Hospices de Strasbourg
For more than 600 years, wine was made and stored in the historic cellars of the Strasbourg Hospices. The operation fell upon hard times but in 1999, some thirty Alsatian wine domains joined forces to save the cellar. 

The premises were restored to their full glory and the winemakers began raising and selling their wines from here.  Only wines made from the local grapes - Riesling, Sylvaner, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Klevener de Heiligenstein, Gewurztraminer grapes and the only red grape from Alsace, Pinot Noir, are accepted. The aging in oak barrels, a tradition somewhat lost in Alsace, is a common denominator for all these wines. 

The profits made by the hospital’s wine sales store, located in the cellar itself, are used to purchase medical equipment for the Strasbourg Hospital.

Following this amazing visit, we have dinner at leisure with plenty of suggestions for simple bistros, gastronomic restaurants and friendly winstubs. 

Overnight: Hôtel de l’Europe, Strasbourg.

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Full buffet breakfast from 7:00 am in the restaurant of the hotel. 

Following breakfast we take a short transfer to the European Parliament for a custom guided visit of the institution and its operation.

Our visit to the parliamentary debating chamber is an unrivalled opportunity to soak up the unique atmosphere of the world’s largest transnational parliament. It hosts the European Parliament’s most important debates and has provided the backdrop for many historic votes.  Our visit will include the Parlamentarium Simone Veil.

The dynamic and interactive exhibition gives a practical insight into the role of the European Parliament, its political groups and the work of its Members.

We return to city center and the Palais de Rohan where we take a guided visit of the Fine Arts Museum. The museum presents a fascinating overview of the history of painting in Europe. 

Located on the first floor of the Rohan Palace, the museum holds many treasures including.

- Italian and Flemish Primitives (Giotto, Memling).
- Renaissance and Mannerism (Botticelli, Raphaël, Veronese, Lucas van Leyden, El Greco).

- Baroque, Naturalism and Classicism in the 17th and 18th centuries (Rubens, Vouet, Zurbarán,  Canaletto, Tiepolo, Goya).
- 20th-Century (Delacroix, Chassériau, Corot, Courbet).

Short walk to the local micro-craft-brewery Au Brasseur where we will first have a crash course in the many types of Alsatian beer followed by a delicious lunch with even more wonderful brews – amber, brown, blonde and white. 

Beer holds a special place in the hearts of Alsatians.  Within the walls of Au Brasseur, there has been beer brewing since 1746.  Founded by Jean Hatt, at 22 rue des Veaux, the Espérance brewery remained active until 1863 and then closed its doors. After more than a century of slumber, beer production resumed in 1991 and the establishment was reopened to the public under its current name.

Anxious to preserve tradition and perpetuate ancestral know-how, almost 30 years later, the micro-brewery continues to develop and produce all our beers themselves.  They use their own fresh yeast, the malt is crushed on site, the hops are personally selected and the fresh clean water is locally Alsatian.  The beers are unfiltered and unpasteurized to preserve all their rich tastes. 

After lunch we continue to the Museum of Alsace for an in-depth exploration of the history and traditions of the region.

The Alsatian Museum provides a charming tour through a complex of old Strasbourg homes connected by wooden staircases and passageways. It presents thousands of objects that illustrate rural life in Alsace in the 18th and 19th centuries - costumes, furniture, ceramic objects, toys, religious and secular imagery.

Visitors circulate among the items comprising the Alsatian Museum as though they were wandering through a home whose inhabitants had just stepped out. The creaking floors, the furniture filling the rooms and all of the various objects, none of which is insignificant, speak of a time that is both so familiar and yet so very different from today’s life.

Short walk to our final gala dinner at the iconic Restaurant La Maison Kammerzell.

Patricia Schulz, author of the famous “1000 Places To See Before You Die”, mentions Maison Kammerzell in her book as one of the most beautiful brasseries in the world.  It is a must-see situated on the Place de la Cathédral, acknowledged as the most charming building in a city of charming buildings.  The architecture comes straight out of a fairy tale with wooden sculptures, frescoes, spiral staircases and unique view angles. 

The late Gothic foundations date back to 1427. Later on in 1467 and 1589, three upper floors of timber paneling were added. The rich decoration on the façade, both secular and sacred, was inspired by the Renaissance humanistic.

Overnight: Hôtel de l’Europe, Strasbourg.

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Full buffet breakfast from 7:00 am in the restaurant of the hotel. 

Bags tagged and check out of the hotel.  Luggage will travel separately to our hotel in Obernai and be waiting in your rooms on arrival.

Following breakfast we walk to a building once a Renaissance slaughterhouse for a guided visit of the Historical Museum.   

The Historical Museum of the City of Strasbourg is located in a Renaissance building of the former slaughterhouse and is dedicated to the tumultuous history of the city from the early Middle Ages until the contemporary period. 

It displays many fascinating artifacts including the Grüselhorn, the horn that was blown at 10 pm every evening during medieval times to order the Jews out of the city.

Lunch at leisure before we depart for Obernai.   

2:30 p.m. Rendezvous with the rest of the participants for the main upcoming trip and transfer to Obernai.

The main trip begins.

The Strasbourg pre-trip is based on a minimum of 25 participants.

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