Normandy, Brittany & the Best of the North_ With Paris (Fodor's) - Fodor's [92]
Musée Historique (Local History Museum).
This museum, in a step-gabled slaughterhouse dating from 1588, contains a collection of maps, armor, arms, bells, uniforms, traditional dress, printing paraphernalia, and two huge relief models of Strasbourg. | 3 pl. de la Grande-Boucherie | 67000 | 03–88–52–50–00 | www.musees-strasbourg.org | €5 | Mon. and Wed.–Fri. noon–6, weekends 10–6.
Ponts Couverts (Covered Bridges).
These three bridges, distinguished by their four stone towers, were once covered with wooden shelters. Part of the 14th-century ramparts that framed Old Strasbourg, they span the Ill as it branches into four fingerlike canals.
BEYOND THE ILL
If you’ve seen the center and have time to strike out in new directions, head across the Ill to view two architectural landmarks unrelated to Strasbourg’s famous medieval past: Place de la République and the Palais de l’Europe.
SIGHTS TO SEE BEYOND THE ILL
European Parliament.
This sleek building testifies to the growing importance of the governing body of the European Union, which used to make do with rental offices in the Palais de l’Europe. Eurocrats continue to commute between Brussels, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg, hauling their staff and files with them. One week per month, visitors can slip into the hemicycle and witness the tribune in debate, complete with simultaneous translation. Note: You must obtain a written appointment beforehand and provide a pièce d’identité (ID) before entering. | Behind Palais de l’Europe | 67000 | 03–88–17–52–85 | Free | Call or write ahead for appointment.
L’Orangerie.
Like a private backyard for the Eurocrats in the Palais de l’Europe, this delightful park is laden with flowers and punctuated by noble copper beeches. It contains a lake and, close by, a small reserve of rare birds, including flamingos and noisy local storks. | Av. de l’Europe | 67000.
Palais de l’Europe.
Designed by Paris architect Henri Bernard in 1977, this continental landmark is headquarters to the Council of Europe, founded in 1949 and independent of the European Union. A guided tour introduces you to the intricacies of its workings and may allow you to eavesdrop on a session. Arrange your tour by telephone in advance; appointments are fixed according to language demands and usually take place in the afternoon. Note: You must provide a pièce d’identité (ID) before entering. | Av. de l’Europe | 67000 | 03–90–21–49–40 for appointment | Free | Guided tours by appointment weekdays.
Place de la République.
The spacious layout and ponderous architecture of this monumental cirque (circle) have nothing in common with the Vieille Ville except for the local red sandstone. A different hand was at work here—that of occupying Germans, who erected the former Ministry (1902), the Academy of Music (1882–92), and the Palais du Rhin (1883–88). The handsome neo-Gothic church of St-Paul and the pseudo-Renaissance Palais de l’Université (University Palace), constructed between 1875 and 1885, also bear the German stamp. Heavy turn-of-the-20th-century houses, some reflecting the whimsical curves of the Art Nouveau style, frame Allée de la Robertsau, a tree-lined boulevard that would not look out of place in Berlin.
WHERE TO EAT IN STRASBOURG
Au Crocodile.
$$$$ | FRENCH | As one of the temples of Alsatian-French haute cuisine, this has the expected grand salon— renovated in 2009, and still asparkle with skylights and a spectacular 19th-century mural showing the strasbourgeoisie at a country fair—an exhaustive wine list, and some of the most dazzling dishes around, courtesy of new chef Philippe Bohrer, who formerly worked privately for French presidents Giscard d’Estaing and François Mitterand. Fittingly at a restaurant founded in the early 1800s, you get a real taste of the-way-Alsace-was here,