Strasbourg in 2 days, on foot

This 2-day self-guided walking plan for Strasbourg covers 18 narrated sights in an easy day-by-day order. Each day is split into a morning and an afternoon loop, and every stop has a two to three minute audio story in the Gingerguide app.

You set the pace: this is a suggested order, not a schedule. Walk it in 2 days, or stretch it out. Reorder freely; Strasbourg rewards a detour.

Day 1

Morning

1. Strasbourg Cathedral: A Gothic masterpiece of pink Vosges sandstone rising 142 metres, its single completed tower dominating Alsace for six centuries, housing a spectacular astronomical clock.
2. La Petite France: The most picturesque quarter of Strasbourg, where half-timbered medieval houses of tanners and millers line romantic canals with locks.
3. Ponts Couverts: Three medieval bridges and four defensive towers guarding the western approach to Strasbourg, best viewed from the rooftop terrace of Barrage Vauban.
4. Barrage Vauban: A 17th-century fortified dam by Vauban offering the finest rooftop panorama over La Petite France and the Ponts Couverts.
5. European Parliament: Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament, whose striking Louise Weiss building hosts monthly plenary sessions and is open to free public visits.

Afternoon

1. Palais Rohan: An 18th-century episcopal palace of extraordinary grandeur housing three museums, archaeology, decorative arts, and fine arts, once hosting Louis XV and Marie Antoinette.
2. Place Kléber: The central square of Strasbourg, dominated by a statue of General Kléber and transformed each December into the epicentre of Europe's oldest Christmas market.
3. Maison Kammerzell: The most ornate timber-framed house in Alsace, built in 1589 beside the Cathedral, its three upper floors covered in extraordinary carved Renaissance woodwork.
4. Musée Alsacien: An enchanting folk museum in three interconnected timbered houses recreating traditional Alsatian domestic interiors, costumes, toys and crafts across the centuries.

Day 2

Morning

1. Neustadt (German Quarter): Strasbourg's 19th-century German extension, built 1871–1918 in Wilhelmian grandeur, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a striking demonstration of imperial urban planning.
2. Parc de l'Orangerie: Strasbourg's largest and most elegant park, home to nesting white storks, the symbol of Alsace, just beside the European institutions quarter.
3. Alsatian Cuisine & Winstubs: One of France's great regional cuisines: tarte flambée, choucroute garnie, baeckeoffe stew and kougelhopf cake, enjoyed in convivial Winstub wine bars.
4. Rhine River & Franco-German Identity: Strasbourg sits on the Rhine's western bank, minutes from Germany, a city that has been French, German, and French again, embodying European reconciliation.
5. Alsace Wine Route: The 170km Route des Vins d'Alsace running through fairy-tale wine villages from Strasbourg south to Mulhouse, producing Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris.

Afternoon

1. Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain (MAMCS): Strasbourg's landmark modern art museum on the riverside, with an exceptional collection of Kandinsky, Klee, Ernst, and Monet in a dramatic glass building.
2. Winstub Tradition: The traditional Alsatian wine tavern, a uniquely convivial institution of dark wood, checked tablecloths, carafe wine and hearty regional food that defines Strasbourg's social life.
3. Council of Europe: Europe's oldest international political organisation (founded 1949), guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights, housed in Strasbourg's Palais de l'Europe.
4. Strasbourg's Churches & Religious Heritage: Strasbourg's unique religious landscape: a Protestant majority city in Catholic Alsace, with the Thomaskirche where Bach's works were premiered and the Thomas Church where Albert Schweitzer played.

Full Strasbourg guide and all stops →