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France
Arts et Collections d'Alsace, at 4 place du Marché aux Poissons, sells beautiful linens, pottery, glass and small pieces of furniture designed, painted and embroided copied from original pieces in Alsatian museums or private collections.
Tablecloths, napkins and lampshades are made from locally-woven linen with embroidered monograms reflecting traditional motifs. Red, white or écru throws and cushions in top quality cotton often feature heart shaped "relief" pattern embroiderery. Glassware and pottery is also attractively hand painted with local, traditional motifs. A souvenir shop for people who never buy souvenirs.
Une Fleur des Champs is an organic and vegetarian restaurant in Strasbourg providing daily menus using fresh produce from the local area.
The atmosphere in the restaurant is friendly and family orientated. Superb food at very appealing prices. 4 rue des Charpentiers, Strasbourg.
Go to the Volerie Des Aigles for an amazing experience with demonstrations of different birds of prey. Eagles, buzzards, owls, you name it, they've got it.
Strasbourg is set among waterways. Arrive on a canal boat.
Hire from just up the canal (Saverne or Lutzelbourg) and stay moored free just before the Rhine lock gates.
Five minutes from the centre by bike (hired with the boat) and you get to see the Alsatian countryside.
Try a night moored at Saverne, looking up at the Bishop's Palace where Cagliostro studied and Cardinal Rohan welcomed Marie Antoinette as she arrived to make a doomed marriage. Beats a static hotel room any day.
Restuarant Gurtlerhoft, is situated directly opposite the Cathedral in the main square. The restaurant is a quieter, more relaxed alternative to the more popular terraced restaurants that are in abundance.
Passing through a passage opposite the Cathedral you will find the restaurant, situated in an immense arched cellar.
The ambiance in the restaurant is excellent - dimly, atmospherically lit, and decorated with dark wooden furniture. The restaurant offers all the local specialities, wonderfully cooked, and despite the excellent location the prices are reasonable.
Walk from Ribeauville to Kaysersberg and back - about an hour each way. Take a picnic and eat it in a field on the way back or eat in one of the restaurants in Kaysersberg.
This offers a nice gentle walk, it is well sign-posted and you can see the Rhine in the distance.
A bar you have to visit is L'Epicerie. Located in rue du Vieux Seigle, a narrow street in the centre of the city, its authentic fifties decor and ambience is worth a visit alone.
If you're recovering from the night before, try the vast breakfast, served with steaming bowls of hot chocolate/coffee.
Beware though - this place is extremely popular with the locals and its wooden benches fill up quickly.
On a sunny summer's day there is nothing better than tea on the terrace of the Orangerie restaurant with its views over the beautiful park and gardens.
The city is designed for public transport and biking. To get around you can rent them at Velocation. It is bike rental service managed by the community. Get a bike and get local.
Wander around Strasbourg and experience the local culture and cuisine.
August is the best time to visit for cultural events and street theatre.
As to getting familiar with the local cuisine, I came unstuck at trying their famous Alsace sauerkraut. They say you've got to try anything once, in the case of sauerkraut, once is enough in my lifetime no matter how many Michelin chefs prepare it.
Apart from that little hiccup I will recommend Strasbourg to anyone who'd like to experience the French/German melting pot.
Climb the Cathedral spire to achieve excellent views over the city and the Vosges mountains.
Visit the European Court of Justice, and end your day with an aperitif and meal at the Petite France Hotel on the balcony by the river.
Visit Tante Lisel restaurant in the historic centre "Petit France" for some great duck and cabagge (confit de canard & choucroute).
Go hiking in the Black Forest - just a short distance away over the Rhine from Strasbourg.
No need for a car – there’s excellent public transport on tram-trains via Baden-Baden and Karlsruhe to Freudenstadt on a cheap day ticket or ‘Tageskarte’ that can also be used on regional German trains and rural buses.
Karlsruhe is worth a visit in its own right, for the Stats Baden-Wuerttemburg museum.
While in Germany, enjoy a reasonably-priced ‘Kaffe und Kuchen’ mid-afternoon, perhaps including a real Black Forest Gateau, quite different from what we get here.
Visit the astronomical clock at the right hand side of the Cathedral at 12.30pm when there is a show of automata.
The 12 apostles parade in front of Christ at the top level of the clock and a cock spreads its wings and crows.
Cherubs turn an hour glass and hit a gong and there are automata that represent the four ages of man.
Hotels in Strasbourg can be expensive and in short supply when the EU Parliament is sitting.
Try booking a hotel in just over the border in Germany. Make contact with your EU Member of Parliament and arrange a free private tour around the parliament.
Get to know them before you travel and who knows you might get them to take you to lunch or dinner.
Au Foyer des Pêcheurs is a wonderful fish and seafood restaurant, well off the beaten track but with excellent food and wine.
Getting there is a bit of an experience but well worth it: take tram A from the city centre to Illkirch-Graffenstaden (about 12 mins), get off by the university, walk down Chemin du Routier, under the road bridge, it may look like you are going nowhere but you find yourself on the edge of an amazing forest with tributaries of the river Rhine.
At the end of Chemin du Routier (about 5 mins walk) you find a detached house by a stream - the restaurant!
There are all kinds of fish, and there is a great family atmosphere, all for about 30 Euros.
Book on 0388661485
resto.fr/fr/Alsace/restaurant.cfm?restaurant=7684&service=map
When staying in Strasbourg over a weekend or public holiday, a great way to explore the region by train is by purchasing a "Pass Evasion" rover ticket at the railway station.
This allows unlimited travel throughout Alsace as well as Basle in Switzerland and parts of Lorraine.
It is available at the bargain price of 13.50 Euros per day and for parties of 2-5 travelling together it is exceptional value at 26.60 Euros for the whole group.
The astronomical clock in the Cathedral is a must-see. It's also a chance to practice your multi-lingual skills as the commentary is in French and German, but not English!
Built during the period when Strasbourg was German, the Bains Romains/Bains Municipaux are a splendid example of a 19th century bathhouse.
You can pop from sauna to plunge pool to hot pool, surrounded by sea nymphs, statues of Neptune and fine art nouveau design. The perfect way to relax and warm up on a bitter Strasbourg winter day!
Try to visit in August when you should get a fantastic hotel deal in any of the hotels near the European Parliament (usually not sitting then).
You can enjoy the beautiful park nearby with its resident stork colonies or take a leisurely stroll along the river to the historic centre.
Another bonus of a summer visit is that there are free Son et Lumiere shows and street theatre at various riverside locations in the evenings.
For lunch,with the money you have saved on your hotel room,treat yourself to a special meal at one of the seriously good restaurants.
Or if you are like us and fail to read the small print, be embarrassed by only being able to afford starters and a bottle of wine in the evening.
The waiters didn't bat an eyelid and we were treated with exactly the same charm (and complimentary nibbles and aperitifs!) as the other diners.
Maybe we were lucky, but it did seem one of the friendliest, least stuffy 'significant cities' we have been lucky enough to visit.
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