The best place to stay in Strasbourg for travellers on a shoe-string budget is Ciarus.

It offers clean, comfortable en-suite hostel accommodation, which is often booked up by MEPs.

For the best tarte flambees go to Les Trois Brasseurs at 22 Rue des Veaux. It often has special deals on tarteflambee and beers.

For great beers, go to Academie de la Biere on Rue Adolphe Seyboth. It is a great place to have a few drinks after wondering around beautiful Petite France.

www.ciarus.com

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Book your trip when Parliament is in session. Your MEP has an annual allocation each year to wine and dine his constituents which he must use for this purpose only.

Tell him/her you want to meet him/her in session in advance and you get a tour round the European Parliament, the debating chamber, listen to the MEPs argue in multi-lingual debate (pretty impressive), since you just can't just turn up to see the Parliament (for security reasons) most tourists miss out on what makes Strasbourg most famous.

You'll probably get a free lunch thrown in too!

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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.

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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.

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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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The Cathedral of Notre Dame de Strasbourg - once the world's tallest buildings - is an absolute must-see in Strasbourg.

A very well crafted astronomical clock chimes "noon" at 12.30pm each day, when figures of the 12 apostles appear in parade.

Fancy burning some calories? Have a go at the 330 steps to the platform..

However it's worth it, as the spectacular view on the Black Forest and Vosges are a wonderful reward.

Besides, Strasbourg is linked with the Alsace's wine route and is one of its civic centres.

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The Laiterie is a really nice place to go out for good gigs in Strasbourg. A lot of upcoming bands like The Rakes, The Kooks or Razorlight have been there. The ticket prices are between 10 and 15 Euros, depending on the band. The beer prices are very fair as well. A beer from the tap is about 2 euros.
www.laiterie.artefact.org

It's near the railway station of Strasbourg

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