48h in Strasbourg

Two days in Strasbourg, a bridge city between France and Germany whose Grande Ile was the first entire city centre added to the UNESCO list. The trip opens on the pink sandstone cathedral of Notre-Dame, its astronomical clock and its platform 66 metres up, then crosses La Petite France, the tanners' quarter of half-timbered houses set over the water, with its covered bridges and Vauban dam. The Alsatian Museum, spread across three linked houses, tells the story of traditional life, before the European quarter and its institutions, then the student Krutenau district and its bistros along the Ill. The cathedral tower is climbed on foot, 332 steps. The European Parliament can only be visited outside sessions and with prior registration. Authentic winstubs often close on Sundays and Mondays.