Twelve apostles at half past twelve
The apostles on the cathedral's astronomical clock parade at 12:30, not at noon, and the mechanism doing it dates from 1842. Outside, the tram slides past almost silently; you listen for a bell, not an engine. The old centre is an island, the Grande Île, wrapped by the Ill and a canal, so every walk into it starts on a bridge.
A December Saturday and a midday bridge
I would not go to the Christmas market on a Saturday in December. Large bags are checked at the entrances to the island, and on a weekend the lanes between the chalets move at the speed of the slowest pushchair. Come on a weekday, before lunch.
My second skip is the photograph from the Ponts Couverts at midday. Everyone stands on one bridge in flat light. Walk onto the Barrage Vauban instead, just to the west, and you get the towers and the Petite France roofs in one frame.
Baeckeoffe by the cathedral
For a winstub, the wood-panelled Alsatian wine room, I go to Le Clou, a minute from the cathedral. It serves lunch 11:45–14:30 and dinner 18:00–23:00, every day. Order the baeckeoffe, meat and potatoes baked for hours in a sealed dish, and a glass of Alsace white. Book; winstubs in the centre fill up on weekdays too.
Nothing taller than 1.90 m under the old town
Every central car park on this page has a 1.90 m height limit. With a roof box or a camper van you will not fit. The CTS park and rides are not the escape either: a vehicle over 1.90 m can use only P+R Elsau, on tram B. Decide that before you reach the ring road.
A clock, a dam and a palace on the Ill
The Cathédrale Notre-Dame is free to enter, the clock is not. The show at 12:30 costs €4; tickets are sold in the morning, and I would buy mine before 11:00. The platform is 66 m up, and on a clear day you see far across the Alsace plain.
Petite France is the half-timbered corner at the western tip of the island. Go early, before the groups, and walk the lanes by the locks. The Petite France car park is at its back door.
The Barrage Vauban is the view I recommend first. It is a covered dam across the Ill; stand on it facing the towers of the Ponts Couverts.
The Palais Rohan sits beside the cathedral and is now given over to museums. On a wet afternoon, this is my choice.
The European Parliament is out at the Wacken, a short tram ride north-east, where the Europe Wacken car park is at 4 Allée du Printemps. Check the sitting calendar before you go.
Winstubs, choucroute and a president's calf's head
Choucroute is sauerkraut with pork and sausages; flammekueche is a thin tart of cream, onion and bacon.
Chez Yvonne has been a winstub since 1873, when it opened as S'Burjerstuewel. Jacques Chirac ate here the day after his inauguration and made the calf's head with gribiche sauce famous. They ask you to book by phone. Le Clou is close by and my backup when Yvonne is full.
Musica, the Christkindelsmärik and a January deadline
Musica, the contemporary music festival, closes on 4 October 2026 with a piano recital at the Salle de la Bourse.
Then the Christkindelsmärik, the Christmas market. At the time of writing the city had not published the 2026 dates. The 2025 edition ran from 26 November to 24 December, chalets open 11:30–21:00. The historic centre is pedestrianised for the whole market: this is when the P+R earns its €4.20.
On 1 January 2027 the ZFE is due to close to Crit'Air 3 cars across the Eurométropole.
What's on
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Until 4 October 2026 | Musica, the contemporary music festival, ends with a piano recital at the Salle de la Bourse |
| Late November – 24 December 2026 (dates not yet published) | Christkindelsmärik, the Christmas market; in 2025 it ran 26 November – 24 December, chalets 11:30–21:00, with the historic centre pedestrianised |
| 1 January 2027 | Crit'Air 3 vehicles are due to be banned from the Strasbourg ZFE |