13 Best Sights in Alsace-Lorraine, France

With gingerbread, half-timber houses that seem to lean precariously over the canals of the Ill, plus old-fashioned shops and inviting little restaurants, "Little France" is the most magical neighborhood in Strasbourg. The district, just southwest of the center, is historically Alsatian in style and filled with Renaissance buildings that have survived plenty of wars. Wander up and down the tiny streets that connect Rue du Bain-aux-Plantes and Rue des Dentelles to Grande-Rue, and stroll the waterfront promenade.

Just beyond the Ponts Couverts is the grass-roofed Vauban Dam, built by its namesake in 1682. Climb to the top for wide-angle views of the Ponts Couverts and, on the other side, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Then meander through its echoing galleries, where magnificent cathedral statuary lies scattered among pigeon droppings.

Dark pink, ornately carved Vosges sandstone covers the facade of this most novel and Germanic of French cathedrals, a triumph of Gothic art begun in 1176. Not content with the outlines of the walls themselves, medieval builders lacily encased them with slender stone shafts. The off-center spire, finished in 1439, looks absurdly fragile as it tapers skyward some 466 feet. You can climb 330 steps to the base of the spire for sweeping views of the city, the Vosges Mountains, and the Black Forest.

The interior presents a stark contrast to the facade: it's older (mostly finished by 1275), and the nave's broad windows emphasize the horizontal rather than the vertical. Note Hans Hammer's ornately sculpted pulpit (1485) and the richly painted 14th- to 15th-century organ loft that rises from pillar to ceiling. The left side of the nave is flanked with richly colored Gothic windows honoring the early leaders of the Holy Roman Empire—Otto I and II and Heinrich I and II. The choir is not ablaze with stained glass but framed by chunky Romanesque masonry. The elaborate 16th-century Chapelle St-Laurent, to the left of the choir, merits a visit; turn to the right to admire the Pilier des Anges (Angels' Pillar), an intricate column dating from 1230.

Just beyond the pillar, the Renaissance machinery of the 16th-century Horloge Astronomique whirs into action daily at 12:30 pm (but the line starts at the south door at 11:45 am) with macabre clockwork figures enacting the story of Christ's Passion. One of the highlights: when the apostles walk past, a likeness of Christ as a rooster crows three times.

This sleek building testifies to the growing importance of the governing body of the European Union, which used to make do with rental offices in the Palais de l'Europe. Eurocrats continue to commute between Brussels, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg, hauling their staff and files with them. One week per month (August excepted), you can slip into the hemicycle and witness the tribune in debate, complete with simultaneous translation. Note: you must provide a pièce d'identité (ID) before entering. You don't have to reserve in advance, but space is limited so arrive early. If you do get in, you can also visit Le Parlamentarium, where high-tech, interactive modules explain how the European Union works.

Like a private backyard for the Eurocrats in the Palais de l'Europe, this delightful park is laden with flowers and punctuated by noble copper beeches. It contains a lake and, close by, a small reserve of rare birds, including flamingos and noisy local storks.

In this labyrinthine, half-timber home, where layers of carved balconies sag over a cobbled inner courtyard, local interiors have been faithfully reconstituted. The diverse activities of blacksmiths, clog makers, saddlers, and makers of artificial flowers are explained with the help of old-time craftsmen's tools and equipment.

At the city’s modern and contemporary art museum, Adrien Fainsilber’s stunning 1998 building sometimes outshines the displays inside. The latter includes a choice collection of 20th-century fine art, graphic art, and photography. Downstairs there is a permanent collection of Impressionists and Modernists up to 1950, with some notable furniture by Spindler and Carabin. The mix of 20th-century artistic movements featured helps you compare and contrast modern pioneers like Monet and Gauguin with the New Realists. Drawings, watercolors, and paintings by Gustave Doré, a native of Alsace, are enshrined in a separate room. Upstairs is a space dedicated to modern art exhibitions and installations.

There's more to this museum than the usual assembly of dilapidated statues rescued from the cathedral before they fell off (you'll find those rotting in the Barrage Vauban). Sacred sculptures stand in churchlike settings, and secular exhibits are enhanced by the building's fine old architecture. Subjects include a wealth of Flemish and Upper Rhine paintings, stained glass, gold objects, and massive, heavily carved furniture.

This museum, in a step-gabled former slaughterhouse dating from 1588, contains a collection of maps, armor, arms, bells, uniforms, traditional outfits, printing paraphernalia, and two huge relief models of Strasbourg. The newer collection on the first floor covers civic history from the Napoleonic era to the present day.

Designed by Paris architect Henri Bernard in 1977, this continental landmark is headquarters to the Council of Europe, founded in 1949 and independent of the European Union. A guided tour (75 minutes) introduces you to the intricacies of its workings and may allow you to eavesdrop on a session. Arrange your tour by phone in advance (a minimum of 15 people must sign up before one will be conducted). Appointments are fixed according to language demands and usually take place in the afternoon. Note that you must provide ID before entering.

The exterior of this massive, neoclassical palace (1732–42) by architect Robert de Cotte may be austere, but there's plenty of glamour inside. Decorator Robert le Lorrain's magnificent ground-floor rooms include the great Salon d'Assemblée (Assembly Room) and the book- and tapestry-lined Bibliothèque des Cardinaux (Cardinals' Library). The library leads to a series of less august rooms that house the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Decorative Arts Museum) and its elaborate display of ceramics. This is a comprehensive presentation of works by Hannong, a porcelain manufacturer active in Strasbourg from 1721 to 1782. Dinner services by other local kilns reveal the influence of Chinese porcelain. The Musée des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum), also in the château, includes masterworks of European painting from Giotto and Memling to El Greco, Rubens, and Goya. Downstairs, the Musée Archéologique (Archaeology Museum) displays regional finds, including gorgeous Merovingian treasures.

The spacious layout and ponderous architecture of this monumental cirque (circle) have nothing in common with the Vieille Ville except for the local red sandstone. A different hand was at work here—that of occupying Germans, who erected the former Ministry (1902), the Academy of Music (1882–92), and the Palais du Rhin (1883–88). The handsome neo-Gothic church of St-Paul and the pseudo-Renaissance Palais de l'Université (University Palace), constructed between 1875 and 1885, also bear the German stamp. Heavy turn-of-the-20th-century houses, some reflecting the whimsical curves of the Art Nouveau style, frame Allée de la Robertsau, a tree-lined boulevard that would not look out of place in Berlin.

These three bridges, distinguished by their four stone towers, were once covered with wooden shelters. Part of the 14th-century ramparts that framed Old Strasbourg, they span the Ill as it branches into a quartet of fingerlike canals.