So I was totally waiting for the first day of winter to pass for me to write this post on an autumn city break to Strasbourg…it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m so badly organised and just haven’t found the time to download what felt like 10,000 photos.
Strasbourg was on my 2015 travel wish list and after having a busy few months with the 2016 budget at work after my return from Hong Kong and Malaysia, I booked a flight to the French city in October. I was slightly gutted not visit in summer however I think I may have chosen the perfect season to visit Strasbourg…Autumn rocks!
I arrived rather late on Friday afternoon and the fabulous concierge at Sofitel Strasbourg managed to organised my life for the entire city break. I had struggled to find a day trip along the Alsace Wine Route but he found me a tour in seconds and then booked me in for dinner (not the first night, that was cake for dinner…judge away) and booked me onto the canal cruise and told me where to visit. I was prepared to kidnap him and bring him back to Bedfordshire to organise my entire life…he was that good and he had a sexy French accent, what more could you want.
Armed with a vintage map (i.e. not google maps on my iPhone but a proper paper map), I ambled around Strasbourg…my first stop was Petit France before it got super busy with crazy selfie stick tourists…seriously how pretty is this place…
…so…
…so…
…so…
…pretty! Just so you know…the houses aren’t petit, they’re rather large…false advertising right there folks!
My second stop was for my cruise which I always find is a great way to see a city and at times you do feel like you’re stepping back in time. Unfortunately the roof was on so photos were truly impossible to take and then the number of people with selfie sticks just made me want to shove them where the sun don’t shine.
Needing to burn a few calories, I headed off for a romantic stroll along the canal with my shoes…who said romance is dead..there was a lot of snuggling going on!
I know people say that you can get lost and just wander for ages in Paris however I’ve never really had that feeling when in Paris but with Strasbourg I did…between the shutter porn…
…buildings covered in autumn leaves…
…little cafes with yellow striped awnings covered in autumn leaves…
….more pretty lamp posts with autumn leaves…
…and peeking into back gardens as they were too pretty not to photograph…I may have been in my happy place (and there wasn’t a piece of cake in sight!)
And there were the oh so French bistros…
…and an old fashioned carousel to make me extremely snap happy.
In need of some guidance from the big man in the sky…I popped into the Strasbourg Cathedral (Cathedrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg) to light a candle or two…it’s bloody hard to get it all in one photo and there was no way I was going to lie on the ground like some tourists were doing with their mega sized cameras and lenses (size apparently does matter! I do wonder if men with big lenses have small….camera bags).
Wandering around a French city is good for the soul!
This is me trying to get a bit arty farty with Strasbourg; I’m not a lover of blurry photos so…hmmm!
I checked out two Museums on my city break to Strasbourg; the Strasbourg History Museum and the Alsace Museum and I can say with my hand on my heart that I thoroughly enjoyed the Alsace Museum the most…and it’s not because it’s super cute inside with the autumn leaves in the tiny courtyard. I may have walked through both museums in the wrong direction…I’m such a ditz! I would recommend getting the audio guide as there is nothing in English in the Alsace Museum.
And I couldn’t leave Strasbourg without a shoefie!
If you’re looking for some gluten free tips for Strasbourg then this post here will help you out…I can vouch for every one of them…just call me Miss Piggy!
Strasbourg Travel Tips
- Strasbourg is a perfect place to venture too for a city break, you can explore most things on a long weekend or just add an extra day to your itinerary to visit the Alsace Wine Route
- The airport to central Strasbourg is a super easy train journey – if this fool can do it then so can everyone else. Just buy the train ticket from the little machine prior to boarding and it costs just under 5 euros.
- Strasbourg is pretty flat but I would recommend wearing flat shoes as the footpaths can be cobbled in areas
- If visiting the Alsace Museum make sure you get the audio guide as nothing is in English…I learnt the lesson the hard way!
- You can buy a pass to get into the Strasbourg tourist attractions – Lucy from On the Luce has a great post on this!
- The Barrage Vauban offers a great view overlooking the city
- Make sure you book your tickets in advance for the cruise so you get the time that best suits you…they apparently can sell out during the summer months.
- An autumn city break to Strasbourg is the perfect time to visit the city, it’s not too busy, the temperatures are slightly cooler and the expensive high season hotel rates have dropped
- I recommend staying at the Sofitel Strasbourg – you can earn Accor points for future stays or you can transfer these over to your Iberia or British Airways Executive accounts (you get double the avios points if you transfer over to an Iberia account)
I’m pretty proud of myself for getting this posted in 2015…woohoo go me!
xx
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