Strasbourg

Strasbourg is a Franco-German border city where half-timbered houses lean over glassy canals and a rose-pink Gothic cathedral soars above a tangle of medieval lanes. The historic core, the Grande Ile, sits on an island ringed by the River Ill and is compact enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes, so the smart approach is to walk everywhere and let the city reveal itself slowly. Start early at the cathedral to beat the tour groups, watch the astronomical clock perform at 12:30, then drift west into La Petite France, the old tanners' quarter of leaning timber gables and covered bridges. Eat like an Alsatian: choucroute garnie in a wood-panelled winstub, a crisp tarte flambee straight from a wood oven, baeckeoffe stew, and munster cheese, all washed down with a glass of dry Riesling or floral Gewurztraminer. Many winstubs close between lunch and dinner and take Sunday or Monday off, so plan and book ahead. Save time for the Rohan palace museums, a boat trip on the Ill, and the modern European Parliament quarter. In December the whole city becomes one vast Christmas market, the oldest in France.