Strasbourg, a stronghold of EU bureaucracy, wants to reinvent itself as an exciting short-break city. Irish MEPs give ALANNA GALLAGHER the inside track on what to see and do
STRASBOURG is rich in political, architectural and gourmet heritage. It also comes with a split personality. As the first settlement to build a bridge across the Rhine, it merges German and French culture so that sauerkraut is always called choucroute but sometimes fromage can be called käse. Its dual culture is a 2,000-year story that harks back to Roman times. In the past 200 years it has belonged to France, was annexed by Germany and became a Nazi city during the last war.
For romantics, its medieval old town and adjacent canals set the scene for the perfect winter getaway. Its cathedral and the Grande Île (the historic town centre) are World Heritage sites. February is a beautiful time to go, says Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley. The weather starts to get warm enough to sit outside in the evening.
Alsatian cuisine is rich and heavy and best digested in a slow, languorous fashion. The city's bierstubs, or beer halls, offer ambience and romance as well as flavours to savour. Its foodie heritage and the recent extension of the TGV from Paris have put it on the map for weekending gourmets, particularly as Alsace has more Michelin-starred restaurants that any other French province.
Crowley likes Pont des Vosages brasserie (15 quai Koch, 00-33-3-88364775), which offers venison and rabbit. Labour MEP Proinsias de Rossa favours Restaurant au Pont St Martin (00-33-3-88324513); he likens its choucroute maison to our own bacon and cabbage and recommends the tarte flambée.
Crowley also recommends the wines-of-the-regions tour. "It's only 15 minutes from the city by car, and some of the local Rieslings, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminers are well worth investigating."
The Cathedral of Notre Dame de Strasbourg is a magnificent building and a must-see. A blend of Romanesque and high Gothic architecture, it was the world's tallest building from 1647 to 1874. Its interior transports you into a dark and spiritual place. Immerse yourself in it, light a votive and pause to ponder the wonder of man before following the crowds to the astronomical clock.
The present mechanism, the third to be installed, dates from 1842 and is especially attractive for the work of its automatons which begin their show every day at 12.30pm. The Twelve Apostles parade in front of Christ at the top level of the clock and a cock spreads its wings and crows. Cherubs turn an hourglass and hit a gong, and automata represent the four ages of man. Work on the first Strasbourg astronomical clock, L'Horloge de Trois Rois, started in 1352. In front of the clock is the Pillar of Angels, which represents the Last Judgment. In contrast to its Gothic architecture are the modern designs of the museum of contemporary art and the European Parliament.
Most tourists overlook the fact that Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament. The building was designed by Architecture Studio Europe, a Paris-based collective. Its complex interior has come under criticism; its detractors include Brian Crowley. "It's too modernist for me, and while there's a lot of glass, the interior isn't that bright."
Don't take Crowley's word for it – judge for yourself. Book your trip to coincide with parliament being in session; while hotel rooms will be pricier you will get a real sense of what goes on, particularly if you live in the constituency of the Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness. She has facilitated the visits of 100 groups in the past year.
Everyone leaves with a very different interpretation of what MEPs do, she explains. "We show them the physical place and explain what we do. The only way we'll get people tuned into the EU is by being open, available and willing to facilitate visitors. For me it's an important part of the job."
De Rossa and Crowley also facilitate when they can. "If I'm not there , I'll call up my contacts in the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights and see if they can facilitate them," says Crowley.
Small in scale, Strasbourg's size is its attraction. While there is plenty to see and do, the number of landmarks isn't overwhelming, meaning you can rediscover the art of mooching, a pastime that makes any citybreak great.
www.strasbourg.info,
www.strasbourg.eu
Where to stay, eat and go if you're visiting the city for the weekend
5 places to stay
Hôtel Suisse. 2-4 Rue de la Râpe, 00-33-3-88352211, www.hotel-suisse.com. A two-star chocolate-box establishment with enough chintz to have you climbing the walls. Its location, near the cathedral, is second to none. Double rooms from €65.
Hôtel Cardinal de Rohan. 17 Rue du Maroquin, 00-33-3-88328511, www.hotel-rohan.com. A quiet and charming three-star hostelry sandwiched between tourist shops in front of the cathedral. Double rooms from €105 per night.
Hôtel Régent Petite France. 5 Rue des Moulins, 33-3-88764343, www.regent-hotels.com. A four-star modern hotel in the heart of the old town where recent guests are rumoured to include French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni. Its standard double- room rate starts at €265.
Hôtel Regent Contades. 8 Avenue de la Liberté, 00-33-3-88150505, www.regent-hotels.com. A belle époque experience can be had at Petite France's sister act. Doubles from €195.
La Residence Jean Sebastien Bach. 6 Boulevard JS Bach, 00-33-3-90413000, www.lejsbach.com. A few minutes’ walk from the European Parliament, this hotel offers studios and two-room suites, ideal for families. Studios start at €170 per night.
5 places to eat
Chez Yvonne. 10 Rue du Sanglier, 00-33-3-88328415, www.chez-yvonne.net. A traditional Alsatian winstub and a favourite of former French president Jacques Chirac. Try the speciality of the house: leg of duck on a bed of sauerkraut.
Bertani is an outdoor stall on La Place Broglie that locals purport to be the best creperie in the city. Prices start from as little as €2.50.
L’Ami Schutz. 1 Ponts Couverts, 00-33-3-88327698, www.ami-schutz.com. A bierstub offering rich Alsatian cuisine, including cream of chicory soup, blood sausage with caramelised apples and île flottante, fare that is best enjoyed at a sedentary pace.
La Cloche à Fromage. 27 Rue des Tonneliers, 00-33-3-88231319. This is where you might spy some of the big cheeses from the European Parliament. With seasonal cheese selection of more than 200 varieties, your gastronomic journey is laid out in an escargot, or snail, fashion, inviting you to eat your way into the centre of the platter, where the oldest and smelliest of your choices, le plus grand fromage, sits.
Keep costs down by doing lunch, not dinner. For those seeking the most gastronomic of experiences, Au Crocodile (10 Rue de l’Outre France, 00-33-3-88-32-13-02, www.au-crocodile.com) is a three-Michelin-starred establishment in the centre of the city.
5 places to go
Soak up fine, modern and decorative arts at the Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain (1 Place Hans Jean Arp, 00-33-3-88233131, www.strasbourg.info/ museums), where there’s a strong emphasis on the works of local avant-garde sons Gustave Doré and Jean Arp. Closed Mondays.
Take a morning to explore the the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, open every day from 7am to 11.30am and from 12.40pm to 7pm. Visit in the morning and purchase tickets to the daily 12.30pm automata show. Tickets are available at the southern doorway from 11.35am to noon. Afterwards, climb the spire for excellent views over the city and the Vosges Mountains. See www.cathedrale-strasbourg.fr for more information.
Get the inside track on Lisbon II with a guided tour of the European Parliament building in the company of your local MEP. See www.europarl.ie for details of your local representative.
Opéra National du Rhin. 19 Place Broglie, 00-33-3-88754800, www.operanationaldurhin.fr. This opera house has earned Strasbourg a worldwide reputation for its live classical music. Also, recitals and chamber music can regularly be heard inside the city’s churches and smaller concert halls.
Walk the streets. Soak up the atmosphere of Petit France by exploring it on foot. Or take take a guided tour of Strasbourg via the city’s waterways (www.batorama.fr). Lazybones can take a Segway tour of the city (Segway Tour, 7 Place du Marché aux Cochons de Lait, 00-33-39-51450900, www.segwaytour.fr).
Shopping
Arts et Collections d’Alsace. 4 Place Marché aux Poissons, 00-33-3-88140377. Boutique styore which sells regional pottery, stone, wrought iron, copper and glass copies of art objects and kitchen ware. Fashionistas should head for one of the four local branches of Comptoir des Cottonniers (www.comptoir descotonniers.com), which has cheap chic for the masses.
Hot spot
Living Room. 11 Rue des Balayeurs, 00-33-3-88241010. A ruby red-walled watering hole packed with Strasbourgeois sipping flavour-of-the-month cocktails.
Go there
Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus. com), Air France (www. airfrance.ie), and KLM (www. klm.ie) fly to Paris Charles de Gaulle, from where the TGV train (www.tgv.com) runs to Strasbourg. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies from Dublin to Karlsruhe-Baden Baden, about a 50-minute journey from Strasburg. See www.badenairpark.de for bus transfer details.