STRASBOURG (MARCHE DE NOEL)

PRE-FLIGHT

Strasbourg is a French city and it's the capital city of the Alsace Region. Even though it is a French city, it does have a strong German influence due to the complicated history of the region. Also, the city is only half an hour away from a cozy little German city called Kehl. Strasbourg is also known as the ''Capitole de Noel''. It's Christmas markets and decorations are wonderful. The European Parliament and the European Court of Human Rights. are also located in Strasbourg. 

POST-FLIGHT

Our connecting flight to Strasbourg was from Amsterdam so first we arrived at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. It was incredibly crowded, and I mean lines everywhere crowded. We left our KLM plane and headed to our Air France plane. The passport lines were seriously long. During the passport control a lot of questions were asked to every single visitor. Now add up these questions with all the crowd. We almost missed our connecting flight and had a really hard time running through the halls of Schiphol. Finally we got on our plane to Strasbourg. It was a much smaller plance and most of the seats were empty. The flight was smooth on our way to Strasbourg but due to the smaller sized plane and the weather on our way back, the plane shaked and drifted around by the wind like a snowflake.  The aerial adventures on the way to Strasbourg were stressful but the moment we landed everything went silky smooth. We took the train from the station in the airport. We bought the tickets from the machines at the same station and the process was very easy. The train took us directly to the city center, Gare SNCF. Let's say it took roughly 30 minutes but it might take even less since it's only one station from the airport. The airport is the first stop on a long distance-multi country-Euro railroad. Once we got the the center we bought tram tickets from the machines right outside of the station. We validated them. (You have to validate the tickets you bought before getting on a train, a tram, or  a bus. This system is the same in pretty much every city in Europe, i.e Vienna, Lyon etc. By validation I mean you insert your ticket in the much smaller machines. They stamp the ticket and return it to you in a second. The machines might have a sign saying ''Validez'' on them). The tram of Strasbourg is perfect. It is wide. It is punctual. It is clean. It goes everywhere! So all you have to do is to find where your destination is and look for the correct tram line. The distances are really short so after a couple of stations you would arrive. You might also be able to walk to your hotel since a lot of hotels are located around Gare SNCF. 

SIGHTSEEING

Strasbourg is a really small city. The time we went to Strasbourg it was Christmas time so the city was full of tourists. To be honest, tourist crowds can be really annoying as we all know but this is not the case in Strasbourg. People walk in the streets and take a lot of photos. The streets are narrow and there are decorations and lights all over the place. Still we never had a problem with the crowd. In fact I  guess nobody evet had a probem. It's like a museum. People take pictures and gaze at the magnificent decorations but still the crowd moves, somehow and since nobody is in a hurry the wait is bearable. Market places and street musicians are very interesting. On each and every corner there are musicians, and home made food, honey, biscuits, candy, wine, cinnamon, dolls, lanterns, ornaments and so much more! The station where all tram lines have in common, Homme de Fer is a wide square and you can easily walk to a lot of places from there. If you are not in the mood for walking you can of course take the tram. Bicycles and pets are allowed in these amazing sort of panoramic trains and they are very very helpful.So I suggest you to buy a ticket that is valid for a day or more rather than buying  a ticket for a single fare each time. 

CUISINE

Strasbourg is known for its Tarte Flambée and its Choucroute Alsacienne. You can eat your tarte flambée in a restaurant or on the streets like a piece of pizza. It is delicious and I highly recommend it. Also the Mulled wine is the best I have ever tasted. It is spicy, sour, sweet. It's very good and its unique scent is in the air. You might as well give in to the scent and drink a cup of mulled wine every time you smell that mesmerizing drink. For those of you who are really into sweets, there are Chocolatiers close to the Cathedral. They serve hot chocolate in different flavors and densities. Some of them are basically pudding. You'll have to use a spoon to drink(?) eat(?) let's just say enjoy your hot chocolate. People who have a sweet tooth would love Christmas time at Strasbourg because it's like the house in Hansel and Gretel. Everything is made out of candy (and chocolate. and cookies. and biscuits. and...)

ATTRACTIONS

Strasbourg has a gigantic cathedral at its center, Cathedrale de Notre Dame. It's reaching the skies big. It's owning the whole place big. It's amazing and it's also one of the best Christmas market places in the city. For nature lovers there is a huge park in the city. It's close to the ECHR and there is a small European palace and a zoo in the park. No admission for the zoo. There are stork nests on trees. FYI storks are the symbol of the Alsace region. The markets all over the city sells all kinds of merchandise with cute storks on them. Magnets, mittens, oven mittens,   hats...


Little France, La Petite France is my second favorite place in Strasbourg. Without all the Christmas markets in Broglie or around the Cathedral, it might have been my favorite. If you visit during the day you can see the windmills and the old houses. You might recognize the houses from somewhere, maybe from history books, movies or from cartoons like the Beauty and the Beast. These houses are really interesting. They are classical Alsacienne houses. At night, there are pretty fancy restaurants like pizza places. Though they are a little pricey the atmosphere and food is pretty great. 

If you are looking for a mall to shop or dine, you can check Galeries LaFayette or Printemps which are on the both sides of Homme de Fer. Also there is another mall called rivetoile. This place has an adjacent movie theater with around 20-32 movies from all over Europe and the world. There is a supermarket in the mall and you can find all kinds of brands in the mall. It's a very useful place for buying gifts or chocolate, alcohol etc. You can get to this mall via tram. It's a 15 minutes ride from the center. If you are in urgent need for internet connection, all McDonald's restaurants in France offer free Wi-Fi. In Strasbourg you can find a McDonald's in rivetoile, Esplanade or Homme de Fer. Strasbourg also has a pretty decent nightlife. There are many bars and pubs around the tram station called Gallia. We spent one night at the Jimmy's bar and we had a lot of fun. The music was good, both English and French songs were played. The waiters (les garçons!) were dressed as Joker, that was an interesting detail. During Christmas time, sometimes different street shows are performed especially at Homme de Fer. Chores singing carols or Christmas dancers dressed as Alsaciennes playing drums and many more. The Christmas tree at the center of Homme de Fer is an actual tree and it's 107 ft long. Higher than the buildings surrounding the tree.

GOODBYE

Strasbourg during Christmas time is so much fun. I highly recommend it to everyone. If you are looking for street markets and a Christmas atmosphere, Strasbourg is perfect. On the other hand if you are looking for a white Christmas forget it because it hardly ever snows in Strasbourg. The city is small and cozy. The kids might get bored but it's pretty fun for every other age groups. Transportation is easy and doesn't cost much but during Christmas time , tourists hardly ever use the tram since wandering the streets and enjoying the atmosphere is a better choice if you have the energy to walk.