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Visiting Strasbourg

Geography

Strasbourg is a french city located in the department of Bas-Rhin, in the East of France. It is the capital of the historic region of Alsace.

The city is bordered by the Rhine and borders of Germany. It has nearly 650,000 inhabitants. Strasbourg is the 7th largest city in France.

History

Its rich and tormented history has left a remarkable architectural heritage. Its town centre, located on the Grande Île, has been entirely listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1988 and includes the Notre-Dame de Strasbourg Cathedral and the Petite France district.

Strasbourg also became the symbol of Franco-German reconciliation and, more generally, of European integration. The city has gradually specialised in political, cultural and institutional European functions.

The presence of several renowned national institutions, such as the National Theatre, the National and University Library and the Rhine National Opera, makes it an important cultural centre.

Strasbourg is also a major student city, its prestigious universities and university hospital form a major university centre with an international outlook, with over 20% foreign students and more than a hundred nationalities represented.

Transport

Today, the city benefits from a privileged geographical situation which makes it an important European crossroads, at the intersection of some of the main communication axes of the continent.

Strasbourg is equipped with multiple tramway lines and a bike-sharing system.

Strasbourg has France’s leading cycle network and one of the largest in Europe with 560 kilometers of cycle paths and lanes.

In addition to Strasbourg, the tramway serves six municipalities of the Eurometropolis as well as the city of Kehl in Germany.

Its railway station was renovated in 2007 and is now home of the TGV high-speed train. Strasbourg-Entzheim airport is at 20-minute drive from the city centre.

The city also has important port facilities on the Rhine, which is Europe’s first waterway and the world’s first commercial river.

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