2 days in Strasbourg: things to do

• The interior and exterior of the Strasbourg Cathedral – a masterpiece of Gothic architecture

• Place du Château: walk up to the Cathedral’s observation deck, visit a museum, or take a sightseeing boat tour 

• Le Carré d’Or (a historical district of narrow streets lined with shops and restaurants, just a stone’s throw from the Cathedral) and the pedestrian city center: quai des Bateliers, rue du Vieux-Marché-aux-Poissons, rue Mercière, rue du Maroquin, place Kléber, and place Broglie

• La Petite France, Strasbourg’s picturesque old town with half-timbered houses from the 16th and 17th centuries along the river Ill. Don’t miss place Benjamin-Zix, Ponts couverts, the platform of the Vauban Dam, and the view from pont Saint-Martin

• The European quarter: the European Parliament (whose structure is meant to represent Europe under construction), the European Court of Human Rights, and the Council of Europe

• Make sure you take a detour through parc de l’Orangerie, the oldest park in Strasbourg

• Neustadt, the former German imperial district, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since July 2017: Palais Universitaire, pont d’Auvergne and Saint-Paul’s church, place de la République (with the National University Library – or BNU – housing France’s 2^nd largest library collection, Palais du Rhin, the park in the middle of the square, and Strasbourg National Theater – or TNS), the Egyptian House, and Lycée des Pontonniers