Strasbourg, Alsace
cluricaune asks,
“I've heard Strasbourg and Kehl sit side-by-side on the banks of the Rhine...so here come the silly questions. Is it possible to walk from one town to the other and do I need my passport ?”
Answers:
jonathank
Fremont
hey there—
it looks like there are people who are biking, so i’m assuming you can walk across (as well as tram/bus). http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=elsau,strasbourg,france&ie=UTF8&ll=48.573615,7.802079&spn=0.002375,0.007167&t=h&z=18
you don’t need a passport since both france and germany are schengen countries, so once you’re in one, you don’t have to show your passport again to cross into the another. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area
(i’ve only ever driven and taken the train from germany to strasbourg.)
have fun!!!
jon
cluricaune
Belfast
Thanks ! I’m taking two days on a side-trip from Paris…the opportunity to visit another country simply by crossing a bridge is just too big a temptation…
What you would recommend seeing / doing in Strasbourg ?
C.
jonathank
Fremont
oh fun! hmm well, let’s see. i was there overnight during christmas so the first afternoon and evening it was all christmas market stuff. the next day i took the tram out to see the european parliament building (just to see it) and i went to the modern art museum. i know i did a walking tour, but i don’t remember where i got the map from :S i think from the hostel?
see http://wikitravel.org/en/Strasbourg for some sightseeing tips.
and my pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonk/sets/72057594071964611/
jon :)
cluricaune
Belfast
Nice one, thanks ! The photos are fantastic !
Wow ! That’s a big collection…and all of them are really good !
gumbootroo
0 places
you should def go to the cathedral and see its zodiac clock and any bars/restaurants in the square behind it at excellent (particularly the creperies). the “bateaux mouches” do a trip up the river as far as the european parliament. if you go on the right weekend the parliament has 2 open days each year. i think it was normally the 1st weekend in may so you probably just missed it.
there’s a museum of modern art thats great and of course you can spend hours wandering round petite france pretending its 400 yrs ago! petite france is the tourist centre but all it has is over priced restaurants, bar and gift shops. beautiful but not buzzing. the opera house often has stuff on, for good prices. i swear i paid 5E50 to see marriage of figaro 4 yrs ago. and there’s a market on the place in front on saturdays.
place kleber has a lot of shopping streets leading off it and each yr the city council do something fab with the square. i’ve seen it covered in trees/sand/fountains with a walk way across it. there are often top class buskers there too. i remember a jazz quartet called papa steph from prague who rocked.
if you stay in the youth hostel its not v near the city centre. be warned.
anatsuno
Strasbourg
What they said! The distance might be a little long-ish on foot (as in, one or two miles walking in semi-urban, not very pretty zones? I think?), but you can definitely cross the Rhine, which is the border, on foot, and you will not need a passport. There are no checkpoint anymore (though I personally always carry ID when I change countries, no matter how easy it is to cross borders).
As for things to do, you will see if you look at a map of Strasbourg (using googlemaps, say) that the center of town is sort of an enclosed oval within rivers (a little like the islands on the Seine river in Paris).
This area – the center – is not too big at all, and it is full of nice places and squares and medieval streets, very nice to walk around in. The cathedral in particular is a must see; the area called ‘La Petite France’ is renowned for its charm as well.
The Museum of Modern Art is near that area, actually, and a good visit, both for the building and the collections (for example, go to the roof / terrasse café, the view is nice, and you can go there without maying the museum’s entrance, iirc).
MB
Bellmore
You can walk there and no matter how you go, you don’t need a passport if you’ve already entered Europe. I took the bus a few times when I lived in Strasbourg, mostly to make reservations for German trains. Uhm, also stuff in Germany was cheaper than stuff in France, like shampoo and whatnot. But yeah, not a great walk. A good bike ride, and if you just want to get there, take the bus.
gumbootroo
0 places
I used to live in Neudorf in the cite universitaire and would regularly walk to Kehl to go to Woolworths…. familiarity and all that.
It took about 30 mins to get to Kehl from the end of Avenue Aristide Briand. You don’t need a passport either on foot or on the bus. The Pont d’Europe crossing the Rhine has wide footpaths on both sides which is good cos the traffic goes quite fast and I remember a cyclist being run over and killed on the bridge (N.B. if you’re cycling use the cycle path!).
I think the bus was a number 21 – but that was 2003! there are lovely gardens along the Rhine near the bridge on the German side – definitely worth a visit!
for more Strasbourg info see
cluricaune
Belfast
You’ve heard all about me, then – that list of bars is exactly the sort of thing I’m interested in !
One other thing : there’s another website where people are posting tips about how dangerous Strasbourg is – especially, it seems, around Place Kleber and the train station. I’m inclined to believe the claims may be somewhat exaggerated, but are there any areas I’d be better avoiding after dark ?
C.
gumbootroo
0 places
may i add that we did the majority of the bars in 6 weeks…..
i’d keep away from neuhof in general and there’s a bridge nr the stn somewhere thats meant to be the red light district… but i never had any trouble at all when i was there. despite cycling round half cut at 2am.
also if you’re staying in the centre or youth hostel i would def not recommend walking to kehl. the bus is the 21/22 i think.
cluricaune
Belfast
Thanks for that – I’d hoped (and expected) as much, really…some of the posts on that website had me imagining a warzone more than anything else. Place Kleber sounds a very different – and much more likeable – than the description those people gave it !
I’ll keep away form Neuhof then – I’d have only been going in that direction to see Kehl, and I’m pretty sure I’ll take the bus now ;-) As for the train station – well, I’ll only be catching the train, of course ! (I’m sure that part of town will be full of politicians anyway !)
Thanks for all your help, it’s very much appreciated !
C.
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