Are you planning a trip to Strasbourg with kids? Awesome idea! That’s what we did too when we booked a show in Strasbourg for March. It was a great opportunity to visit this charming city with our kids. Strasbourg is easily accessible via highway in about 2 hours and 15 minutes from Luxembourg City. (225km)
We stayed at the Sofitel Strasbourg Grande Ile.
Strasbourg with kids – Where to start?
After a nice breakfast on Place Kléber, we walked down rue des Grandes Arcades to Place Gutenberg. On the left you’ll see rue Mercière with the traditional Alsatian houses and the first glimpse on the Cathedral. This is also the street with the most souvenirs shops.
Strasbourg – The Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral, also named Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg is a Roman Catholic church, the sixth tallest in the world. It houses an 18-metre astronomical clock that launches characters (Parade of the Apostles) into movement every day at 12.30 PM. There is also a platform accessible via 332 steps offering great views of Strasbourg and the surroundings.
The astronomical clock
Place du Chateau
Strasbourg – Batorama
Close to the Cathedral, Place du Marché aux Poissons, you can embark on one of the Batorama river boats to learn more about the historical city and home to the European Parliament. Commentaries are available in 12 languages broadcasted via individual headsets. Children have their own specially designed channel. The 70-minutes tour runs every day of the year with multiple departure times throughout the day depending on the season. This tour gave us a great insight on Strasbourg and was enjoyed by the four of us. We highly recommend it!
Batorama Ticket office
Batorama: Kid approved!
River l’Ill view from Pont du Corbeau
Strasbourg – La Petite France
La Petite France is the most picturesque and charming area of the old city. It is located on Grande Ile where the river splits up into a number of canals and cascades through a small area of medieval half-timbered houses and baroque sandstone buildings. Fishermen, millers and tanners used to live and work in this neighborhood built at water level. In 1988 Grande Ile was named a Unesco World Heritage Site. There are a lot of small typical restaurants and shops to be found here. Its great to stroll around, look up at the houses and roofs and stop for pictures.
Pont Saint-Martin
La Petite France – Maison des Tanneurs
Strasbourg – Eat a Flammekueche
Flammekueche or tarte flambée is an Alsatian dish made with thinly rolled-out bread dough in the shape of a rectangle or circle. It is covered with fromage blanc or crème fraîche, thinly sliced onions and lardons. That’s the traditional one but nowadays you can find all kinds of Flammekueche, topped with Münster cheese for example.
Strasbourg – Carnaval
We were lucky to be in Strasbourg for the big Carnival parade. Once every year (normally in March), the streets fill up with people waiting for the procession of floats and thousands of performers. It’s fun, loud and the kids even got some candy.
This year (2017) the parade is taking place on February 26th starting at 14h11 at Quai du Général Koenig before reaching Place Kléber around 16h.
2 weeks after, I still found confetti here and there around the house…
Tips:
* When arriving by car, we recommend parking near Place Kléber, right in the centre of Strasbourg
* Access to the astronomical clock is free on Sundays and bank holidays
* There’s a tourist information centre on Place de la Cathédrale
* From End of November through December, experience the Strasbourg Christmas Market
* Visit Parc de l’Orangerie
This years Strasbourg Christmas Market runs from 22 November – 30 December 2019.
The parade made us change the plans that we had for Sunday, so we’ll have to come back. Good thing because we had a great time! And so will you, if you plan on visiting Strasbourg with kids!
