Strasbourg: Hotel and Restaurant review (more!)

Restaurant It is hard to choose one restaurant to start with, as Strasbourg is packed with excellent choices. Therefore, I’ll go with the most typical of Alsace. At Flam’s, you will be served as many Flammakuche as you want for only 11 euros. But what is a Flammakuche? It’s one of the symbols of Alsace, a type of a pizza made of white cheese, fresh cream, bacon and onions. It is amazingly good. With a perfect wine, that’s my second home! During the summer, it’s better to book a seat before going as it’s always crowded. The only bad thing about Flam’s is that it’s hard to find for tourists, which could be a plus if you want to hang with the locals only!  29 rue des Frères is on a small street just behind the cathedral. HotelThere are two very high-standard hotels in Strasbourg. One of them is the Régent Contades found at 8 Avenue de la Liberté.  It’s a little outside the center of the city where things are quieter, but still only five minutes by foot from the heart of Strasbourg.  The rooms are, of course, expensive, as in every hotel with four stars.  Starting at 170 euros and going up to 250, there’s not a huge leap from the price of a double to the price of a suite. You can park your car in the hotel’s garage for 7 euros a day and, for the same price, you can bring your pet into this luxurious hotel. The breakfast should be good for a whopping 17,50 euros, but skip it; finding places to eat in Strasbourg is not hard. Régent Contades is famous for its private bar, because this is where the happy people go to rest after a long day of visiting Strasbourg.  Bar All of Strasbourg’s young and middle aged citizens meet in one bar when night begins to fall: the Frères Berthom, or Brothers Berthom, located at 18 Rue des Tonneliers.  This is a very traditional space, with a Medieval setting.  The main drink is beer and it’s hard to choose between the many delicious brands.  This is not the place to go if you want to have a deep conversation with you friends or lover.  It’s very noisy because of the crowd and the music.  If you want to find a place to sit, come early because you can’t book a table, and if it’s really too crowded, fear not – you’ll be on a very popular and dynamic street with many other good bars, restaurants and discos. Strasbourg’s history through monuments, museum and other places The best historical study of Strasbourg is to start with the construction of the Cathedral. This is one of the most famous around France and Germany, second only to Notre Dame in Paris. There are three reasons for this.  The first reason is because there is only one spire.  The Cathedral was built between 1176 to 1439 and at the beginning, there were plans for two spires. However, the huge church was placed not far from the river and underneath tons of stones, there is only sand and water. The second spire would have been too heavy and no one wanted to take the risk of seeing the Cathedral collapsing. Today, the one spire makes this cathedral exceptional. The second reason is aesthetics. Strasbourg’s sculptures and all its architecture have been inspired by both French and German culture.  A guide is a must in order to appreciate all the innovations of the place. And finally, the third interesting part of the Cathedral is the Astronomical Clock.  This is a huge attraction for everybody who wants to see something brilliant. The clock was built during the mid-nineteenth century and is a new version of the original fourteenth century clock. At noon (12:30 on the clock), you will see the twelve apostles bowing down before the Christ.  All day long you will appreciate the paintings and sculptures on the clock, such as the representations of the ancient times, a description of the ecclesiastical year (Christians feasts), the movement of the stars and the phases of the moon. Of course, there is much more, but it is interesting to discover all when facing the clock yourself!  Make sure to be ready at 12:30 p.m. to see it work at its peak!