Strasbourg

 9/12/2025

Today is bright, sunny and relatively warm as we board our bus for a 20 minute drive into Strasbourg old town where we will be left with a guide to have a walking tour of the city. Our first encounter is with this memorial below.


This monument was erected in 1998 to celebrate 2000 years of existence for Strasbourg. It symbolises the “Birth of Civilisation”, with a cast bronze face of Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions, with symbolic section of an aqueduct which apparently also functions as a fountain.

We are told by our guide that Strasbourg has positioned itself as the “Capital of Christmas” , a strategy she claims is working to greatly improve tourism in the Christmas period. Our walking tour highlights this at every opportunity.



This bakery has really embraced the Christmas Spirit



A local sweet treat which apparently is best doused with rum


The largest “real” Christmas tree in France




In one street vendors were all out offering free food samples



Half  wooden houses in a part of town that used to house the tanneries


The street below was where the coopers who made the wine barrels all lied their trade and Christmas decorative lights in the shape of barrels light up the streets at night.



A traditional Alsace style barrel is a monument at type head of the street


Crossing back over the river from the old town 

At the end of our walking tour we had only a small amount of time to investigate the Christmas market, and are getting a bit over it anyway. Here are a few photos of one of the Strasburg markets.





It is our last night on board the ship, so we have dinner with a few new friends and then an early night, as it will be an early start to disembark at Basel and do a morning tour.


 

Following our walking tour we had only a little free time left to investigate the Christmas market. We had a brief look around but are just about seven our fill of Christmas markets by

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