Half-timbered Alsace with a Gothic cathedral
Strasbourg sits on the Rhine border with Germany, and centuries of changing hands show in its food, its dialect and its architecture. The Grande Île, ringed by the River Ill, is a UNESCO site whose centrepiece is the pink sandstone cathedral with its astronomical clock. Petite France is a picture of half-timbered houses and canal locks. It is also home to the European Parliament. The Christmas market is one of Europe's oldest, and the Alsace wine route and Colmar are close by.