Best Tours in Strasbourg

Most of the best things to see and do in Strasbourg have to do with an exploration of the architectural and historical heritage of the city center. And this place is distinguished for being a metropolis that throughout its history has mixed cultural aspects of France and Germany creating a unique style that can be perceived both in its streets and in its gastronomy and lifestyle.

So in this publication I will tell you all the aspects you need to know about the guided tours through the most touristic neighborhoods of the city of Strasbourg. All this so that you are aware of their duration, price and convenience. This will greatly facilitate the organization of a much more balanced budget that fits your expectations and needs.

The best option

Strasbourg Private Tour

Strasbourg walking tour

Enjoy a private and personalized guided walking tour of Strasbourg's main sites.

From $53 at Hellotickets

Recommended if you are interested in the idea of having a private guide tell you the most important secrets about each of the buildings in the historic center of Strasbourg. It is also ideal if you need to speed up your sightseeing exploration because your trip is relatively short.

It is a recommended plan for families with children of all ages as well as for adult travelers with a few companions. At the same time it is a good investment of your time and money knowing that it includes guided entrance to several important sites.

The first thing you need to know about the best Strasbourg tours is that this kind of tours are oriented towards a very specific area of the city. This is the Great Island and its surroundings, which for centuries has been the epicenter of the social and cultural life of this city and, therefore, houses most of the tourist neighborhoods as well as important monuments such as the cathedral or the Rohan Palace.

There is also the fact that the average duration of this type of tours makes them an extremely favorable option for those who have a one-day visit to Strasbourg. With the accompaniment of a local guide, participants have the possibility to learn all the relevant information about the past of the streets and some important buildings. That while also speeding up the tour to a fraction of the usual time, which facilitates the possibility of seeing all the most representative area of the city.

As for the mode of the tour, you should know that it is almost always a walking tour although it is also possible to use other means of transport such as Segway. Although this alternative is only available for those who have the height and weight necessary to drive an individualized means of transportation like that.

You should also keep in mind that it is almost always a relatively private experience because it is reserved for groups that do not exceed 10 or 15 people. It is also common for there to be a minimum number of participants for the experience to take place. As for average prices, they vary from 50 to 100 euros per person. This depends on whether lunch is offered at one of the stops.

There are different ways to book a tour around the city of Strasbourg, but the best of all is usually an online purchase of the service. This has to do with the fact that through that modality you have the possibility to get and secure a tour for the date and time you are interested in. That while you can make the payment with enough months in advance to organize your expenses in a more favorable way.

You may also find out about the opinions of other people who have purchased that particular tour and almost always have the possibility to cancel the purchase for free if notified well in advance.

In fact, the reality is that nowadays most tour services are paid for through online booking and so this means of purchase may be your best option if you are also interested in single day tours from Strasbourg, which can be ideal for extending your sightseeing exploration if your visit extends over more than three or four days.

The average duration of Strasbourg city tours is about two to three hours in total. However, that number is quite subjective, as it all depends on different factors such as the weather, the number of tourists in the city at the time of your visit and the number of participants going on the experience. It is not the same for a guide to have to deal with a group of 10 people than to have to answer the questions and concerns of up to 25 participants.

In any case, you should know that usually with a three-hour walk you can visit most of the tourist areas of downtown Strasbourg, which are characterized by its cobbled streets and medieval houses with a clear German architectural influence.

Likewise, regardless of whether it is a two-hour or four-hour tour, you should know that this type of experience fits perfectly within the itinerary of a two-day visit to the city of Strasbourg. This knowing that the idea is to visit as many areas as possible without neglecting the learning about the historical importance of each of the buildings and streets that are known.

In the urban tours through the city of Strasbourg you usually see a very specific type of landscape. And it is that you go through the areas with that unique and representative architecture that almost always has to do with that post-medieval period in which this city grew quite a lot and that is directly related to the construction of its cathedral and the future German occupation a couple of centuries later.

For this reason, the historic center of the city and its closest neighborhoods are the favorite places for this type of tours. That while the financial district and the residential suburbs are not usually included in the itinerary of these tours.

Anyway, you have to know that this area of the city is distinguished by its cobbled streets, its high concentration of buildings in a relatively limited space and especially by the canals surrounding both the Great Island of Strasbourg and other nearby neighborhoods.

So one thing you have to be sure of is that a sightseeing tour through the city of Strasbourg is an experience that makes you feel as if you were back in a French or German village in medieval times. For this reason the Christmas markets that take place in this part of the city are one of the best activities to do in Strasbourg during the month of December. Especially considering that it creates an atmosphere that really seems to have come out of a fairy tale.

Although Strasbourg city sightseeing tours are a very well planned experience where you really don't run the risk of having a bad time, there is also the issue that there are some changes or decisions you could make to make the whole thing a much more favorable and enjoyable event for everyone.

So the following recommendations are some of those changes you should keep in mind to make a Strasbourg city tour everything you expect and even exceed your expectations.

Ask as many questions as possible

The main benefit of a guided tour is to be accompanied by a specialist who is at your disposal and that of your companions. This is so that you can understand the past behind each of the corners that you will find along the walking tour.

For this reason you have to take advantage of the experience to ask as many questions as possible, because you are investing your time and money so that at the end of the tour you will have no doubts about the monuments or buildings that you have known.

Opt for personalized alternatives

The modalities under which sightseeing tours are given in most cities occur in two ways. One is rigorously planned with no possible changes and the other is more personalized to fit the requirements and interests of the participants.

Therefore, my advice is to bet on those alternatives that offer a personalized tour. This way you will still get to know important sites such as the cathedral or the European Parliament, but the time you will dedicate to each of these sites will be adjusted according to your own requirements.

Try to speed up each individual visit as much as possible

On the other hand, there is also the fact that in a Strasbourg city tour it is possible to include in the individual visit some buildings or areas of importance such as the cathedral or the houses of La Petite France, which are places that are part of the best things to do in Strasbourg in January because of the low tourist influx that defines them at that time of the year.

However, the amount of time devoted to this part of the tour may not fit within your interests. So if it is a private tour, then I advise you to speed up each individual visit as much as possible when you feel you have had enough of the place.

The exact price of a tour of Strasbourg is something very varied because it can go from 45 or 50 euros to 80 or 100 euros per person. This variation in the rates has to do with different factors such as the time in which you decide to visit this city or according to the modality of the tour. And it is not the same to have to walk because it is a walking tour to do it through an electric bicycle or a Segway.

The number of hours of the tour also directly influences the price of the tour and the number of participants ends up setting the final price, because it is not handled in the same way the budget of a tour for 25 people that one that is reserved exclusively for a family group of four or five participants.

In any case, the price variation during the tourist season is very small and, for this reason, this type of tour is one of the best things to do in Strasbourg during the Christmas season. Especially because it is an opportunity to tour the areas that are occupied by the Christmas markets with the accompaniment of a guide who is specialized in the historical importance of this type of events.

The sites that are part of the tours in Strasbourg are something that really escapes from your hands, because although many of them are personalized, the truth is that they always focus on touring the historic center of the city and its surroundings. This is because it is the area with the largest number of representative buildings and with the typical medieval aesthetics that defines this city.

The following three places specifically are those must-see sites that are part of the itinerary of this type of tours. Therefore, I will tell you about them so that you know what to expect from a sightseeing tour through the center of Strasbourg.

The Great Island of Strasbourg

This part of the city is an island that is formed by the passage of the River III through the center of Strasbourg. It is known for the fact that the famous cathedral of Notre Dame de Strasbourg is located here, as well as the Rohan Palace and the Kleber Square. It is characterized by its cobblestone streets and the neighborhood of La Petite France which is located at the southern end just where the canals are.

The Neustadt

The translation of this name would be German district and basically it is the area that was developed with large Prussian-style buildings during the period in which Germany occupied the city after the Franco-Prussian war. It is an excellent place if you want to appreciate the neoclassical architecture that is distinguished in those buildings that were built during the nineteenth century. The surroundings of the Place de la République and the botanical garden are the most visited corners of the area.

The European Quarter and the Parc de l'Orangerie

The European Quarter is the name used locally to describe the area where the Council of Europe and the European Parliament are located. Both buildings are located right next to the Parc de l'Orangerie and the area in general is touristy both for the beauty of these important buildings and for the tranquility of the park and the baroque and neoclassical mansions that are in its surroundings.

For this reason, a tour that includes this part of the city is highly recommended if you are wondering how to visit the seat of the European Parliament in the city of Strasbourg. Some tours offer guided visits while others give you access to the interactive exhibits.

As for the advantages of taking a guided tour of Strasbourg, it is worth mentioning the fact that through this experience, the tour of the most important area of the city is reduced to a short time. This means that in four or three hours you can know the most emblematic corners of the Great Island of Strasbourg and its surroundings and then you could dedicate the rest of your trip to other much more peculiar activities that have motivated you to visit this corner of France.

At the same time, the accompaniment of a specialist in its history allows you to learn about the importance of this city, which does not let you return home without knowing the decisive significance that Strasbourg has had for France and Germany throughout its history.

At the same time, the fact that the experience is relatively inexpensive compared to what sightseeing tours cost in other parts of the world makes it a good investment of your time and money. Although you should know that the alternative of touring the city on your own under different schedules on different days is something recommended when the weather is not so favorable.

And in that case visiting museums and being in indoor attractions is a more advisable plan and, therefore, the museum of fine arts or the museum of decorative arts are recommended plans that are part of the best things to do in Strasbourg in November, which is a rather rainy time of the year in which a city tour can feel like a challenge for many people.