La Petite France, Strasbourg

Saturday
After breakfast at the hotel, we set off for a day exploring Strasbourg. We picked up a walking guide leaflet from the Tourist Office, then went into the cathedral, which has some beautiful stained glass covering various time periods from the 12th-14th centuries, beautifully carved doorways, and perhaps especially known for its astronomical clock. We then continued the route into the area known as La Petite France, shown in my blip, an area of beautiful colorful half-timbered houses bordering the River Ill. This general area was originally inhabited by fishermen, millers and tanners. A little further along the river you reach Le Pont Couvert (covered bridge), fortified with four defensive towers. The bridge was originally built between 1200 and 1250 and originally covered by a tiled roof - hence its name. Nowadays, it is just a regular stone bridge linking the towers. Next to the covered bridge is the Vauban barrage designed by France's famous military architect Vauban, in the reign of Louis XIV. The principal defensive function of the barrage was to enable, in the event of attack, the raising of the level of the River Ill and thus flooding of all the lands south of the city, making them impassable to the enemy. Today, the interior is used to display some ancient plaster casts and copies of statues from the cathedral and Palais Rohan, and there is a viewing platform on the roof, commanding a wonderful view over the Pont Couvert, La Petite France, and the cathedral beyond. After completing our walking tour, we visited the Alsace museum, housed in three old houses beside the river, and dedicated to all aspects of daily life in pre-industrial and early industrial Alsace. By this time it was late afternoon, so we headed back to the hotel for a drink and a bit of a rest before changing and going out to dinner at an Indian restaurant back in La Petite France. After dinner, we went for a stroll around, discovering that the barrage and the bridge and towers are beautifully illuminated at night.