Visiting the European Institutions buildings is not that exciting but their achitecture contrasts so much to the historic buildings it is worth a quick tram ride - especially if it's raining. The European Parliament building is by far the most interesting.
Churches, as always, provide lots of variation and interest. The "twinned" church of St Pierre-le-Vieux (one part Protestant the other Catholic) provide clear examples of the divergent nature of their religeous doctrines; the plain and well lit versu ornate and dim - that's the buildings not the doctrines.
St Pierre-le-Jeune (Catholic) is a magnificent building and provides an excellent example of what a "new", if rather plain, basilica looks like.
St Pierre-le-Jeune (Protestant) comes as a bit of a shock when you enter. The profusion of decoration; virtually wall-to-wall frescos. The reason being is that it was a shared Catholic and Protestant church at one time. This church has to be the best one to visit if you have limited time in Strasbourg, especially since it has a delightful cloister.
St Thomas (Lutheran) is unusual in that there are five naves. The height of the columns is also remarkable so that the whole interior looks like a stone forrest.
A visit to Le Palais Rohan provides three museums; we chose the Fine Arts and the Archaeology Museums (no surprise there). The Archaeology Museum is splendid and extensive - if you are, like us, into old bits and pieces from long dead folk. The extent of Roman artifacts really showed our lack of appreciation of the Roman history of Strasbourg.
Wandering around La Petite France is a delight - if you ignore the tour groups - because there are many 16th and 17th C half-timbered houses and narrow streets.
