Why Strasbourg?
12 July 2020

Strasbourg is a city of France ideal for discovering the French language and culture. Capital of Europe, it is home to over 10,000 foreign students, a boon to discover other cultures and forge unforgettable friendships!

* Strasbourg is the capital of the historic and cultural region of Alsace (474,500 inhabitants in the heart of Europe, including a young population: 32% of Alsatians are under 25).

Strasbourg is part of the trinational space of the Upper Rhine, which has 6 million inhabitants.

* A stone’s throw from Germany and Switzerland, Alsace is the Land of the Three Borders.

* Strasbourg is the seat of major European institutions: the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Ombudsman, the Pharmacopoeia (EDQM), the European Youth Center, the system Schenghen, Eurocorps or the headquarters of the European television channel Arte, etc.

* Strasbourg is the second diplomatic city of France: 75 embassies and diplomatic representations, a hundred international NGOs and an international community of more than 22,000 people.

* Strasbourg is thus one of the only cities with Geneva, Lyon, Montreal or New York, to be the seat of international organizations without being the capital of a country.

* Strasbourg is a city of international congresses, the second in France after Paris.

* Strasbourg is frequently described as “European capital” or even “Parliamentary capital of Europe».

* City border with Germany, Strasbourg was marked by the various Germanic and French administrations. Its rich and troubled history has left a remarkable architectural heritage.

*Its city center, located on the Big Island, is fully World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO since 1988 and brings together the main places and monuments that make the reputation of Strasbourg, such as the Cathedral, the Maison Kammerzell, Little France or the Covered Bridges.

* The presence of several national establishments makes Strasbourg an important cultural center.

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A 10,000 seat Zenith, the Rhine Opera, the Strasbourg National Theater, the City of Music and Dance, the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Strasbourg Percussions, the TAPS (Théâtre Actuel Production Strasbourgeoise).

More than 10 museums and exhibitions of international level attract more than half a million visitors. 180 museums in the 3 border countries are accessible thanks to the Museum Pass.

17 music schools and a conservatory form the virtuosos of tomorrow.

Many festivals with international resonance punctuate the Strasbourg scene: the Musica festival, the International music festival, Golden Jazz, the festival of European Nights, the Ososphere.

* Strasbourg is also the second National University library in France: the André Malraux Media Library, the largest public media library in eastern France with an area of ​​11,800 m², 160,000 documents on 20 km of shelves, 35,000 CD / DVD and nearly 1,000 seats. It coordinates the network of 23 libraries and media libraries in the agglomeration.

* Strasbourg is also a large student city. Its university, its grandes écoles (Cuej, ENA, Sciences Po Strasbourg, EM Strasbourg, INSA de Strasbourg, National School of Water and Environmental Engineering in Strasbourg, International Space University, ISEG Business & Finance School, EPITECH, SUPINFO, the European School of Chemistry, Polymers and Materials (ECPM), its new CNRS, etc.) and its university hospital form a major international university pole with more than 20% of foreign students and more than one hundred nationalities represented.

* Strasbourg is the 1st French region for the attraction of foreign students.

* The university which has hosted 18 Nobel Prizes within its walls has won numerous calls for tenders in the framework of investments for the future, aimed at making it a center of excellence in higher education and research on a global level .

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* Strasbourg hosts more than 1,200 companies with mainly Swiss, German and American foreign capital.

* Strasbourg is the 2nd French region for the attractiveness of foreign researchers and scientific publications.

* 3rd nationally in terms of European patent filings in the pharmaceutical / biotechnology sector.

* Strasbourg, one of the big cities winning the Future Investment Program with 47 labeled projects that will strengthen its position of excellence.

* 5 competitiveness clusters: Alsace BioValley, Vehicle of the Future, Hydréos, ÉnergieVie, Grand Est natural fibers.

* The Autonomous Port of Strasbourg is the second river port of France, the Port-du-Rhin station is the most important freight station in the Alsace region.

* Strasbourg is twinned with Fez (Morocco), Jacmel (Haiti), Vologda (Russian Federation), Leicester (United Kingdom) and Boston (United States), Ramat-Gan (Israel), Stuttgart and Dresden (Germany).

* Rich with 2000 years of History, Strasbourg presents facets all more attractive than the others: medieval half-timbered facades, 18th century mansions, the impressive cathedral and the charm of Little France, the historic district that we visit to the rhythm of locks and stopovers in traditional “Winstubs”, contemporary architecture.

Since 1570, during the holidays, the city is adorned with light to welcome the where colors and scents enchant you while wandering through Christmas decoration, crafts and gourmet specialties. 

* A new Exhibition Center and the modernization / extension of the Palace of Music and Congresses are underway.

* Strasbourg Entzheim Airport is 10 minutes from the city center, 23 regular destinations, 200 connecting destinations around the world.

Strasbourg is close to the airports of Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Zurich, and also to the Euroairport of Basel-Mulhouse.

* With the TGV Est-Européen and the TGV Rhin-Rhône in December 2011, have the effect of positioning Strasbourg at the strategic intersection of the 2 high-speed TGV rail axes that structure Europe: the London-Paris-Strasbourg axis- Munich-Vienna-Bratislava and the North Sea and Mediterranean axis.

* At the center of the European motorway network: at the crossroads of the Paris-Munich and Hamburg-Milan motorways, the geographical location of Strasbourg allows rapid access to all of the cities in the cross-border area of ​​the Upper Rhine, as well as to the main cities from northern, eastern and southern Europe.

* With nearly 54 km of commercial length, the tram network in Strasbourg is the largest and most meshed in France.
A third of the 280 city buses run on gas. In 2014, the launch of a hybrid tram-train that will link the heart of Strasbourg outside the conurbation was announced.

*344 hectares of parks and gardens, 3,771 hectares of forest (including two forests in the urban fabric), numerous rivers (Rhine and its tributaries) irrigate the territory and allow many walks on landscaped banks.

* More than 300 sites and sports facilities: swimming pools and water bodies, the largest ice rink in France, golf and tennis courts, artificial climbing structures, fitness and health sites, athletics stadium, 10 centers equestrian, shooting ranges, combat rooms, skate park & ​​freestyle bike, aquatic and nautical sites (sailing, rowing, canoeing), multisports rooms, football stadiums, rugby…