Strasbourg

To many European Union Officials, Strasbourg, capital of the Alsace region of France, is merely an annoyance when they are forced to leave Brussels for parliament sittings. It is also the home of the EU Court of Human Rights.

Strasbourg is much more than this though, as I discovered when travelling Europe in 2008. To us it was at first a convenient stopping off point between Brussels and Munich, but it is also a beautiful mediaeval city situated on an island surrounded by the River Ill. Strasbourg sits right on the French-German border and is a bilingual city at the meeting point of these two cultures.

Strasbourg also has the best Irish Bar (the Irish Times) I've discovered outside of Ireland.

This photo shows a bridge over the River Ill, unfortunately I have no idea which one, but I'm working on it.