STRAS SPREE

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Apr 13, 2008 | by ANTHONY LAMBERT

LEAVE behind the queues and delays at airport check-in you can be in the capital of Europe from the capital of Britain in just a few hassle-free hours by train.

The journey from the centre of London to the centre of Strasbourg in north-east France now takes under six hours thanks to Eurostar and a new high-speed TGV rail route from Paris.

Strasbourg has good reason to style itself the capital of Europe. This is the seat of the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights - and it's one of the most attractive cities in France, with a dose of German culture.

It was Strasbourg that gave France two of its best-known symbols. Foie gras was "invented" here and was originally called pate de Strasbourg.

And it was during a dinner given by the mayor in 1792 that Rouget de Lisle composed the rousing melody of the Marseillaise for the Army of the Rhine.

It was so catchy that it became the French national anthem only three years later.

The men who first sang the Marseillaise would still recognise the city centre streets that surround the stupendous cathedral.

The immense cliff of pink sandstone that forms its entrance facade is covered in exquisitely delicate carving.

It was finished in 1439, and the single spire on one of the two towers made it the world's then tallest building at 142 metres (466ft).

It's an exhausting climb of 328 steps to the viewing platform, but the panorama over the city is worth the effort and the pounds 2.30 charge. You can fully appreciate the way the old city occupies an island surrounded by two arms of the River Ill before it meets the Rhine. You can also enjoy the bridges linking it to the newer parts of the city - from the stone Ponts Couverts with their fortified towers to ornate ironwork structures.

Before leaving the cathedral, don't miss the astronomical clock in the south transept. It's so popular that a 22-minute film in English is shown at midday daily (except Sundays), showing close- ups of the parade of the 12 apostles, cherubs turning an hourglass and hitting a gong, and a cock spreading its wings and crowing. It's pounds 1.50 for the film.

Surrounding the cathedral are pedestrianised streets of enchanting stone and timber-framed houses with steeply sloped and tiled roofs, some with three storeys of dormer windows.

The most striking example overlooks the cathedral - the magnificent Maison Kammerzell has three storeys of leaded windows and frescoes and it now houses both a restaurant and a hotel, reached by a 16th-Century spiral staircase.

On the corner of the cathedral square and Rue Merciere is La Boutique Culture which has a daily listing of what's going on in the city, and you can buy tickets inside.

Water plays a big part in making Strasbourg such an attractive city, and the best way to explore the network of rivers and canals is to hop on a boat from the landing stage by Palais Rohan.

The hour-long tour takes in the extraordinary defensive barrage built in about 1690, the picturesque area of halftimbered houses known as La Petite France, the 1995 European Court of Human Rights designed by Richard Rogers and the new European Parliament.

Most of the museums are within walking distance of the cathedral. The Alsatian Museum at 23-25 Quai Saint Nicolas has reconstructed rooms in three old houses showing how people lived in days gone by. Children will love the grotesque faces which were attached to the flour boxes of old mills to spit out the chaff.

The Museum of Strasbourg at 3 Place de la Grande-Boucherie is worth going to for the huge 18th Century model of Strasbourg - all 78 square metres of it.

Louis XIV had 144 of these reliefs made so he could visualise the towns of his kingdom. Look out for a painting of 1666 showing a local contest that could have inspired It's a Knockout - water jousting from rowing boats.

All in all, as the famous architect Le Corbusier said of Strasbourg, it is a city which has grown up well.

What's the deal?

RETURN fares to Strasbourg start at pounds 89 from Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk or 0844 848 4070) - Eurostar from St Pancras, change to the TGV in Paris.

Near the station at 16 Rue Kuhn is the threestar Hotel Monopole Metropole (www.best western-monopole.com or 0033 388 143914) Doubles from pounds 85, with breakfast. Maison Kammerzell at 16 Place de la Cathedrale (www.maison-kammerzell.com) - B&B doubles from pounds 91. One-day museum pass costs pounds 4.60. A 24-hour travel card is just pounds 2.70.