With kids · Strasbourg · France
Strasbourg with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Strasbourg is easy with children: the astronomical clock's midday show, boat tours, storks in the Orangerie park and a cross-border footbridge to Germany. The old town is compact and flat, with stroller-friendly streets. Top picks: Astronomical Clock, Batorama boat tour and Parc de l'Orangerie. Families usually base themselves in Orangerie and the European Quarter.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 5
- Best area for families
- Orangerie and the European Quarter
- Rainy-day options
- 1
- Busiest months
- December
Best things to do with kids
Historic site · Grande Île
1.Astronomical Clock
The cathedral's astronomical clock, rebuilt in its current form in the 1840s by Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué, shows planetary positions, the date of Easter and the phases of the moon. Every day at about half past midday, a procession of the apostles passes before Christ and a rooster crows.
Buy a ticket for the midday show and arrive early, as the viewing area fills quickly.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Experience · Grande Île
2.Batorama boat tour
Glass-roofed boats circle the Grande Île and pass through the locks of Petite France before heading to the Neustadt and the European Quarter. An audio guide explains the city's history over about 70 minutes.
Book in advance in summer and at Christmas; the boats leave from near the Palais Rohan.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Book ahead
- Departures sell out at peak times; reserve online for summer and the Christmas season.
- Kids
- Views
- Couples
Park · Orangerie and the European Quarter
3.Parc de l'Orangerie
Strasbourg's oldest park, laid out in the 17th and 18th centuries, has a boating lake, a small zoo, playgrounds and the Pavillon Joséphine. White storks, the symbol of Alsace, nest in the trees and on enclosures.
Rent a rowing boat on the lake and look up at the storks' nests from spring to summer.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Park · Neudorf
4.Jardin des Deux Rives
A cross-border park on both banks of the Rhine connects Strasbourg with Kehl in Germany by the Passerelle des Deux Rives footbridge. Children's play areas, lawns and riverside paths make it a popular outing, and tram D also crosses to Kehl.
Walk across the footbridge to Germany and back, then take tram D to Kehl's centre for a German coffee and cake.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
Neighbourhood · Petite France
5.Petite France
The old tanners' and millers' quarter has some of the best-preserved half-timbered houses in Alsace along canals and locks. Rue du Bain-aux-Plantes is lined with 16th- and 17th-century houses, and the swing bridges turn to let boats through.
Come early in the morning or after dinner, when the crowds have gone and the reflections in the canals are clearest.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Iconic
- Photo spot
- Couples
- Architecture
Rainy-day ideas
- Astronomical Clock — Buy a ticket for the midday show and arrive early, as the viewing area fills quickly.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for families, quiet stays and luxury
Orangerie and the European Quarter
The north-east of the city is home to the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, along with the Parc de l'Orangerie. It is quiet and green, popular with business travellers and families, and about 15 minutes by tram from the cathedral.
- Good
- Green spaces for children; Quiet nights; Near the European institutions
- Watch out
- A tram ride from the old town; Busy and pricier during parliament sessions
- Nearby
- Parc de l'Orangerie, European Parliament, Palace of Europe
Family travel tips
- Le Vaisseau, a hands-on science centre for children, is a good rainy-day option.
- The Orangerie park has a boating lake, a small zoo and playgrounds.
- Book Christmas market accommodation early if travelling with family in December.
- Trams and most pavements are stroller-friendly.
- Bretzels and tarte flambée are easy hits with children.
Day trips for families
- Haut-Kœnigsbourg Castle (About 1 hour by car; longer by train and shuttle) — A red-sandstone castle high on the Vosges foothills, restored under Kaiser Wilhelm II in the early 1900s, with furnished rooms and views over the Alsace plain to the Black Forest.
- Freiburg im Breisgau (About 1–1.5 hours by train) — A university city at the foot of the Black Forest with a Gothic minster, little streams called Bächle running through its streets, and a cable car up the Schauinsland mountain nearby.
When to go with children
The best months overall are May–June, September–October and December. December is the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Strasbourg good for kids?
Strasbourg is easy with children: the astronomical clock's midday show, boat tours, storks in the Orangerie park and a cross-border footbridge to Germany. The old town is compact and flat, with stroller-friendly streets.
+What can kids do in Strasbourg?
Astronomical Clock, Batorama boat tour, Parc de l'Orangerie, Jardin des Deux Rives and Petite France.
+Where should families stay in Strasbourg?
Orangerie and the European Quarter: Parkland, embassies and the European institutions in the north-east.