Strasbourg offers many wonderful sites to visit and you will be hard pressed to choose among them, but don’t miss Saint Paul’s Church which stands in Gothic Revival splendor on the south bank of an island in the center of the widest part of the River Ill.

This magnificent church was built in 1897 for the Lutheran congregation of the Imperial German Army who were billeted in Strasbourg. The graceful twin spires are 76 metres high and dominate the skyline.

If the church is wider than its length and has 19 separate entrances, it is because the army had a defined idea of what was due to each rank, so the portals were assigned from the Emperor – when he was in residence – to the generals down to the lowly foot soldiers.

The architect was Louis Muller and he based his designs loosely on the beautiful Elizabeth Church of Marburg, with the 3 huge ornate rose windows copied from the smaller one in St Thomas’ Church.

The building was damaged during the Anglo-American bombing in 1944, as were the stained glass windows. The windows suffered further damage during a terrible hailstorm in 1958 and the only remaining original ones are to be found along the nave and the eastern and southern rose windows.

Under the rose window in the eastern transept you will see the heraldic banners of Alsace, Baden, Bavaria, the Empire, Mecklenburg and Prussia. The pipe organ dates back to 1897 and is one of the biggest in Alsace.

The rather lopsided aspect of Saint William’s Church is only one of its charms and it is one of the most beautiful churches in Strasbourg.

A monastery was built on the marshy banks of the River Ill in 1307 by Hénri de Mullenheim, a knight who survived the Crusades and who wanted to give thanks for his safe return to his homeland. It was the home of the mendicant monks of the Order of the Hermits of Saint William, but only the church remains of the original monastery.

As it wasn’t far from the wharfs, in 1331 it became the parish church of the Corporation of Shipbuilders. In the 15th century a second portal was added as well as a triple-arched gallery. It was more or less abandoned during the late 16th century and was extensively restored in the 17th century.

One of the most important relics in the church is a 14th century tomb effigy – a wooden relief in polychrome depicting the conversion of Saint Catherine and Saint William. The pulpit dates back to 1656 while the altar was installed in the 18th century.

Although the organ was installed in 1987, the organ cases belong to an original instrument built by Andreas Silbermann in 1728.

Although Saint Madeleine Church is neither very large nor very important in comparison to other, bigger churches in Strasbourg, it is nevertheless a lovely building and well worth a visit.

The original church was a part of the Sisters of Saint Mary Magdalene Convent, built in 1478 in the Gothic style. It was the last Gothic building to be put up in the city and only fragments of the frescoes from the quire remain today.

It was maintained in perfect condition until it was largely destroyed in a fire in 1904. At first the city council wanted to have the remains pulled down, but in 1907 the architect Fritz Belbo submitted plans to rebuild it.

The new church was built in the Jugendstil – or Art Nouveau – style and was bigger and had a lighter atmosphere than the original, with a minimalist, white interior with graceful arches and high windows which let in sunlight to make colorful patterns dance on the floor.

As with many of the buildings in Strasbourg, the church suffered extensive damage during the bombardments of the Second World War. Once again it nearly went under the bulldozers only to be saved at the last minute in 1958 and rebuilt to Belbo’s original designs.

Until 1874 the Cathédrale Notre Dame was the tallest church in the world; today it is the 6th tallest and its tower dominates the Strasbourg skyline.

The ground on which this magnificent edifice stands has been used for religious purposes for over 3000 years: in 12 BC a Roman sanctuary was built here with shrines to at least three of their gods; when Christianity arrived in the region a temple to the Virgin Mary was built over the ruins of the sanctuary.

The 1st cathedral was built in the 7th century and was replaced by a larger one in the 8th century. This in turn was supplanted by another in 1015 Romanesque building with wooden naves, which burned down in 1176.

The cathedral you can visit and admire today took many centuries to finish and has three distinctive styles. Only the crypt dates back to 1015 and it has been expanded over the centuries.

The North Transept and the Quire were built in the Romanesque style. In 1225 the Gothic style was introduced by stonemasons from Chartres and the statue of the “Pillar of Angels” in the South Transept was sculpted during the same period. The famous West Front with its 1000’s of sculpted figures representing the saints, the martyrs and the Virtues is a magnificent example of the Gothic style.

The North Tower, built in 1439, is 142 metres high and on a clear day you can see for over 30km from the observation level. The Lawrence Portal in the North Transept was finished in 1505 in the Renaissance style.

Most of the statues in the cathedral are copies of the originals which can be seen the Museum de l’Oeuvre Notre dame. The stunning Astronomical Clock, built in 1843 to replace an earlier clock, is 18 metres high and is one of the largest in the world.

Saint-Nicolas Church is a small Gothic church in Strasbourg. The initial construction of this church began in 1182, but two centuries later it was completely rebuilt and dedicated to Saint Nicolas, patron saint of children, scholars and sailors.

If you don’t visit Saint Thomas’ Church you will surely kick yourself afterwards for missing the most unique church in Alsace.

It is the principal Protestant church and the only hall church in the region. A hall church is a building with the nave and side aisles the same height under the same roof. It has five naves and side chapels to the left and the right of the apse. It is 65 metres long, 30 metres wide and 22 metres high, with the cupola reaching 30 metres high.

The site has been a place of worship since the 6th century BC when a shrine to Thomas the Apostle was erected here. The first 9th century church suffered fire damage in 1007 and 1144.

The new church began to be built in 1196 in the Roman style and was finished in 1521 in the Late Gothic style. With its impressive tower, it looks a little like a fortress.

You won’t want to miss the important and richly decorated tombs that range from the elaborate to the somewhat macabre! There is the ornate sarcophagus built in 1130 for Bishop Adelochus; Nicholas Roeder von Tiersburg’s tombstone, erected in 150, bears a startling stone-carving depicting his emaciated corpse.

By far the most impressive is the enormous late Baroque mausoleum built in 1777 by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle for Marshall Maurice de Sachs. There is also a wonderful and unique late Gothic fresco depicting St Michael and an original medieval rose window.

Saint Pierre-le-Vieux Church is probably the first church to be built in Strasbourg and it is certainly worth a visit.

Although the first mention of the church was documented in 1130, there are several vestiges from a much older church dating back to somewhere between the 4th and the 8th centuries. According to legend this early church was built by Saint Maternus.

The church you can visit today was built in 1382 and it has the particularity of being both a Catholic and a Protestant church. From 1382 to 1529 it belonged to the Catholic congregation of the city. In 1529 it was handed over to the Lutherans, before becoming the first double-religion church in France in 1638.

In 1867, due to the growing Catholic congregation, the architect Courath was commissioned to build an extension perpendicular to the original building. In 1912 two of the bays were demolished to make room for the new Rue de 22 Novembre. At this time a new façade and a bell tower was added.

Inside the church you can admire the ancient rood-screen and against the wall separating the two faiths you will see 4 raredos dating back to the 15th century. Fitted into the woodwork on the wall of the quire are 10 panels representing the Passion of Christ executed in 1488 by Hénri Lutzelmann.

Constructed in the 15th century, Saint-Jean Church was partially rebuilt after the Second World War. It has a single nave with two lancet windows. You can also find remains of frescoes, painted by the artists Werle and Schwenkedel.