Strasbourg is eastern France’s largest city in the historic region of Alsace. and the official seat of the European Parliament. The city has about 300,000 inhabitants; Strasbourg’s metropolitan area had a population of 860,744 in 2020, making it the eighth-largest metro area in France. Strasbourg is one of the de facto four main capitals of the European Union (alongside Brussels, Luxembourg, and Frankfurt), as it is the seat of several European institutions, such as the European Parliament, the Eurocorps and the European Omsbudsman of the European Union. Strasbourg is such a lovely city.

Together with Basel (Bank for International Settlements), Geneva (United Nations), The Hague (International Court of Justice), and New York City (United Nations World Headquarters), Strasbourg is among the few cities in the world that is not a national capital that hosts international organizations of the first order. Strasbourg’s historic city center, the Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. It is home to the largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque. It is also Albert Schweitzer’s hometown (see first photo below).

Strasbourg has become one of my favorite cities in the world, along with Prague, Paris, and San Francisco.