do i need to visit strasbourg if already visiting colmar & cute wine towns?

Robyn, Will you be staying in Colmar? My suggestion would be to consider a day trip to Strasbourg ONLY IF you have adequate time. As the others have mentioned, it's a huge and very busy city so the "atmosphere" is not the same there as in other places in that region. It's also a headquarters of the European Union, so is a significant city in France. I agree with Sarah that the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-De-Strasbourg is magnificent but if you have no interest in visiting there, at least you won't have to contend with the crowds. If you do decide to take a short visit, you might consider one of the boat tours that wind through the canals of the city. It's interesting to see the city from a "water" perspective. The railway station is huge (shaped like a giant glass "egg") and it is possible to walk from there to the river. You might want to photocopy a Map (from the Guidebook?) so that you have some idea on directions. Happy travels!

Not having been to the other places but having been to Strasbourg, I'd say go...we actually arrived late at night, stayed with some people right by the cathedral, and only had maybe 4 hrs the next day to explore - but it really whetted my appetite and I would LOVE to go back...even a day would be good - but 1 thing I noticed - there is a lot of shoes, chocolate and pastry shops - perfect! The river running thru the town, the flowers, the half-timber houses...sigh - beautiful...

i wouldn't

strasbourg is one of the largest cities in france. it's nothing like the cute little towns along the wine route, it's a totally different place. I wouldn't call "little france" glamorous, it's a picturesque old medieval part of town. It is lovely, however. I can't fathom having no interest in the Cathedral, it's a masterpiece of gothic architecture and the most stunning building I've ever seen. Even if you're not interested in religion or religious history it is something to behold. I think it's worth at least a few hours to see the center of town if you're in the area. It's also not a bad place to overnight, given that hotels are cheap there.

Hi, Should you go to Strasbourg? Why, yes, to be sure. You may change your mind as you see this charming and lovely city and its famous cathedral (das Straßburger Münster). I would not describe "little france" as glamorous or glittzy...it's unique.

I'm not trying to tell anyone what they should be interested in. If someone is not interested in cathedrals, then that is up to the individual. However, I would like to throw this thought out there for anyone else reading who may be undecided. This may not be the OP's case, but I have known some people who did not think they were interested in cathedrals because they were thinking only of it in a religious sense and that did not appeal to them. Once they were encouraged to think of it from other perspectives, such as architecture, history, art, sociology, legal practices,and so on, they discovered much more to it. The history of the church is the history of all those things and impacted practically all aspects of human life you could think of. But to answer the OP's question, I enjoyed both Strasbourg and the near by towns very much. I would encourage seeing both; however, if your time is short and you do not plan to visit the cathedral or other main attractions there, I would say skip it.

well maybe we should reconsider the cathedral if it's as good as everyone says it is :) :) :) hubby and i are actually religious but have already seen st. pauls in london and st. peters in rome and notre dame paris (not impressed for some odd reason)... we thought no big deal for strasbourg? a nice guy pm'ed me and said food is oh so fine in strasbourg also. still undecided but you've given us stuff to discuss over coffee :) hugs,
Robyn

i think notre dame de strasbourg is more impressive than notre dame de paris in terms of beauty/"wow" factor. but it was also the first major european cathedreal that i saw so that might have really stuck with me. and i love high gothic archtecture. it's unique for 4 main reasons: 1) it was built out of a local rusty pink sandstone, so the color is amazing. at sunset the facade of the cathedral is lit up in the sun and practically glows. 2) it is incredibly ornate with regards to sculpture on the outside and has some of the finest medieval statuary of any cathedral in europe 3) it is very, very tall. for a long time it was the tallest building in europe.
4) the astrological clock inside is really cool. if you want to see it "go" check times, i want to say noon but i can't remember off the top of my head. the food in strasbourg is very good, although i imagine other places in alsace are serving the same kind of food - alsacian cusiene. specialties of the region are foie gras (duck or goose liver pate, delicious), charcroutte (sausages and sauerkraut), tarte d'alsace (a super thin crust "pizza" with cream, cheese, onions, and smoked ham. super tasty!) if you want to splurge on a nice, traditional meal, consider chez gloria. if you want a fun, cheap stopover, the academie de bier has a fantastic ion of beers and lambics from all over europe but particularly belgium, and has amazingly delicious and cheap tarte d'alsace with a variety of toppings in a super atmospheric ancient pub. as you can tell, i like strasbourg quite a bit.

We were in Colmar in December. It was one of our stops on our month long trip in Germany, France and Austria. We LOVED colmar. On our way to Colmar from Trier, Germany we passed by Strasbourg and decided not to take a day trip there. It is close, but it looked big city, sort of industrial looking. I am sure that are wonderful things to see there, but for what we enjoy, we stayed in Colmar. We did make one day trip to Riquewihr which was also lovely. The Colmar area is so charming and beautiful. It is a spot we definitely plan to go back to and spend more time exploring the route des Vins.

I agree with taking the boat cruise in Strousbourg if you have the time. My daughter and I enjoyed it so much more than the cruise in Paris. But... it was the first one we did, we had no expectations, the weather was glorious and we loved it. (I am not a big Cathedral person either...I would rather be outside, but I do appreciate the history and architecture... I just don't want to spend hours looking at it) I returned to this city a few times, so I must have enjoyed it, and one of these years will make it to the Christmas Market there.

We stayed in Strasbourg last October. While my husband was in a meeting I decided to tour the Alsatian Museum. What a surprise it was. A wonderful historical setting with incredible Alsatian Folkart. It beat out all other area museums (and even the cathedral). I was told it had been closed for a while and had only recently re-opened. I ended up spending 3 1/2 hours there. If you are there on a Saturday morning, stop by the charming farmers market very close to the river and the cathedral....a wonderful little slice of Alsatian life - you will drool! I can also suggest Zuem Strissel (near the river and cathedral) for an incredible Alsatian Meal - not as touristy and full of locals....plus delicious food - we ended up eating there 2 evenings.

Colleen, that museum was closed when we were there. Sounds like something I would like.