Strasbourg Cathedral Guided Visit

Strasbourg Cathedral: pink sandstone and a single spire

Strasbourg Cathedral rises above the rooftops of the old town in warm pink sandstone quarried in the Vosges. A Romanesque cathedral was begun here in 1015, and the Gothic rebuilding that gives the church its present form started in the late 12th century. The west façade, begun in 1277, is covered with carved figures, slender stone tracery and a great rose window, so finely worked that it looks like lace.

The north spire, completed in 1439, reaches 142 metres and made the cathedral the tallest building in the world from 1647 until 1874. The second spire was never built, which gives the cathedral its unmistakable lopsided silhouette. Your guide begins outside, reading the façade and its portals like a book and explaining how the building was financed and built over centuries.

Inside: Gothic nave, stained glass and the Pillar of Angels

Stepping inside, the nave rises about 32 metres, lit by stained-glass windows made between the 12th and 14th centuries, among the finest collections in Europe. The guide points out the richly carved late Gothic pulpit, the organ case that hangs high on the nave wall, and the great rose window glowing above the entrance.

In the south transept stands the Pillar of Angels, a slender column carved around 1230 with tiers of angels sounding trumpets, one of the masterpieces of Gothic sculpture. Is Strasbourg Cathedral worth visiting with a guide? Most visitors walk past these details in minutes; with a licensed guide, the symbols, the craftsmen's techniques and the cathedral's turbulent history through wars and changes of nationality come alive.

The astronomical clock

Also in the south transept, the astronomical clock is one of the great mechanical wonders of Europe. The present mechanism, completed in 1843, sits inside a painted Renaissance case from the 16th century and shows solar and local time, the phases of the moon, the positions of the planets and a perpetual calendar that calculates the movable holidays of the year.

Your guide explains how the clock works and the meaning of its painted panels and figures. Every day at 12:30 a procession of automata comes to life; this midday show needs a separate ticket and is not part of this afternoon visit. Many guests come back in the morning for it, or climb to the cathedral platform at 66 metres for the view over the rooftops, also on a separate ticket.

Visiting the cathedral and its square

Strasbourg Cathedral opening hours run daily from morning to early evening, with a short closure around midday before the clock show and limited visits during services. Admission is free. The cathedral stands in the centre of the Grande Île, a few minutes' walk from the city-centre tram stops and about 20 minutes on foot from Strasbourg railway station.

Around the square, look for the ornately carved 15th-century timber house, the 18th-century bishops' palace that now holds three museums, and the view up Rue Mercière to the façade. The best time to visit Strasbourg Cathedral is a weekday afternoon or a summer evening, when the façade is lit; in December the city's Christmas market, among the oldest in France, fills the surrounding squares.