Life in Strasbourg
The indispensable Guide : Le Strassbuch (www.strassbuch.com)
This is the handy, free guide to Strasbourg, written and published by the students of EM Strasbourg business school. You'll find in the book all the best restaurants, clubs, bars, shops, museums and sights, sports centres, etc. A new edition is published every year.
Strasbourg, cultural capital
Strasbourg is a lively city, with a thriving cultural scene, second only to Paris in its wealth and diversity. There's something for everyone and for all tastes: exhibitions, concerts, festivals, theatres, libraries, previews, fairs, contemporary music, music bars, cabarets and clubs.
Carte culture : The Carte Culture is a card available to all post-graduate students and which gives reductions in ticket prices for forty or so venues and festivals and also at certain times in a dozen or so cinemas, as well as free entrance to certain museums in Alsace.
Venues :
- The Théâtre national de Strasbourg (TNS) www.tns.fr
- The Maillon is a theatre with a notably contemporary programme.
- The Laiterie www.laiterie.artefact.org
- Pôle Sud, for music and dance
Music
- On 3 January 2008, the Strasbourg Zénith opened to be the 15th Zénith in the country. With 10,000 places, the Strasbourg Zénith is the largest in France. www.zenith-strasbourg.fr
- The Opéra national du Rhin
- The Laiterie www.laiterie.artefact.org
- The Molodoï, an independent venue opened in 1988, mainly staging alternative music www.molodoi.net
- The palais de la Musique et des Congrès official website
Events, festivals
- The Jazzdor festival
- The Festival des Artefacts stages some of the best modern pop and rock
- Electronic music in the ososphère festival
- The Musica international festival is for contemporary classical music.
Museums
Details for all the city's museums are to be found on www.musees-strasbourg.org
- Contemporary art museum of Strasbourg (MAMCS), opened in 1998
- The Alsatian Museum, Alsatian arts and traditions
- The Museum of Decorative Arts, inside the Palais des Rohan
- The archeological Museum
- The Fine Arts Museum ,
- The Museum de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame an indispensable part of a visit to the cathedral
- The Zoological Museum
- The Museum of Mineralogy
- The Astronomical Observatory with its Planetarium
- The Vaisseau is for introducing a young audience to science
- The new Tomi Ungerer Museum - International centre of Illustration, opened in 2007.
Libraries
The Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire (BNUS) has 3 million books and is the second largest university library in France.
The municipal library of Strasbourg (BMS) contains some 600,000 documents.
Strasbourg has two mediatheques : the médiathèque-Sud in Illkirch, and the Médiathèque André-Malraux which was opened in 2008 in old warehouses on the banks of the river in the centre de Strasbourg.
Cinemas
There are some 50 auditoriums in the 6 cinemas in the Strasbourg area, which include 3 arthouses (Le Star, le Star Saint Exupéry and l’Odyssée) and 2 multiplexes (one of which is next to the centre).
Getting around in Strasbourg
Public transport
The city has 5 tram and 30 bus lines that cover the whole of the city and its suburbs. Information on times and fares can be had on www.cts-strasbourg.fr
Cycling
With nearly 500 km of cycle tracks, the bike is hugely popular in Strasbourg.
Bikes can easily be rented all-year-round from Vélocation, which offers special rates for students.
