Strasbourg Part III – From the Impressive European Parliament to the Adorable Parc de l’Orangerie

Aside from the obvious Strasbourg Cathedral and the Christmas markets, I also took some time to just… explore the city. No rushing, no checklist, just wandering around and seeing where the day took me.

I reached Strasbourg fairly early, about 8 in the morning. The city was just waking up. Shops half-open, streets calm, and that quiet morning chill. The first order of business, of course, was to get a day pass for public transport because I had a lot of ground to cover. And here's the pleasant surprise, the day pass cost a mere 4.5 euros! Yes, you read that right: all-day unlimited travel on buses and trams. I was impressed already, and it had barely started.

First things first, armed with my day pass and way too much excitement, I hopped onto a tram and headed to my first destination: the European Parliament.

The European Parliament

Honestly, I’m not sure what I expected, but standing outside the building for the European Parliament felt… surreal, I guess. There I was, casually existing in the same space where major decisions that affect millions of people are discussed. It’s moments like that when you think, “Wait, is this real life?” The building itself is huge, very modern, but also elegant, I suppose, but also very, very serious-looking, but in a non-intimidating way, you know?

After a short stroll around the building, taking everything in, I finally went inside.

And then came the highlight, they allowed me to enter the Plenary Chamber, or as it is also known, the hemicycle. I did not know that us commoners would be allowed in such an important place. Because this is the chamber where all the crucial debates and speeches take place.

To be sitting there, as a mere visitor... I mean, people who are infinitely more intelligent and capable than me have sat in this very same spot and shaped the history of Europe was quite humbling and surreal.

They also had this audio guide system where they provided us with a phone that had these videos explaining the workings of the Parliament, its history, its format. You name it, they had it. It was basically a crash course on politics and history. I was giddy with nerdy excitement at the prospect of watching them. All these videos lasted for nearly an hour in total. Howeverrrrr, most tourists did NOT view all these videos. I noticed that some tourists got up after watching for 15-20 minutes. Let's pretend I did not judge them for this. Me? I stuck around for the whole hour, for all the videos, because, believe me, it was engrossing material.

And to finish off, there was an little quiz to see how much you’d learned, which was just weirdly thrilling. Kind of like school, but fun school. And then I was out, my brain was full, my heart was full. I learned stuff. Which is always awesome while traveling.

Parc de l’Orangerie

After a highly educational morning,I moved back out into the city and took a bus to my next location, Parc de l’Orangerie.

Now, let me tell you something. Even the bus ride through Strasbourg was a sightseeing tour. Strasbourg itself is a beautiful place. And this is not an easy claim to make. Honestly, I don’t think I saw a single boring building throughout the entire day. No boring glass towers with minimalist designs here.

All the buildings seemed to belong to the olden days. Detailed, ornate and with so much character. Honestly, these buildings feel the kind of alive that modern skycrapers could never. Buildings that make you pause to gawk at them. And trust me, my eyes were glued to the window all the way.

When I got to Parc de l’Orangerie, I was immediately struck by how big it was. The park is enormous. Like, ‘you need a plan to see everything’ enormous. I did explore the entirety of it, of course. but I walked around enough to get a feel of the park.

There are various trails for walking and jogging, play areas for kids, benches placed along these walking trails, and so many spots for people to just hang out. Some people were reading, pet-walkers were out, parents were strolling their kids in their strollers, while others were out soaking in the sunlight.

There were also some statues dotted about in the park that included a very strange-looking statue that stopped me in my tracks and made me ponder, what on earth is that supposed to be? Unfortunately, I couldn't figure it out. Let me know if any of you guys do haha.

Other interesting stuff included trees with stork nests just perched right on top of the trees. I was so genuinely confused at first: like… are those nests? did the birds decide to build them in such a systematic manner? It was later that I came to know that storks are actually iconic in Strasbourg, actually, in the Alsace region. The Parc de l'Orangerie is famous for them because of successful programs that reintroduced them. Their large nests sit proudly on trees and buildings, and setting eyes on them feels so odd and magical, as if you've fallen into some storybook.

I was also curious about the name Orangerie because, well, it sounds like it has something to do with oranges. And it does! The park gets its name from its original purpose. The iconic Orangerie building was built to shelter orange trees and other citrus plants during winter. The word "Orangerie" literally means "orange tree house" in French. Those were common in grand European gardens, to protect delicate exotic plants from the cold. So adorable, honestly.

And then there’s the lake. This beautiful lake with ducks swimming in it, tree reflections in it, and that peacefulness that makes you think you’re not in an urban environment at all. I sat there for a while, just soaking it all in, eating an apple and a sandwich (a girl needs sustenance) feeling ridiculously grateful to be there.

And by the end of that day, I understood one thing. Strasbourg is not a destination, it’s a experience that you have when you are there. You experience it through its streets, buildings, parks, history, as well as through all those moments that you are unexpectedly left with after you are gone.

Honestly, I would go back in a heartbeat.

You can check out my previous Strasbourg posts by clicking on the below Images :)