Strasbourg sits where the Rhine, France and Germany come together, and the city has been passed back and forth between them for centuries. It was a free imperial city, then French from 1681, German from 1871 to 1918, French again, German again in the Second World War, and French since 1944. The history is written into the city, in the half-timbered houses of the Petite France quarter with their steep roofs, in the German-built Neustadt and the Palais du Rhin, in the language, Alsatian, which is a Germanic dialect still spoken by older residents, and in the food, with sauerkraut, tarte flambée and Riesling. Today the city is also the seat of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament.
Over everything stands the cathedral, a Gothic mass of rose-pink Vosges sandstone with a single tall spire, which was the highest building in the world for more than two centuries. Its astronomical clock, a Renaissance machine with a parade of figures at midday, is a delight. Gutenberg worked in Strasbourg in the fifteenth century, before printing his Bible in Mainz. The historic island, the Grande Île, with the cathedral and the canal-lined quarters, is listed by UNESCO.
For riders, Strasbourg is a gateway to some very good country. To the west the Vosges rise in forested ridges, with roads like the Col du Donon and the Route des Crêtes offering long, flowing bends and views, and to the south the Route des Vins d'Alsace links wine villages with half-timbered houses and flower boxes. Across the Rhine, the Black Forest High Road above Baden-Baden is one of the great German motorcycle roads. The city centre is a different matter, with trams, cycle lanes, a pedestrian zone and a low-emission zone that requires a Crit'Air sticker for vehicles, including foreign-registered ones.
The city has all services, including many fuel stations on the outskirts and plenty of workshops. Try a choucroute garnie, a pile of sauerkraut with sausages, or a flammekueche, the Alsatian thin-crust pizza with cream and bacon, and a glass of Gewürztraminer. Parking is easiest at the car parks on the edge, with trams into the centre. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with festive Christmas markets in December that draw huge crowds, and a hot summer sun in July and August.