Walking a fine tightrope between France and Germany, Strasbourg is undoubtedly a cultural one-off. The capital of the Alsace region looks like something out of a fairy tale, with half-timbered houses à la Grimms covered in flowers and Parisian-style mansions set in cobbled squares. Here and there, you can hear Germanic dialect in a delicatessen specializing in foie gras, and beer lovers sitting together with wine connoisseurs.