After our foggy bus ride and a sunny walk through the old town (read Zurich to Strasbourg by Bus: Our Foggy Ride), Dimple and I stood in front of Strasbourg Cathedral and decided looking up wasn’t enough. So we went up.
The Hugo, Goethe and Erasmus mural
The climb to the viewing platform starts in a stairwell painted with quotes from Victor Hugo, Goethe and Erasmus. Dimple sat down for a photo, then gave the camera her best surprised face.
The spiral stairs of Strasbourg Cathedral
The stairs get narrow fast. The stone spiral winds round and round, and Dimple was laughing most of the way.
Inside the tower we passed a big old wooden wheel, which was worth a photo stop of its own.
At one tower window, the wind caught Dimple’s hair, with the cathedral’s green roof right below her.
Rooftop views from the cathedral platform
Then we reached the platform. All of Strasbourg’s rooftops spread out below us in the sun.
From the platform, the tower keeps going, rising all the way up to the spire above us.
There’s also a round direction table that points to cities around the world. We spotted Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires on it, a fun reminder of just how far you can see, at least on paper.
One sign up there calls the cathedral "the 8th wonder of the world." According to the sign, its 142 m spire made it the tallest monument in Europe in 1439. After all those stairs, we believed it.
The caged walkway at the top
A curved walkway with iron railings wraps around the tower. It felt a little like being in a cage, but with the best view in town.
Of everything we did in Strasbourg, this climb was my highlight.
Up next
From the cathedral, we headed to the station for our train to Paris. Read Strasbourg to Paris by Train: Riding the TGV INOUI.