Feeling the need to escape Paris for a bit, I grabbed a few friends and caught a train bound for Strasbourg, in the Alsace region of France.  Although it's a bit far for a day-trip, Strasbourg makes an excellent escape from the hustle and bustle of the capital.  Located on the border between France and Germany, Alsace blends both cultures into a truly unique amalgam.  

This is perhaps most immediately apparent in the architecture, which is a far cry from the stately and imposing buildings of Haussman's Paris.  Instead of massive stone edifices, you are surrounded by charming constructions of plaster and beam, known as "half-timber".  In addition, there are colorfully frescoed houses, quaintly crooked streets, and most impressive of all -- the famous Strasbourg Cathedral.  

The Cathedral is perhaps the world's most stunning example of Rayonnant Gothic architecture, best witnessed in the elegant lines of its rose window.  And perhaps even more exciting is the massive astronomical clock indoors -- it's a very unusual specimen, dating from 1843, and it takes up an entire wall in the south transept.  The clock keeps the time, displays the position of the sun and moon, calculates Easter, and predicts eclipses...  but the reason it draws tourists are the robotic figures of Jesus and Death that mark out the hours to this day.  As practical as the clock is, it's definitely a little creepy to hear the robot rooster crow, and see tiny model humans line before Death to have their souls weighed.