"Take away Strasbourg, the jewel of a city in Alsace, and the region is still one of the most phenomenal places in Europe, let alone France. Small yet so relevant in terms of history, agriculture, politics and commerce, Alsace is on the west bank of the Rhine river near both Germany and Switzerland. Geography then, in many ways, is precisely what makes the region so special and a veritable goldmine of peerless culture." - M F from Bookmarklet