Carré or au pied de la Cathédrale

Hotel Description

Look, I’ll be honest – when I first walked down Rue Mercière looking for this place, I almost missed it completely. The Carré or au pied de la Cathédrale (yeah, that’s actually the full name) sits tucked between other medieval buildings on this narrow cobblestone street, and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll walk right past the entrance. But once you spot it, you immediately get why they chose this location – I mean, you’re literally a two-minute stroll from Strasbourg Cathedral, which is pretty spectacular when you step out for morning coffee and boom, there’s this massive Gothic masterpiece looming over you.

The hotel itself is proper 3-star territory – nothing fancy, but honestly, that works in its favor. The rooms are clean and comfortable enough, though you know what? The walls are a bit thin, so if you’re staying during summer when people are wandering the old town until late (which they do, trust me), you might hear some chatter from the street. It’s not terrible, just… authentic Strasbourg, I guess. What I actually loved was how the staff seemed to genuinely know the neighborhood – when I asked about dinner spots, they didn’t just rattle off tourist traps but pointed me toward this tiny winstub around the corner that I never would’ve found otherwise. The check-in was smooth, and they spoke decent English, though brushing up on your basic French phrases definitely doesn’t hurt.

Here’s the thing about staying right in Petite France area – you’re walking everywhere, which is exactly what you want in Strasbourg. The cathedral’s bells become your alarm clock (not kidding, they’re loud but somehow charming), and you can grab fresh pretzels from the morning market before most tourists even stumble out of their hotel rooms. Parking is… well, it’s a medieval city center, so good luck with that. There’s paid parking nearby, but honestly, just take the tram from the station if you can. The 7.9 rating feels about right – it’s not going to wow you with luxury amenities, but it delivers on location and that cozy, slightly worn-around-the-edges European charm that makes you feel like you’re staying in someone’s well-loved family building rather than a corporate chain. If you’re the type who values being steps away from everything historic and doesn’t need a spa or room service, this little spot does exactly what it promises.

Many travelers prefer to book apartments in Strasbourg through local agencies that offer personalized recommendations and insider knowledge about the best neighborhoods for exploring the city’s rich Franco-German heritage.

Rooms

• Estimated price from: $166. One-Bedroom Apartment with 1 large double bed and 2 sofa beds for Max persons: 4

Reviews

• Superb – Christian from Lebanon – 15 January 2025 (9/10)

  Location
  
  What could be improved: Staircase

• Great location with just what you need—Worth the climb 🙂 – Rebecca from United States – 4 December 2024 (8/10)

  Great location. Perfect for enjoying Christmas markets. Parking garage not too far away (22€/day).
  
  Note we couldn’t bring the car to the location during the Christmas market hours. But when we left early in the morning (7:30am) it was not a problem to park at the location to load our bags into the car.
  
  Lots of stairs to get to the apartment, as noted in the listing. 3rd floor. Nicely decorated. Responsive owner. Great directions for finding the keys:)

• Good location for a short visit. But very busy location and street noise can be very noisy at night. – Paul from United States – 15 April 2024 (7/10)

  Location excellent, although the cathedral bells all evening and very early morning was loud and kept me awake.
  
  What could be improved: This is an Airbnb location, not a hotel. The main living room had no coffee table and very little furniture. I had to descale the kettle on the kitchen and the shower in the bathroom due to major scale build up.

• A cozy, comfortable, clean and spacial apartment for a couple – Lin from Canada – 5 October 2023 (9/10)

  Everything except for no elevator which we have to accept for it, as this is a unique property built at the same time as the Cathedral.
  
  What could be improved: No lift. If you have too many luggage, you may find challenging to taking all the luggage to the apartment.

• Superb location – Marjan from United States – 28 September 2023 (9/10)

  Fantastic location in downtown Strasbourg, everything is close by. The apartment had everything we needed (kitchen, bathroom, living room). Great decorations Alsatian style. The building must be centuries old judging from the old beams and the narrow spiral staircase. Lots of charm.
  
  What could be improved: It’s noisy on the street below (one of the main touristy streets) so you’ll need earplugs to sleep. Make sure you let the owner know that you want to use the sofa bed since she had to bring sheets for it. Beware that the apartment is on the 3rd floor (4th floor for US people) and is accessed by a small spiral staircase.

• Superb – Dianne from Australia – 16 September 2023 (9/10)

  Great space. Well located. Easy check-in and responsive communication.
  
  What could be improved: Was all good

• Great location great apartment – Liesl from Netherlands – 12 August 2023 (9/10)

  The apartment is lovely, spacious and very clean. It was easy to find with directions supplied by the host. Both bed and sleeper couch was very comfortable and the bedding good quality. The kitchen is well equipped. The location is great so close to the cathedral and when the windows and shutters are closed the distant happy chatter becomes soft noise. There is free parking 1.9km away. There is a parking garage close-by to drop off and pick up luggage. The 55 stairs to the 3rd floor was a good workout. 😀
  
  What could be improved: The shower is in the bath. There is a fan in the main area but nothing in the bedroom and you must close the windows because of the noise outside into the night and early morning. The wifi is very slow. We had one set of keys and when I ran in the morning I had to unlock the gate downstairs to get out leaving the others upstairs without a way to get out should they want to go for a walk before I return. A bigger bedside table in the bedroom would be great for personal items as there was nowhere else to put them. Having said this the positives of this apartment far outweigh the negative. We loved our stay.

• Beautiful Strasbourg – Newton from United Kingdom – 3 August 2023 (9/10)

  Absolutely beautiful apartment, well equipped and in a superb location.
  Would recommend and would love to return one day.
  
  Thankyou

• Very good – Laura from Italy – 17 February 2023 (8/10)

  very good location
  
  What could be improved: to reach the apartment at the 3rd floor you have to climb a spiral staircase very very steep and narrow, so definitively not recommended if you are with baggages or with a baby.

• Superb – Belinda from Australia – 20 July 2025 (9/10)

  The location is absolutely amazing and the apartment was well furnished and comfortable. Was easy to find and easy to access
  
  What could be improved: Parking was a little tricky but we were happy to make the sacrifice to have such an ideal location and we were prepared in advance to have issues with finding parking nearby during peak season

SURROUNDINGS