Strasbourg (IPA-frst?azbu?; Alsatian (Alsatian language): Strossburi, IPA2??d?r??sb?uri; Lang-deStra�burg, IPA-de??t?a?sb??k) is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region (Regions of France) in north-eastern France. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin department (Departments of France). In 2006, the city proper had 272,975 inhabitants and its urban community (Urban Community of Strasbourg) 467,375 inhabitants. With 638,670 inhabitants in 2006, Strasbourgs metropolitan area ("aire urbaine") (Metropolitan Area (France)) (only the part of the metropolitan area on French territory) is the ninth largest in France. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau has a population of 884,988 inhabitants.

Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions such as the Council of Europe (with its European Court of Human Rights, its European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and its European Audiovisual Observatory) and the Eurocorps as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as of road, rail, and river communications. The port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany. The city is the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine.

Strasbourgs historic city centre, the Grande �le (Grande �le, Strasbourg) ("Grand Island"), was classified a World Heritage site (World Heritage Site) by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honor was placed on an entire city centre. Strasbourg is fused into the Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a bridge of unity between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the largest in France, and the co-existence of Catholic (Catholicism) and Protestant (Protestantism) culture.