Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg sits on the Rhine in northeastern France with roughly 290,000 residents, and it has hosted the Council of Europe since 1949 and the European Parliament since 1992. The UNESCO-listed Grande Île forms the historic core, encircled by the Ill River, and the Petite France quarter preserves 16th-century half-timbered houses that once belonged to tanners. The 142-meter Strasbourg Cathedral, finished in 1439, was the world's tallest building from 1647 to 1874. Gutenberg printed his earliest works here around 1455 to 1457 using movable type developed in Mainz, while the 1681 Vauban fortifications and 19th-century covered bridges still span the city's canal.