Would you like to meet Arthur?” asked the well-groomed American tourist in the scalloped booth next to ours. We felt perplexed as the man seemed to be sitting on his own, but then we realised that perched on a soft cushion and gently lapping at a saucer of organic yoghurt, was an elderly poodle. “Arthur loves Strasbourg,” he explained. “This is his 16th visit!” The dog stared unblinkingly at us, his pink tongue licking a spot of white yoghurt from his black whiskers. “Really,” I said. “What does he like so much about the place?” The man looked at us with amazement: “Well, the breakfasts, of course!”

I also like breakfasts – and the city of Strasbourg – but this is only my third visit. This time, my wife, Juliet, and I are here for the weekend as surprise guests at a close friend’s 60th birthday (somehow we managed to keep our visit a secret until the moment he and his French wife entered the tiny restaurant we were waiting in).

He has lived in Strasbourg for years and it’s always good to have a local guide to show you around. But this pocket-sized city could not be easier to navigate and seems almost purpose built to make life easy for visitors. It is compact, almost traffic-free, and has a helpful network of ultra-modern trams crisscrossing its medieval centre. The oldest part of the city nestles in a great bend of the River Ill (that’s an I and two Ls, the river isn’t ill, it’s in great health).

You can happily amble from one side of Strasbourg to the other in little more than 30 minutes. Grand squares and historic gardens are linked by wide cobbled boulevards and a twisted maze of narrow alleys. Every pavement is set with cafés to fortify you as you drift from one spectacular building to the next. A chilled glass of Gewürztraminer and slice of tarte flambée will keep you ticking along until dinner.

What makes the Unesco heritage centre of Strasbourg a particular delight is its dramatic Alsatian heritage (maybe that’s what appeals to Arthur?). Situated close to the German border, it was annexed by Prussia between 1871 and 1914, and the city’s language, food, culture and architecture is now a unique blend of French, German and Alsatian influences.

Rising above all this is the stupendous Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg – a romanesque masterpiece, with work starting in 1015 and not finishing until 1439. It was once the world’s tallest building and it is still the tallest structure built entirely in the Middle Ages.

Strasbourg is blessed with modern delights, too. Chief among them is the award-winning Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Strasbourg. Its collection sparkles with gems not just from Alsatian artists, but many other big-hitters, too, from Monet to Rodin and Ernst to Klee. This is a gallery you’ll want to spend all day visiting – but do be sure to leave room for a visit to the fantastic rooftop café.

If you are after something more eclectic, you’d do well to visit the Château Vodou – a privately owned museum boasting the largest collection of voodoo objects in the world. Thanks to our local guides, we also tracked down some of the city’s best restaurants, some of which we may well have missed. Be sure to visit the tiny Madeleine for exquisite plates of veal, canard and oeufs brouillés; we also enjoyed dark and cheesy onion soup, another local speciality, at the bustling L’Épicerie. If you really want to get to grips with local cooking, head for Chez Yvonne. Buzzy and busy, the menu is studded with delights, such as cockerel in riesling, garnished sauerkraut, braised knuckle, and pork cheeks in pinot noir sauce. It’s worth noting that Strasburg, like much of France, hasn’t yet cashed in on the vegetarian pound.

There are hotels galore to choose from, we stayed in the heart of the city in the Hotel Maison Rouge. It’s been here, in one form or another, since the mid-1200s, though it’s been totally demolished and rebuilt in several incarnations since. Victor Hugo used to be a regular. The hotel now has a charming arts and crafts theme, not to mention an indulgent spa. The 1930s-styled cocktail bar is definitely worth a visit, not least because most of its many French wines are made by women winemakers (or femme viticultrices as the menu calls them). And, as Arthur can vouch, the breakfasts are lavish.

One of the other joys of Strasbourg is that it is only a couple of hours by train to Paris. We were catching the Eurostar back to London, so it seemed the perfect opportunity to break the journey and spend a couple of nights in the French capital. Visiting two cities over a long weekend somehow seems to more than double the pleasure of the trip. It also gave us a chance to reformulate one of those well-worn “compare and contrast” exam questions. Two cities just a few hours distant, yet miles apart in terms of culture and experience, crowds, bustle and metropolitan swagger.

It’s been a while since we were last in Paris. We’ve always had a soft spot for the city since we went there for our first holiday as a couple. We reacquaint ourselves with the city by heading to Canal St Martin. We found an outside table at an archetypal brasserie, the canalside Hotel du Nord, for Campari spritz, truffled eggs and fabulous chips.

To maximise the contrast with historic Strasbourg, we checked into a dizzyingly new citizenM hotel, just off the Champs Elysées. It felt like a cross between a WeWork space and a soft play area, but the sumptuous sheets, power showers and great breakfasts soon won us over.

To keep up with our theme of modern glitz, we visited the astonishing Bourse de Commerce Pinault Collection. A vast, radical concrete cylinder, designed by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando, now sits under the huge round dome with its glorious 1889 murals. Truly jaw-dropping, the collection of Arte Povera works is also a refreshing contrast to Old Master fatigue.

From there we headed to South Pigalle, (SoPi to the hipsters) for lunch before going to look at the newly restored Notre Dame. Finally, we wandered to Belleville and found a wonderful restaurant called Quedubon, staffed by passionate people cooking magnificent food.

It was in Belleville that Juliet and I first stayed 40 years ago, at the start of the life we didn’t yet know we were going to live together. The area has changed a lot, so have we, though it has retained its energy and charisma (and I like to think the same goes for us, too). As you do in Paris, we drank and ate and talked, and drank some more, looking back over the years: it was four days, four decades, two people, and two wonderful cities.

Strasbourg’s Hotel Maison Rouge has rooms including breakfast from £142 per night, for more details, go to Marriott International. CitizenM in Paris has rooms, also with breakfast, from £178