From contemporary art to classical painting, from archaeology to illustration: Strasbourg's museums offer an eclectic choice of content, which attracts over 500,000 visitors a year. Ten institutions are run by a single umbrella body, the Musées de Strasbourg: the Musée Alsacien, which exhibits, in a exceptional setting, over 5,000 items representative of regional culture; the Musée Historique, which traces the city's history through the ages; the Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame, which houses – among other things – the medieval sculptural masterpieces from the Cathedral; the Cabinet des Estampes et des Dessins, the engravings and drawings museum; the Centre International de l'Illustration Tomi Ungerer, with its collection of 8,000 works; the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (decorative arts collections from 1681 to the middle of the XIXth century), the Musée Archéologique, the Musée Zoologique and the Musée des Beaux-Arts, the latter offering a vast overview of the history of painting in Europe from its beginnings to 1870; and finally, the Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, which presents collections (from 1870 to the present day) which are enriched by considerable numbers of works loaned by private individuals, but also by the Musée d’Orsay, the Pompidou Centre and the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain.

The only Urban Community in France to have developed such an active audiovisual policy, Strasbourg offers professionals in the sector, as well as the general public, the means of their ambitions: a production support fund, available to producers; a film bureau that provides logistical support for any project shot in the local area; grants for associations that promote the dissemination of quality images and a local antenna of the European MEDIA programme, whose vocation is to support producers in distributing their works in Europe.

As part of their books and reading policy, the City and the Urban Community of Strasbourg run a network of municipal 10 media libraries. At the same time, a network of Community media libraries is implementing an innovative policy across the Urban Community in terms of public reading (the South media library in Illkirch, the main library on the André Malraux Peninsula, the West media library in Lingolsheim and, opening soon, the North media library in Schiltigheim). The BNU (National and University Library) is France's second largest collection with some 300,000 volumes. It is a centre of excellence recognised at national and European level. The point of reference for students and researchers, the BNU also houses some important historical and extremely valuable collections (manuscripts, papyrus, incunabulae, numismatic collections, iconography...).

In the theatre domain, the Théâtre National de Strasbourg puts on almost fifteen plays and shows each season. Its programming gives priority to contemporary performances, even when they are based on classical works. The creative work of theatrical, musical and choreographic companies from here and elsewhere is also supported by the TAPS, two Strasbourg venues that organise over 115 performances per season. Combining theatre, dance, music, contemporary circus and the visual arts, Le-Maillon's stated aim is to provide openings for new forms and new languages. It is this singular image that makes for its national and international reputation, with over 60 performances each season. Finally, the Friche Laiterie (an association of about forty different companies) is a testing ground for experimental works that tries out the most attractive of them on the public. As far as dance is concerned, Strasbourg offers a mosaic of establishments working in the fields of teaching, creation and choreographic performance. The Centre Chorégraphique de la Ville de Strasbourg, based at the Palais des Fêtes, offers classes in ballet, contemporary and jazz dance; its teaching focuses on the development of creativity and artistic style. Pôle Sud, an officially approved dance venue, offers jazz concerts, contemporary dance shows, public rehearsals, talks and artists' residencies.

In the musical field, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg (created in 1855 and consisting of 110 musicians) enjoys an international reputation thanks to its many tours abroad. It has been led by a succession of famous conductors, including Hans Pfitzner, Otto Klemperer, Georges Szell, Jan Latham-Koenig and Marc Albrecht. A major institution on the French and international opera scene, the Opéra National du Rhin owes its exemplary character to the specific contributions of the three cities that make it up: Strasbourg, Mulhouse and Colmar. Its cultural policy translates into an annual programme of over 140 performances. The Laiterie Artefact is the hallowed venue for avant-garde music. It offers a dense season of over 200 artists' concerts; and more recently, the Zénith Europe, designed by Massimiliano Fuksas, has given Strasbourg and its region the capacity to hold concerts for audiences of 10,000 in an outstanding setting. Strasbourg's bubbling cultural scene also expresses itself through a large number of events.

Every year, the Strasbourg Festivals network attracts 65,000 spectators to seven different festivals: the Musica festival, the unmissable contemporary music event in Europe; Jazzdor, a window onto the jazz of today; the Nuits Électroniques de l'Ososphère, which each year transforms the Laiterie quarter into a space dedicated to the digital arts; the Festival des Artefacts, a reference in avant-garde music; the Giboulées de la Marionnette, which aims to introduce puppet theatre to an ever wider audience; the Nouvelles Strasbourg Danse festival, which focuses on the latest developments in French and foreign choreography; and finally, the Premières festival, devoted to young European stage directors. A cross-disciplinary teaching institution, the Conservatoire seeks to widen access to the practice of music, choreography and drama, as well as encouraging creation and performance.

The City of Strasbourg wishes to implement an active policy of supporting creativity in the field of plastic arts. This approach takes the form of support for associations and artists based in Strasbourg (public artistic commissions, provision of workshops, residencies...). Every year St-Art, the European Contemporary Art Fair, presents the major currents in contemporary art in all their diversity (painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, video, installation, performance…). The Centre Européen d’Actions Artistiques Contemporaines, an association that contributes to the dissemination of contemporary art to a wider public, installs artists' sculptures in the city, alongside or in the midst of the tourist circuits. The Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs provides many training courses in contemporary creative arts. Four options - Art, Objects, Design, Communication – make for open-minded teaching practices that encourage interdisciplinary experiences, but also external partnerships.