Petite France, Strasbourg

The Petite France, in Alsatian dialect: Französel; "Little France"), also known as the Quartier des Tanneurs is the south-western part of the Grande Île of Strasbourg, France, the most central and characteristic island of the city that forms the historic centre. The district is bounded to the north by the Quai de la Bruche (Brischstade), the Rue du Bain-aux-Plantes, the Place Benjamin-Zix and the Rue des Dentelles; to the east by the Rue du Pont-Saint-Martin, the Pont Saint-Thomas (Thomas Bridge) and the Mills footbridge; to the south by the Channel of Zorn-Mühle; and to the west by the Covered Bridges. At the Petite France, the river Ill splits up into a number of channels that cascade through an area that was, in the Middle Ages, home to the city's tanners, millers and fishermen, and is now one of Strasbourg's main tourist attractions. The Petite France forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Grande Île, designated in 1988.