Stade de la Meinau Stadium: France

On the face of it, the prospect of a trip to France to see Racing Club de Strasbourg take on the mighty FC Toulouse was not the most mouth-watering prospect - the two teams at the very foot of the French top division battling it out in a dour relegation struggle were unlikely to provide much entertainment. However, the chance of seeing the maverick Paraguayan goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert in action for the home side, and the lure of a trip to another country (even if it was only France!) proved to be too strong to ignore - and the fact that Strasbourg boasts a Marks and Spencer food hall had absolutely nothing to do with that decision!

Strasbourg is very easy to reach by road and rail, and sits right on the border with Germany, where it is still referred to as Straßburg on the motorway signs. The ground is well signposted from all points of entry to the town, but parking near the stadium itself is very limited. We arrived very early on matchday, and managed to get a space right in front of the ground, before walking back to the town centre for some pre-match food and drink. Alternatively, you can leave the car in one of the many park and ride areas, or the town centre car parks, and then catch one of the new trams back to the stadium.

There is plenty to do in Strasbourg itself, as you can visit the cathedral, take a boat trip on the old canals, or even go shopping should the fancy take you, but be warned - beer is remarkably expensive, over 3 pounds for less than a pint in one of the bars in the cathedral square!

We chose to walk off some of the afternoon’s excess (Kronenbourg and waffles with chocolate sauce!), and arrived back at the stadium with about half an hour to go before kick-off, expecting a bit of a crush to get it and loads of people to be milling around in the concourses, as would be the case in England or Germany. However, the French experience was totally different in every way - people were sim ply standing and chatting, and no-one seemed too bothered about the match that was about to start.

The stadium itself is very compact, and has recently been completely rebuilt. The designers get a gold star from me straight away for removing the old running track, a feature that has such a detrimental effect on atmosphere in other stadia. The entire ground is now covered and holds 25000 spectators, with a strip of terracing in the paddock of each stand, and all other areas being seated. The home ‘Ultras’ were concentrated into one small terraced block behind the northern goal, but were strangely silent for most of the game, despite their team chalking up a 1-0 win (along with a missed penalty and 2 red cards!), and the rest of the crowd didn’t really contribute much in the way of noise, leading to a somewhat eerie atmosphere throughout the 90 minutes.

In a lot of respects, the Stade de la Meinau resembles a British ground, as all the stands are very close in to the pitch and the ground is fully enclosed, so you don’t get the feeling that the noise is somehow escaping out of the corners. However, the supporters were nowhere near as involved as they are at a typical Premier League match. That said, the standard of football was not the highest, but the biggest bonus was the price of the tickets: Entrance to the south terrace cost 38 francs (less than 4 pounds), and even the most expensive seats were not much more than 20 quid. Oh, and don’t forget to try the merguez, delicious spicy sausages that slip down superbly with a pre-match pint!