Hblinda

Looking to spend a few days before a River Cruise. Has anyone been to Colmar, France - for a wine tour. Any suggestions for a place to stay close to the train - as we do not have a car. Also - do you recommend the wine tour - or should we get a car and do our own thing??

Any other suggestions for place to visit??

tower

Where is your port for the river cruise? We took a barge trip from Strasbourg and visited Colmar as part of the trip. I was impressed with Colmar as a very pleasant place to visit. I can't help with hotel recommendations for Colmar, but I can for Strasbourg.

d_claude_bear

Colmar is a very interesting place. We day-tripped there from Strasbourg--no car or tour neeed.

PalenQ

I loved Colmar - and though there are wine houses in town the vineyards themselves swirl around the town - strung along the Alsace Wine Road which runs from Colmar to the German border to the north - this road skirts the foothills of the Vosges mountains and has cute wine villages every few miles - like famous Reiquewehr (sp?) and Ribeauville and others - you can take local buses to those towns or there is train service as well though the stations can be a long hike from the towns.

Or rent a car (or bicycle - I biked the road and it is a good biking venue.

In Colmar itself check out the Statue of Liberty - a mini copy in the town where the sculptor of the real statue made the parts of the statue that were then shipped to New York.

Colmar is a lovely town with canals and half-timbered buildings, etc.

Hblinda

What is your recommendation for Strasbourg?

Rastaguytoday

I went to Colmar, intending to stay a night. I stayed a week.

It's more than a lovely town.

You can walk to the town, with luggage in tow; it's not that far.

A great hotel, the Mercure, is situated right in the middle of a park. Look out your window and see the fountains.

http://www.mercure.com/gb/hotel-1225...rs/index.shtml

Hblinda

Our river cruise leaves from Basel Switzerland. We have made several trips to Switzerland in the past, so thought a few days in France would be a nice change from the river cruise itinerary which is mostly through Germany. We are mostly interested in general impression of the town, is there enough to do for 2 days? Also looking for hotels within walking distance of the train station as previously stated. We love wine so would also like to experience the wine tours available.

PalenQ

What do you mean by walking distance? Colmar is not a really large town - to me at least every hotel in town would be within walking distance of the station - but that is me and I love to walk - a long walk for some is anything more than a few minutes.

for 2 days? well IMO not in the city itself - I day-tripped from Strasbourg and most of a day here was enough.

Strasbourg to me is one of Europe's vastly underrated cities for tourists - few ever talk about it here but to me it is fantastic - consider basing there and doing a day trip to Colmar IMO - lots to see and do in Strasbourg besides its world-famous cathedral - old canals and a neat old part of town and strikingly modern architecture in the city's European Union section on the periphery - can take boats there from the town center.

And in Strasbourg you have a raft of hotels smack by the train station -I stayed at the IBIS (www.accorhotels.com) - an inexpensive modern chain hotel found throughout Europe.

Strasbourg has good rail links back to Basel - cross the Rhine on a shuttle train and hop on the mainline to Basel. From Colmar you would train directly to Basel.

rosemaryoz

You can catch a train from Colmar to Turckheim, which is lovely village, where there's a Cave de Turckheim less than 1km from the train station. You can just walk in & taste lots of local wines there. But it's a good idea to hire a car for the day, to really enjoy wandering through those picturesque small villages such as Kayserburg, Riquewihr, Ribeauville, Eguisheim, Niedermorschwihr etc. Lots of vineyards around there!

Travel_Bug_Cin

My husband and I are going to be in Colmar in July (part of our first trip to France). We have booked 4 nights at a B$B - Chez Leslie - highly rated on TA... enjoy your time...

Hblinda

Thanks for the replies everyone has posted. The first stop on our river cruise is Strasborg, so that is why we thought we would check out a different area. Thanks for the description and highlights, can't wait to see Strasborg.
Walking distance for us (in our 60's) and pulling our suitcase would be a 10-15 minute walk. How does 1 day to explore town, and 1 day to do the wine tour sound???

PalenQ

How does 1 day to explore town, and 1 day to do the wine tour sound???>

Great - the town is not that big - some nice restaurants, cafes by the old canal - in the Little Venice part of Colmar.

Yes if already going to be in Strasbourg then Colmar makes a nice nice place to stay.

chutney

I have been looking at hotels and B&Bs in Colmar for an upcoming trip in December. Check out Villa Elyane. It is a B&B about 300 meters from the train station that gets rave reviews.

soogies

Saving for me