LeeRitchie

We will be arriving at CDG airport on a September Saturday morning and will take the TGV to Strasbourg. In your opinion....should we stay 1 night followed by 4 nights in a village along the Route du vins or 2 in Strasbourg and 3 nights in the village? BTW: after our stay in Alsace...we will move on to Burgundy.

Tyoically, we don't like big cities but would be interested in seeing the Alsatian museum, taking a boat tour and seeing the cathedral (we'll stay at Hotel Gutenburg).

Thanks!

nytraveler

I would stay 3 in Strasbourg (your first day will be lost to travel and jet lag) and 2 in one of the small villages. Strasbourg definitely has more than one day's worth of sites.

kevin_widrow

Lee -

Two nights for sure. Strasbourg doesn't feel like a big city mostly because the historic center isn't very big at all. You can walk from one end to the other in 1/2 hour. I thought the Alsacian Museum was well done and I'd also highly recommend the Palais Rohan.

-Kevin

StuDudley

I would stay 2 nights - but unfortunately that makes your "full day" there to fall on a Sunday - when most/all shops will be closed & the city may feel quite dead. Perhaps start in a small village & visit a touristy place like Riquewihr, Koenigsbourg castle, Ecomusee d'Alsace, or tour the countryside on a Sunday, and then return to Strasbourg on a "non-Sunday" day for 2 nights.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

Also, in many cities & towns in France, shops are also closed on Monday morning. So if you arrive mid-day Sat, that does not give you much time to enjoy Strasbourg at it's best.

Stu Dudley

thursdaysd

Definitely allow plenty of time for Strasbourg. See my TR at tinyurl.com/yged4sl

LeeRitchie

StuDudley,

Perhaps I can do my museums on Sunday and lunch & a stroll around petite france?

NanBug

Another vote for 2 nights in Strasbourg. It's a wonderful city with great architecture. Loved the Alsatian museum, too. And the tarte flambee.

If you're into architecture, pick up a Strasbourg walks guide at the TI office by the cathedral...it has architectural walking tours of the city, grouped by time period -- medieval, Renaissance, etc. It would be a good way to fill a Sunday or Monday afternoon.

You can always train into Colmar for the day, too, if Strasbourg is dead, but I can't imagine it would be too quiet. The Unterlinden Museum in Colmar is excellent.

StuDudley

>>Perhaps I can do my museums on Sunday and lunch & a stroll around petite france?<<

Like Kevin stated - the center of town is smaller than you might think. You'll probably see Petite France & the cathedral on Saturday. We've been there 4-5 times, and when "strolling around" we often find ourselves back at the same spot where we started in less than 1 hr. Also, with shops closed in Strasbourg it doesn't seem as 'charming" as it does when shops are open & people are on the streets. Spending most of Sunday in museums would not be my choice - but if you are a big museum fan you could certainly do that.

I still think I would either return for 2 nights at the end of your Alsace portion of the trip, or visit Strasbourg as a day-trip. If you get there early in the morning - by 9am - and then fihish up your sightseeing by 6pm, you can get a really good feel for Strasbourg. If you're staying in a village cose to Colmar, you could drive to the Colmar train station, park the car, and take a 30 min train to Strasbourg. Trains run back & forth all day. You could even have dinner in Strasbourg and catch one of the late trains back to Colmar.

Strasbourg is an interesting city - enjoy it at its best.

Stu Dudley