Who has been to Alsace, France?

I think you are referring to Strasbourg, and, yes, it is lovely (rather Venice-like.) Don't know if that is the only place outside of Paris that I would go. However, it is an easy train ride. How long would you stay there. I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a day trip.

How long I will stay depends on how worth going it is.
Yes, I meant one of the three major cities in the Alsace region. Were you in Colmar or Mulhouse as well?

What places outside of Paris are better than Strasbourgh?

Alsace is not a city; it's a region. Strasbourg is the main city; Colmar is another. I've been many times. It's not my favorite part of France, but it is nonetheless very appealing.

No one can answer your question about what's "better than Strasbourg." There are hundreds of cities in France, each with its own personality, and we know nothing about you, so it's entirely subjective.

I like wine, coffee, books, plays, etc and would like to experience true French culture. Also, if I will only be in France once in my life I would like to make sure that I see a great town/region outside of Paris to experience more than just the city.

Knowing and having seen so many places in the country - where is the one place that you enjoyed the absolute most?

Dordogne and Provence are superb, but you don't have enough time. I like Lyon, but it is impossible to do a day trip.
It is the culinary capital of France, has a UNSECO rated Old Town, roman arena on mountain overlooking city, famous gall-roman arena, scenic views, rivers, and easy to navigate. But you need...2 maybe 3 days to do it justice.

Reims (Champagne cellars) would be a day trip.

Wine, coffee, French culture, etc, pretty much describes anywhere in France. Each region has its own twist. Alsace is heavily German culture influenced. The area between Strasbourg and Colmar is lovely in its own way, but so are other wine growing regions.

I just came back from Rhone-Alpes. It has wine, dishes, and cheese different from Alsace. Is it better than Alsace? There is no absolute answer to this type of question. It is certainly different and pretty in its own way with towering mountains. And it is no less true French than many other regions.

The places I enjoyed the most were the places I made connections with the locals.

Well, I bought a house in the Dordogne about 20 years ago, so obviously that's my favorite place. But it only has a couple of cities, but they are not what makes it so special, and you don't have time for it, anyway.

I agree Lyon is stellar, but again you don't really have time for it. Same goes for most cities. I think staying in Paris, which is magnificent, is your best bet. There are a bazillion day trips you can take if you think spending a week there is too much (but it's not).

Colmar which is a beautifull town with a German influence and full of flowers and canals, thus being called the little Venice of France.

Good wine too might head there...

virtualtourist.com good local tips

Strasbourg has a district named Petite France or Little Venice, because there are many canals. But the architecture along these canals is very different from this of the palaces in Venice.
In Alsace the houses are built with walls in timber framing and roofing in flat tiles, similar with many houses in Germany.

The gothic Cathedral of Starsbourg is impressive. Colmar is very nice and has some intersting museums.
However, if you have only a week in Paris, I would not go to Alsace and in any case,not as a day trip from Paris.

If you want a day trip, there are a lot of destination 1 - 2 hours from Paris by train , but it depends on your interest.

would like to experience true French culture

as opposed to ersatz French culture?

There are other cities with canals - just like Venice - all over Europe - from Strasbourg (Alsace is the region) to Amsterdam, Copenhagen and I'm sure a bunch of others.

And while it is certainly pretty, there are a lot of other beautiful cities in europe - and other parts of France. If you are going to spend more than a day to 2 in the area definitely visit Colmar, another pretty town with a fantastic museum, and some of the picturesque wine villages off the road between the two.

But if I were going to have only a week in paris I would probably spend part of a day in either Versailles or Chartres - for the incredible palace or church respectively.

For food and wine I would take Burgundy. Try Dijon or Beaune.

We did the Route de Vin in Alsace which was very nice too. Most of the towns have a German influence to them and the food has a German like taste. One of our favorite little villages to stay in was Turkheim. nice little shops quaint little streets and good food. The Alsatian wines are som e of the best white wines in France in my estimation.

Hey TW,

>I like wine, coffee, books, plays, etc and would like to experience true French culture.<

Then why do you wish to leave Paris?

>where is the one place that you enjoyed the absolute most?<

Paris

>would like to know if this is the best place to go if I am only going to travel outside of the city once.<

You can get to Strasbourg in about 2:15 hr, Nancy in about 1:45 hr, Dijon in about 1:40 hr, Avignon in about 2:40, Chartres in 1:01, Versailles in 0:40.

Enjoy your visit.

You will return.

I stayed in Colmar for a few days, I still prefer Provence

Although we enjoyed Alsace, it has a very German feel to it since it has been part of Germany. For a first trip to France I would visit another region such as Provence or Burgundy.

If you only have a week, stay in Paris. If you need to take a break from the city, there are good daytrips. Versailles, Fonainebleu, Auvers-sur-Oise, Giverney, la-Roche-Guyon, Chartres, Chantilly, Senlis are all possibilities, depending on your interests. Some may warrant an overnight if you wish to make it more liesurely: Chartres, Amboise (Loire Valley chateaux) for example.

I think a visit to the Alsace would be a great addition to a Paris trip! For one thing it is seems to be more compact than other regions of France, so assuming you are talking about only a few days, it would be easier to visit Alsace than something like Provence. My daughter spent a year in Strasbourg so I know we are prejudiced, but both Stras and her favorite little town, Colmar, are great-different from the rest of france, yes, but not so completely German either. Colmar is the town that has "little Venice"-a picturesque area of houses and canals that is very lovely. There are many other small towns along the Route de Vin and I wish we had been there during the growing or harvest season, it would have been lovely to visit the wineries. As we were there in winter, some of the places in the smaller villages were closed but there was plenty to do in Strasbourg and Colmar at least. Stras also has canals and the petite France area is another cute tourist area to wander around. Have you seen the Disney cartoon of beauty and the beast? It is my understanding that Belle's village was inspired by this area (colmar or riebuville?) What I'm trying to say is that it is very picture postcard pretty-check out some websites and see if this is what you were looking for.

There are so many wonderful places to go in France and we have very much enjoyed the Dordogne, the little bit we've seen so far of Provence, Normandy, Loire valley, etc. but again, assuming you are talking about taking only a short trip from Paris I would definitely consider the Alsace!

I am tired of the stock comment that "Alsace is similar to Germany." Believe me, the moment I cross over the border from Alsace to Germany, I find absolutely nothing in Germany that seems like Alsace. However, when I cross from Alsace in Switzerland, I find the two places similar -- which is not at all surprising, since Schweizerdeutsch is a lot more similar to Alsatian than to German. My "Swiss German" friends from Zürich, Bern and Basel feel totally at home in Alsace and not at all in Germany.

TW,

By "a week", if you mean 7 days and two of those are used for travel to and from Paris, you really don't have an awful lot of time in Paris. I don't think you said when you're going, but Paris is the most walkable city on earth, in my opinion. It's a great way to experience the city, but it takes time. My point being that there's plenty to do and see in the time that you're there.

I understand your wanting to take a trip to another area, though. Strasbourg is one of my favorite cities in France and the cathedral is wonderful. I lived near Dijon and it would also be a good choice for you; beautiful countryside in that area. Both are do-able by train in a day. Why don't you google some of the ideas on this thread and see if one place in particular peaks your interest?

This trip will be just a taste for you; you'll want to return!

Bon Voyage,
Ellen

Kerouac: "My 'Swiss German' friends from Zürich, Bern and Basel feel totally at home in Alsace and not at all in Germany."

Are these the same Swiss friends who told you it's in Switzerland's best interests for the country to join the EU/eurozone?

FWIW, my Swiss German friends and co-workers feel perfectly comfortable in both Alsace and Germany. And I sometimes hop back and forth between Switzerland, France and Germany on the same day and enjoy all three places.

No, all of my Swiss German friends want to stay out of the EU even though they think it is inevitable in the long run. They do not feel as comfortable in Germany as in France due to the "serious vs. fun" aspect of life. But of course that's why most Germans prefer France as well.

>I find absolutely nothing in Germany that seems like Alsace.
The local German dialect of those older folks that still speak it, is the same. It still makes a big difference if you speak the same dialect on both sides of the border. So yes, everything in Alsace reminds me of "Germany" how it must have been a long time ago. Some negative parts of that mentality are very obvious, maybe because it's a small place where everyone knows his neighbor.

Schweizerdeutsch is a lot more similar to Alsatian than to German.

It depends on the locality. I understand someone speaking with the Freiburg accent (I do not claim to understand Alemanisch, which is the common dialect in that area) because that is what my father spoke. I understand a person coming from Basel (same upper Rhine dialect) but cannot understand a person from Aarau unless she speaks Shriftdeutsch, and even then I have problems.

I suspect that the Swiss German of St. Gallen is closer to Schwabisch than to Alemanisch.

I know Alsace reasonably well and Strasbourg is one of my favourite cities in France (indeed in Europe). The TGV from Paris to Strasbourg takes about 2 hours, so a one-day trip is possible, but an overnight would be better. However, 7 days to see Paris and Strasbourg is not much time at all, and I think it would be too much to try to cram in a trip outside of Strasbourg as well. However it will give you a taste of Alsace.

A friend in Strasbourg recently sent me this website in which you can wander through the central part of Strasbourg as it is lit up for the Christmas season (click on the arrows to move from one area to another):

http://www.rando-noel.com/index.php?nomRando=RandoNoelStrasbourg

Now as to the "Alsace is similar to Germany" discussion, of course Alsace is nothing like Oberbayern, or the Lueneberger Heide, or many other parts of Germany. It is, however, very similar to southern Baden just across the Rhine. The German villages in the Rhine Valley and the foothills of the Schwarzwald are very similar to those on the western side of the valley and in the foothills of the Vosges. On both sides of the border one will see half-timbered buildings and churches and cathedrals built from the characteristic red stone. The vineyards and castle ruins are similar, and even the cusine in south Baden is much like that of Alsace. The variant of Alemannisch spoken there is closer to Alsatian than either of them are to Schwyzerduetch. Having lived in that part of the world for some years, I can see many similarities as well as the obvious differences. No, Strasbourg is nothing like Berlin, or Munich or Hamburg, but it and Freiburg im Breisgau have much in common.

That's the point.

There's no "Germany". there's just a bunch of states which all have a different history and local dialect. Just like their history is different, their traditions are, those dialects are usually understandable, sometimes, you have to ask and the other person will repeat using some high German words mixed in. Everybody speaks his own dialect more or less and everybody else usually understands. Why? I think it's because you've been trained that other people speak differently from you since you were a child.

There are s zillion differen versions and pronunciations of "Morning" in each and every dialect, yet they'll all be recognized as a "good morning" greeting.

Everybody speaks his own dialect more or less and everybody else usually understands.

My cousin in Freiburg claims with great glee that the math professors at the University insist on teaching in dialect, and it's sink or swim for the students from elsewhere.

Things have undoubtedly changed, in great part thanks to radio and TV, but within my lifetime I can cite incidents of non-comprehension among Germans from different länder.

This puts things in perspective. Just as France has totally different regions (Corsica is not one bit like Picardy), so does Germany.