Alsace-Lorraine in September
 

We are planning a trip of ~10 days to "Alsace-Lorraine" in September (quotes because not a fixed itinerary yet). Looking for advice in cities/towns to stay, transportation recommendations etc. My tentative plan was fly to CDG, train to Strasbourg, visit on foot for a few days, get car, perhaps relocate someplace to avoid driving in and out of Strasbourg on day trips. Other places we are thinking of visiting include Nancy, Colmar.
We are considering splitting the trip with Burgundy but not sure best way to locate there, Dijon sounds car-unfriendly. Ideally, we only stay in two places during the trip. We could stay outside of major towns and visit Dijon on a day trip(s)? Then return to CDG for back to US.
We have spent a few weeks on separate trips in Provence and Dorgogne and really prefer not to move more than once during a 10 day trip. Thanks for any advice.

For the 'Lorraine' part of your trip, you could save on car rental by staying in Metz. The local TER commuter train ("Métrolor") would allow you to go to Nancy and/or Luxembourg in just half an hour.

Nancy is well worth a visit but for me, the villages of the Alsace wine region are the big pull along with the sheltering Vosges mountains. I'd like to recommend using public transport but once in the area a car or a rented bicycle are needed to really get out and enjoy the space. I can go on an on about this area but start by scanning through this https://www.tourisme-alsace.com/en

Burgundy is a whole different kettle of fish. I prefer the Auxerre/Chablis region (just a bit quieter) than the more southerly section but each to their own.

Thank you, WRT Burgundy quiet is good.

With a car, when you leave Strasbourg to go to Lorraine, you should stop in Obernai first, then visit Mont Sainte Odile (fantastic panorama where you can see the Black Forest in Germany). If you have sufficient stamina; a visit to Le Struthof in the middle of the Vosges is a sobering experience. It was the only Nazi death camp on French soil and has an interesting museum and of course also the grounds to visit with a cemetery at the top of the hill. But it is depressing. Once you're on the western side of the Vosges, you are in Lorraine. On the wxay, not too far from Nancy, you might also want to stop in Baccarat and visit the fabulous crystal shops.

book our trains early at www.oui.sncf to get serious discounted tickets (non-changeable from a certain train however so with flight leave lots of fudge factor time between plane and train - www.thetrainline.eu has same fares and is easier to book yourselves many say. www.seat61.com has loads on booking own tickets - general info train BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. You could drive back to CDG via some nice places like Vezelay and Reims.

We were in Eastern France few years back. After a few days in beautiful Strasbourg, we rented a car (when exiting) and drove along the Alsace wine route (https://www.tourisme-alsace.com/en/map-of-alsace/) to Colmar. After a night, we then detoured through the less-visited Jura wine region onwards to Beaune, which makes a very good base to explore Burgundy IMO.

Thank you, I was in Paris for a conference last week and someone at CDG saw me reading a Alsace Michelin guide and made the same suggestion!

Thank you, with some reading, I'm thinking of basing in Colmar for part of the trip after leaving Strasbourg. Need to do a little more reading on Bourgogne.

Thanks, I am not sure we'll get to Nancy, thinking of more time in Colmar and the surrounding area after a few days in Strasbourg. Need to read more about Burgundy but have seen good things about Auxerre.

Auxerre is indeed worth a visit. Be sure to stop at the tourist office and get the map of how to follow the "Cadet Roussel" path through town. Pictures of the town an be found in my Burgundy album from a few years ago: https://goo.gl/photos/VEdpsmD9fPuSWRhKA

As long as you are considering Auxerre, why not Troyes? Troyes | Any Port in a Storm

Thanks, now thinking for 4 days in Burgundy to base in Auxerre or somewhere in the area and visit Sens, Troyes, Chablis, Vézelay. We will have a car.

Thinking to leave the car in Burgundy then and take train(s) back to Paris. Any complexities there?

Looked at your postings Kerouac. Troyes looks very interesting but perhaps not to base. I've only had andouillette once, in Paris, and it was excellent. Reminded me in seasonings of Wisconsin bratwurst.

No, I don't think Troyes is good as a base, nor is Vezelay... but it is also worth visiting for a couple of hours.

Vézelay | Any Port in a Storm

It is not a bad idea to find a place to leave the car and take the train to Paris, but don't forget to consider the inconvenience of any heavy baggage, when you could drive it directly to your accommodations there rather than having to take it on the train and then take a taxi or the metro. All such things have a cost, either monetary or physical.

I'd also recommend Beaune in Burgundy as a base. I was glad I chose Beaune over Dijon which I found to be too big for my taste as a base. Beaune is lovely, has excellent restaurants, is easy to negotiate in a car, and central for day trips. May I recommend a visit to Fontenay Abbey. We stopped there on the way from Auxerre to Beaune. It was one of my favorite sites.

I too will be in Alsace this year, early July. After much research and thought, I chose Colmar as my base for 7 nights. (I rented an apartment.) Then I'll be in Strasbourg for a night where I'll drop off my car before continuing to Paris the next day. I'm continuing to research what I'll be doing in Alsace but so far I'm still pleased I have chosen Colmar as a base. BTW, I'm like you in not wanting to change lodging often. The older I get the more of a slow traveler I've become.

South of Auxerre is Irancy a lovely village with ancient cellars, they make a strong red from Pinot Noir but some also use César and Tressot. If wine is your thing you might like to try.

Thank you for the recommendation Bilbo! We are not high functioning vinophiles but all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks for your comments Dee Dee- Beaune was my first thought but it seems a bit far south from things we are interested in (Vézelay, Fontenay, Sens), and are thinking to stay in Auxerre. What would you recommend as day trips from Beaune? We like wine but aren't experienced at visiting vineyards in France.

Ok, the rules for wine tasting in France. There are three types
1) The well organised, paid for trips you get in the main tourist centres or with the better wine houses out in the country. You pay your E10 (or there abouts) and one of the marketing team walks you through the wine cellars chatting delightfully in accented English and deposits you in the shop at the end, simple.
2) Just the shop but with tasting opportunity, free-ish for the cheaper wines and maybe some pictures to look at
3) The smaller winery you stumble upon who has "mum" talking for free and hopes you buy some wine. These are often the best but, you must buy something to pay for their time, otherwise they will not let tourists in again next year. So we do a lot of these third types and will buy wine if it is good, if it is not good we buy glasses, knapkins etc to pay for the time.

So, if you drive East to Chablis form Auxerre you will only find types 1 and 2 because the place is world famous and the coaches come by their thousands, similarly in some parts of Burgundy proper. But Irancy is more type 3.

You look out for the word "degustation". Hope that helps. Good luck.

Unfortunately, that trip was 10 years ago and my memory isn't what it used to be. LOL. I know we visited 2 chateaux (one had a lovely glazed tile roof and gorgeous views). We visited two wineries. Another day was spent in Dijon and Beaune. I also had planned driving routes using a michelin map green routes stopping at towns and villages. That whole area around Beaune really is lovely. I wish I could give you more specific details but the notes for that trip were lost when my laptop crashed.

Thanks again, this is very helpful.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I have another question- it turns out we will be in Strasbourg while EU Parliament is in session. The Rough Guide suggested Strasbourg will be very crowded during this time- is this something to avoid? We could adjust our schedule although starting in Strasbourg is most convenient. Thanks if you have experience with this.

The only other time I was in Strasbourg was way back in 2002. It was September and the Parliament was in session which I didn't know until I got there. But, I do remember thinking how relatively empty the streets and cafes were, especially during the evenings in the area in and around Petite France. It must have been during the week rather than a weekend and there weren't that many tourists around. There was more activity around the cathedral and Place Kleber but I don't remember it being overwhelming or oppressive. Of course, that was 17 years ago and there seems to be way more tourist everywhere in Europe these days. I hope someone else will chime in on more recent experiences for you.

The high end hotels can fill up, but that's about it.

Thanks again everyone for your helpful comments. I do have one more question. We thought we'd take TGV from CDG and spend a few days in Strasbourg, rent a car and drive to Auxerre for ~3 days, drive to Colmar for ~3 more days, then take the train (or drive) back to Strasbourg and return to CDG on the TGV. That does seem to require some backtracking and two TGV trips- is the drive from Auxerre to CDG complicated/unpleasant? Alternatively, start Strasbourg--> train to Colmar where we get car and tour around, --> Auxerre, tour around --> to CDG for departure.

I imagine it is pretty much a wash but if anyone has any thoughts we'd appreciate them.

In 2009 we landed in CDG in the morning and drove to Auxerre for our first night. The drive wasn't bad even though we were using paper maps. (Google Maps has changed my life! LOL.) I do remember there was some congestion along the way coming out of Paris. But, we made good time and I wasn't too stressed even on very little sleep. I wouldn't hesitate doing that drive again unless something has dramatically changed. I would definitely do it rather than backtracking to take the TGV to the airport from Strasbourg. As an alternative, you could take a direct TGV from Dijon to CDG if you really don't want to drive to the airport.

Given the dangers of microsleeps and inattention due to fatigue I think it would be kind to the rest of the people of France if you do not do that again :-)

To the OP I'd take the train to Strasbourg and then car beyond back to CDG. Or you could take the train to Bercey, then Chatalet and then underground from there taking about 2 1/2 hours. From memory there are a limited number of trains out of Auxerre but it might work for you. It does depend if you like driving around the "peripherique".

Thanks, these are helpful. Train from Auxerre to CDG involves 3 transfers and metro so I'm kind of tired of doing that with large suitcases- hence direct from Strasbourg to CDG was attractive. Thanks, we'll consider Dijon as well.
WRT la peripherique, I took a bus from CDG to l'Étoile in March and it didn't seem like a terrible drive. We're used to city traffic so we'll just decide what is easiest for our itinerary.

You don't have to have large suitcases, you know. Many regular European travelers on this board manage to cover a lot of territory over many weeks with very minimal luggage, and it's all been documented. Traveling light seriously frees up your travel time, and state of mind.

Yes, the old adage = pack everything you /need then leave half at home. You can buy anything you will need.

Some people do not suffer much from jet lag. Others suffer from it terribly. I think that most adults who have travelled a lot and have driven rental cars from the airport know into which category they fall. I have noticed that I can drive with absolutely no problem from 3 to 5 hours after an 8 to 10 hour flight. Naturally, I will not recommend doing this to anybody else if you don't know your capacities. If you are unsure of your stamina, don't do it. But I will also not tell people that it is necessarily a bad idea.

It is pretty much the same as the "order" to stop to rest every 2 hours when you are driving. However, that is one rule that I generally follow, because I can usually feel that I need to do so.