Alsace question. Itterswiller or Riquewihr, where to stay?
 

Not sure where to stay in Alsace. We would like to stay somewhere with easy access to the Alsace wine route. But in a small village.

I have looked at quite a few accommodations. One that I did like is in Itterswiller http://auvieuxpressoir.fr

Another in Riquewihr http://i-love-riquewihr.com/o_4-EN.html

I realise the areas are quite apart from each other. Has anyone stayed at these places or in these villages?

Any feed back or ideas would be appreciated. Thank you

Riquewihr is the nicer village but very touristy. Also it is in the better area IMO. We are scheduled to stay in one of the I-love-Riquewihr apartments in April. The owner seems to be very nice and professional.

BTW Have you seen that the apartment in Riquwihr you have chosen is VERY small?

Riquewihr is such a tourist mecca it turns me off (think "native girls" dressed in local "costumes" standing by the fountain asking for money to be photographed - ugh). That said, it's a pretty village.

Check out Obernai. I've always thought it was a great base for visiting the area, and while frequented by tourists, it has a certain "average working town" feel to it (and great restaurants and selection of hotels).

If it's a definite choice between Riquewihr and Itterswilleer, I'd choose the latter.

Thank you for your replies

Yes Karen the studio apartment is very small. That did come into mind, but I was looking at hotel rooms and they are small as well. We will not be cooking dinner there. Some of the others are booked for our time. We will be there 3 nights and figure we will be mostly out and about. We will also be staying in Strasbourg afterwards.

StCirq - I did seriously look at Obernai, I think someone else recommended it here, in particular Hotel Diligence. I just wondered whether it was too far north for the region, thinking that we would also be staying in Strasbourg 2 nights as well, we will be catching the TGV to Paris from there.

I am really not sure and hope to get the accommodation locked in soon.

My husband and I and another couple stayed in www.i-love-riquewihr.com's Le Colombier for a week in Oct. '09. We loved Riquewihr as a base. Not sure if St. Cirq was kidding about "native girls" standing around fountain, but we saw nothing like that. The most touristy things we saw were lots and lots of stuffed animal storks in the shops! There were many tourists in the afternoons in Riquewihr., but we had the town to ourselves morning and evenings, and we were sightseeing in other villages, etc., in the afternoons. Riquewihr was easy to get in and out of with our rental car.
Recommend restaurant Le Sarment d'Or for a great, non-touristy meal in the village.

Thanks grandmere - I think it was reading a post by you that put me on to Riquewihr. Yes I know it is a tourist favourite we too thought we could enjoy it in the early mornings.
Riquewihr would work out well with hiring a car in Colmar. I am just a little worried the studio will be too small. But basically, clean, cute and neat would do it for us.

Thanks for the tip on the restaurant. I had read about it and had even looked into staying at the attached hotel.

I think the Imp studio is right next door to where we stayed and built into the remparts of the medieval village--very picturesque and authentic.; they used as much of the original structure as possible and the decorating is very tastefully done. We met the owner for a drink one evening, and he said they practically had to get permission for every nail that was put into place! You will find it to be clean, cute, and neat, and if you're not planning to do big time cooking, I don't think the small size would be a factor for 3 days.

Another village we visited one day which we liked very much was Kaysersberg; don't know what kind of self-catering is available there, but we had lunch at the Hotel Chambard, and I would recommend it.

Happy planning!

"Yes Karen the studio apartment is very small. That did come into mind, but I was looking at hotel rooms and they are small as well."

Yes, but in a hotel you usually have some common rooms where you can sit and relax, not so in an apartment. That´s why I always like to have a little more space in an apartment, and I do not like to "sleep in the kitchen"...so 2 rooms minimum for me.

We recently stayed in a nice apartment located in the heart of Riquewihr . It had a spacious living room, a small and comfortable bedroom, a small bathroom and a kitchen with fridge and mierowave. The property is called La Cour des Nobles and offers 3 suites (like ours) and 2 bedrooms with bath. The architect owner, Denis Wendling and his wife Martine have renovated the interiors of this designated "ancient memorial" property for guests, keeping the integrity of the medieval exterior. We could not have been happier with our stay here. Martine was very gracious and helpful. The contact information is [email protected].

Thread is 2 and a half years old!

Yes it is an old thread.

But I will report back and say that we did indeed stay in the I love Riquewihr little apartment and loved it.
It was built into the ramparts in a perfect location. Had a cute kitchen - we only ate breakfast and snacks there. The bathroom was lovely and plenty of room and quality towels etc.
We loved Riquewihr especially the mornings and evenings and ate at some delicious restaurants. It was easy to drive in and out of and a great base for touring Alsace.

Love Alsace!! In fact we are going back for a quick visit this year.

The Riquewihr apartments discussed are owned by dear friends of mine and are all lovely and all 'green'...

a bientot...

Joan

My husband and I will be staying in one of the I-Love- Riquewihr apartments in December. They all look,well cared for and I loved the cozy feel of the apartments. I'm looking forward to,the lights and festive environment,

chutney I'm envious!
Alsace sounds like a wonderful place to visit in December. The Christmas markets will be lovely.

The apartments are indeed well looked after.

Aussie_10
Which apartment did you stay in? I had a tough time deciding. Any restaurant suggestions? We will have a car so can drive to surrounding villages.
We will be in Paris first for a week then train to Colmar, where we will pick up a car. We will spend one night in Colmar at Villa Elyane (B&B ) before taking train back to Paris. We'll be in Paris for three more days before heading home.

Gracejoan
I forgot to mention you as well. I have read ALL of your reports over the past few years. In fact, we are staying in a PP apartment because of your report. And we are going at Christmas time because of Denisea's reports!
Any restaurant suggestions for Alsace are greatly appreciated.

Chutney - we stayed in the Romantic Studio (gite for 2 pers)
It is small but was very clean had a nice little kitchenette and a very nice bathroom.
For the price I think it was very good value. We did not cook dinner but ate breakfast and cheese and wine snacks etc.

Restaurants: We had a delicious meal at Le Sarment d "Or on our first night.
We also ate at La Grappe d'Or also very nice and I can't remember the name of the last one. It was near the end of the main street and down stairs it too was yummy.With great wines.
All meals were presented lovely and the food was delicious. In fact everything we tried in Alsace was delicious.

Close to our apartment was a cute little bakery which always sold out by lunch time. We bought delicious and warm pastries each morning.
I really should write a trip report as there don't seem to be many written on Alsace. Although I did get lots of helpful info from the lovely Fodors readers. We had a car and found driving around the beautiful villages very easy. There is a very easy map from the TI for driving around. When are you going? I am at work at present but have more info at home.
We loved our stay in Alsace and are going back for 2 nights which is added on to our Black Forest itinerary. We are doing a wine tour and will stay at a B&B in Ribeauville.

You will love it!

Two couples of us stayed in the 2 bedroom Colombier of I Love Riquewihr. Beautifully furnished, with a pellet-burning fireplace, and introduced us to the Nespresso coffee maker, which we just had to buy upon returning home!

Recommend Le Chambard restaurant in Kaysersberg. It's located in hotel of same name.