Wife and I are taking a tour (Insight) of Switzerland the last two weeks of August, ending up in Zurich. We plan to take another 4-5 days before returning home, thinking we might return to a particular place to spend more time....either by train or rental car. Another idea is to rent a car and tour the Alsace region (Colmar, Verdun, Reims, Epoernay, and back to Zurich). I saw a TV travel show and it looked interesting and restful. Does it make any sense, easy to do, easy to rent a car in Zurich and drive into France, how many miles would I be driving, etc. Suggestions would be appreceiated.

I have no ides where your tour goes but I love the black forest area and the alsace( colmar etc) In france there are rolling hills and vineyards..so lots of tasting..In the black forest rushing streams and forests...you could do a loop with a car ..go to colmar for a couple of days (visit the villages) and then tour the black forest before heading back to Zurich.a book like rick Steves france and Germany have a description and driving tour( hits the highlights) you could look at I would go to the book store and just look up those drives to see and make up your own...I have no idea about miles but its easily doable..if you dont go to far north

Hi R,

Go to www.viamichelin.com for suggested driving routes.

The scenic roads are highlighted in green.

The Alsace region is best toured with a rental car because there is a few wine villages plus Strassbourg to visit. When I was staying in Basel as a student I used to do daytrips into Alsace; driving roundtrip as far as Strasbourg is very easy. Zurich is another hour beyond Basel so you should spend the night or two in either Strasbourg or Colmar. There is a few nice castle hotels to stay as well like Chateau d'Isenbourg in Rouffach. BTW Epernay & Reims are in the Champagne region not in Alsace. You're looking at driving 6 hours to get there, it's doable but not going to be as relaxed.

Thanx to hypatia,ira,dax. Big help.