My mother, sister and I are taking an unexpected trip to the Alsace, leave the U.S. Nov 30, return the 8th. I think we have an apartment all settled (I am waiting for final confirmation) in Eguisheim. We are renting a car in Frankfurt. We plan to visit the towns in the area, maybe go up to Strasbourg, hope to drive down to Lauterbrunnen. I rented a Golf diesel, with GPS, so even with the price of fuel I don't mind driving some.

Thanks in advance for your ideas and expertise.

Lucky you! We spent a week in the Alsace in July, 2006 and we were struck by its beauty - the pretty towns, picturesque countryside, and gorgeous parks, forests & mountains! We stayed in Obernai, a perfect homebase for us!

Plan to visit the towns along the Route du Vin: Kayserberg, Riquewihr & Ribeauville are worth a stop. Sights such as Mount Saint Odile & Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg warrant time as well. They both offer amazing views of the plains below!

We spent a half day in pretty Colmar. Here, we visited the Musee d'Unterlinden and saw the Retable d'Issenheim, the museuem's prize piece.

We also drove to Strasbourg, parked at the car park relais tram at Elsau - price of parking included the fare to ride the tram into Strasbourg - and walked through the old town and along the canal!

The Route des Potiers is north of Strasbourg. In Soufflenheim and Betschdorf you will find pottery stores galore! A perfect place to do some early Christmas shopping, I think!

Another drive we did was the Route des Cretes that took us up to the Vosges Mountains and to pretty alpine meadows.

Remember to try some of the local cuisine: flammekuchen, choucroute & Alsatian white wines!

Of course, your interests & the weather will determine what your itinerary will be. Hope some of these suggestions are helpful!

Have a wonderful trip!

2010

If you have any interest in Gothic cathedrals I would definitely recommend a trip to Strasbourg

Colmar is very picturesque and as 2010 mentions has the excellent Unterlinden museum

Eguisheim is a wonderful base. It it one of the prettiest villages in Alsace. Just take your car and drive around.

Colmar is close and a beautiful city with gorgeous museums. Freiburg is quaint and just a 30min-drive from Eguisheim. Some neighboring villages are nice. One of my favorite villages is Gueberschwihr. The Alsatian Rothenburg is Riquewihr. Turckheim is also very nice.

Hundreds of wineries to visit.

Drive up into the Vosges. There are the three lakes: Lac Blanc, Lac Noir, Lac Verte. It is stunning how appropriate theses names are!

Strasbourg is certainly worth a daytrip. On the way to Strasbourg, make sure to visit Haut-Koenigsbourg.

From Eguisheim, you drive 45 min to Basel, with some excellent art museums.

So enough options to spend your time.

For further details, see

www.viamichelin.com

Thank you for the additional ideas. (I also have Stu Dudley's excellent itinerary.)

I don't have any specific idea of which towns or areas to visit which days. I am thinking the best thing to do is see what the weather is like and then make plans for the day. What do I need to know, or should I plan differently?

I am thinking of going to Lauterbrunnen for one day because I think the drive will be pretty, I have only been there once for a few hours (and it was beautiful) and I might want a change from the Alsace during the trip. (If the weather is decent we would catch a train to go up the mountain a little anyway.)
Does this make sense?

Thank you!

>> Does this make sense? <<

It's 2 1/2 hours each way and with the shortened daylight hours of December, it doesn't make sense IMO.

And most of the drive will not be that pretty IMO...

>>I am thinking the best thing to do is see what the weather is like and then make plans for the day.<<

I think this is a good approach! I suggest you check a map & highlight the places you would like to visit. You can set your day by choosing the towns that are close together or along one specific route ... whatever makes sense!

2010

Strasbourg's Christmas market begins this year November 24 and you should definitely keep it in mind as you make your plans.

Hundreds of booths with food, drink, handcrafts and decorations are set up in the square in front of the cathedral and in other locations in the central area of the city. I understand that the market is especially busy on the weekend. (For us a few years ago, strolling through on a Friday was easy early in the day but crowds became thick as the day progressed.)

A number of cities in Alsace and Germany have Christmas markets. I think I'd review my proposed itinerary and make some decisions based on how many of the markets I'd like to take in. I suppose some folks would enjoy the spectacle in very town they visit; I don't think I would.

We stayed in Strasbourg and Obernai.. Visit our site to see the pictures... emilyandjim.info