I'm planing an April trip working my way north through eastern France, and I'm trying to decide whether to spend four nights in Colmar or Strasbourg. Strasbourg seems to have more hotels, and much more to see. Colmar sounds pretty touristy, but is closer to the wineries - I definitely plan some vineyard visits. Any opinions?

Hi T,

I don't think that either city has enough to keep you occupied for 4 nights.

I would split the time and visit both.

In Strasbourg, you might wish to consider
http://www.hotel-gutenberg.com/

We'll be in both cities in about 2 weeks, so I'll report back.

But...here's our plan:

We'll be in Strasbourg for 3 nights/2 days, followed by 4 nights in Kaysersberg. From Kaysersberg, we'll take the bus into Colmar for the day.

We're not renting a car, so we're taking the train, bus or walking everywhere. You can definitely see quite a bit by public transportation or on foot.

I'd definitely recommend getting out of both cities and staying in one of the villages for at least a night or two. Kaysersberg, Kientzheim and Riquewihr have bus service into Colmar. Eguisheim has a less frequent bus, but can be reached by a quick taxi ride, too.

Bon voyage!

Thanks Ira - Four nights is three days, I figured one day for each town (day trip to the one I'm not staying in), and one day for lounging around and/or wineries. Alas, the Gutenberg is out of my price range, I was thinking maybe Kleber.

Hello t/d:

I agree with Ira on the duration of stay question. We stayed for four nights in Strasbourg and visited Colmar via train day-trip. As for hotels, we liked the Hotel Les Régent Petite France for location, facilities, and nearby restaurants.

Gradyghost

thursdaysd, I am planning a trip there in May. We will be in Stasbourg four nights then moving to a week stay at a gite in Ribeauville to be near Colmar and in the midst of the Route Des Vins d'Alsace. I am finding more things I want to do than the time to do them

Will you have a car while you are in the area? I think that is a must to visit a majority of the vineyards but in towns like Ribeauville, Pfaffenheim and one or two others there are winery co-ops which would give you a chance to sample the wines without driving around.

From my research I know there are trains that link Colmar and Strasbourg and others may be more familiar with bus routes in the area. If wines are your focus than Colmar would make sense for the 4 days but if Strasbourg and the art museums, cathedrale and architecture are more of an interest than Strasbourg would be better.

Michelin Green Guide rates them both as 3* visits so I don't think you can go wrong whatever your choice. In that same guide they recommend taking a day just for Old Town Strasbourg. Strasbourg because of it's size would have more variety in the evening activities available to you.

I've gotten some helpful brochures and information from www.vinsalsace.com and www.tourisme-alsace.com Have fun planning, Deborah

NanBug - I'll be looking forward to your report! I'm taking trains and buses, too. I'll think about one night village/three nights Strasbourg, but I'm really trying to cut down on transfers on this trip.

gradyghost - that hotel looks really nice, but 150 euro is way out of my price range! Rooms at the Kleber start at 57 for one person.

Deborah - thanks for the suggestions and the web site. I will be doing some wine tasting in Burgundy before getting to Alsace, so one or two places should be enough.

Colmar was more charming and small town feeling. Strasbourg is a real city.

We spent a day in Colmar and 2 in Strasbourg. That was plenty of time for us.

Their is a lovely museum in Colmar (Unterlinden) with a famous altar tryptique you might like. We were there for the Christmas markets which were lovely.

My teens were less enthralled, but I enjoyed the canal boat ride in Strasbourg - goes past the European Human Rights Center.

gruezi

If your focus is wine, I would stay in Colmar - assuming the bus connections are about the same in both cities. As you noted, Colmar is much closer to the better wine villages, and you'll obviously spend less time on the bus from Colmar.

You might consider renting a bike !!!! Ask a tourist office if trains or buses are equipted to accommodate a bike. The roads west of the villages - linking them together (NOT the Route du Vin) are very charming, scenic, and quite well marked - with not much traffic at all.

There is a train station in Ribeauville, but it is quite far from the village itself.

Stu Dudley

Stu - it's not supposed to be possible, but I've actually forgotten how to ride a bike!!! My parents would be horrified - they were active members of the Cycle Touring Club in the UK...

I'm leaning towards staying in Dijon rather than Beaune, and then Colmar rather than Strasbourg.

>>I'm leaning towards staying in Dijon rather than Beaune, and then Colmar rather than Strasbourg.<<

That would be a good choice - large city plus a cute village.

Stu Dudley

Both cities are lovely. We stayed in Strasbourg for two days and stopped for a few hours in Colmar on our way to Germany. That was a while ago, but I remember loving walking around Strasbourg at night.

Have fun!

Defiitely stay in Strasbourg, which has much more to se and do.

You can easily do Colmar as a day trip. And spend another looking at some of the wine town in between. We did it by car, much more convenient, but I'm sure it's possible by public transit.

IMO, Strasbourg is a lovely city with a wealth of historical and cultural offerings, and Colmar is a kitschy-cutesy tourist town with fairly minimal offerings. Others obviously disagree.

I would spend more time in Strasbourg, personally, with a day trip to Colmar, but as noted earlier, if your focus really is wine, it might be logistically smarter to base in Colmar.

"Colmar is a kitschy-cutesy tourist town with fairly minimal offerings" - StCirq, that was my concern, plus I just saw a photo in one of the guidebooks that shows Colmar overrun with visitors... Since I'm going in April, when the weather is likely to be iffy, I think I'll pick Strasbourg, where there'll be more to do if it rains - and more options for dinner. Thanks for all the input!