I am not a fan of Riquewihr or Ribeauvillé, but I love Obernai, which seems to manage to bypass the super-kitchiness of some of the other towns. Also some of the other lesser-visited towns on the Route du Vin.

Zum Strissel is a good choice in Strasbourg. The Auberge de l'Ill costs a fortune, and I wouldn't spring for it today, but way back when I did and was enchanted. Also Au Crocodile.

The "stew" mentioned is Baeckeofe and is along with choucroute and tarte alsacienne, typical fare. All hearty and possibly even overpowering if you're a light eater like me.

Colmar is a meh for me. I'd rather be over the border in Freiburg.

Obernai is very pretty but take care searching out restaurants as the central ones are set up to whizz you in and out. If you walk around the circles of the town some of the quieter ones offer a better deal (they need to work to get customers).

We visited Alsace in 2011 and loved it. We are going back for a brief visit this September, tacked on to our Swiss & German trip.

We stayed in Riquewihr. Yes it does get busy during the day but the mornings and evenings were lovely. We ate there 3 nights in a row, after big days of sightseeing.

The Alsace area is so picture perfect with cute villages beautiful flowers, and great wine.

We stopped for lunch in Obernai, but were a little underwhelmed. We visited Haut Koenigsburg, very worth a visit., Stopped in nearby Kintzheim, Ribeauville.
Loved the villages of Kayserberg (walked up to the castle for great views), Eguisheim (cute village). Visited Colmar for a day. Pretty little town and the area around little Venice has some lovely buildings.

We also spent 2 days in Strasbourg and loved it. We enjoyed a lovely boat trip on the river with a very informative commentary. The Cathedral is beautiful. We even rented bikes to ride around the flat streets. Ate a nice meal at a riverside restaurant.

Wow, thanks everyone, I am REALLY glad we are staying for a week, so much to do!

grandmere, which apartment did you stay in, that is where we are staying also.

Have more questions but have to go to work!

Two years ago we spent a week in one of the I-Love-Riquewihr apartments (The Dove's Nest) and it was a fantastic experience. The apartment was unique and comfortable. It was fun watching the tourists look up at us in our window thinking we were locals.

The town IS a zoo during the afternoon but, as was already mentioned, it is a great spot for side trips. The early mornings and evenings are perfect. One day we walked through the vineyards to the next village (I believe it was Kayersburg), had a bread and cheese lunch and meandered back. It was an fine experience and very relaxing. Lot's of villages to visit...lot's of places to shop. Good choice....

Sorry, I forgot to add:

Our apartment was at the town's far end away from where the tourist groups arrive and is on a tiny cobble stone street (more of an alley) so it is VERY quiet...it is in the city wall so the other side is trees, grass, and a walking path. It is very close to a decent size overnight parking lot (get your parking pass from your greeter)

bookmarking

We stayed in Le Colombier (Dove's Nest), too. Great apartment (owner calls it a house, but more what we'd consider an apt. or perhaps "townhouse", over 3 levels) There was a bedroom with bath on ground level, living room, dining room, kitchen one flight up, then a master bedroom on 3rd level, with another bath. Beautifully furnished. Fun place to stay. Has mod cons but retains the integrity of the original bldg. Owner jokingly told us that he practically had to get permission for each nail they drilled in.
Have fun!

Lots of good suggestions and advice above. Having visited the area about a dozen times I don't see anything signifigant having been missed.

If you are interested in wine then I would suggest that you pick ONE of the 6 types of wine produced in the Alsace and concentrate your tastings on only that one type.

If you taste half a dozen samples a day for a week you will in fact be able to educate your palate to that type of wine. If you taste several different types you will not learn enough about any one.

Good idea Improviser. I'd focus on the one of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris or Gewurtz and try to stay south of Euro 30 a bottle. What you will find is that the older wines are not particularly well thought of in the local restaurants so you can get say 8 year old sweet wines by the glass for great prices