Day Trips from Strasbourg
 

My family and I will be in Strasbourg at the end of July after a river cruise. There are 5 of us. We will have already seen the main sights of Strasbourg. Any suggestions for day trips? My parents are in their 70s and prefer to be back by 3:00 to rest.Lots of walking won't work either. I was thinking Nancy?

How will you be getting about?

By car, the possibilities are endless. By train, there are still a lot of possibilities.

I have not been but was planning on going to Baden - Baden and doing a day trip to Strasbourg. Not sure if that is of any interest to you.

We were in Strasbourg visiting our daughter in March of this year. Besides seeing Stras we did the following:

Visit Mount St. Odille - beautiful vistas, small chapels

Haute Barr - short trip to see this old castle ruin. She also wanted us to go to Haute Konisburg which is supposed to be really great but we didn't get there.

Drive the Route de Vin. This is a lovely drive, regardless of whether you get out and walk. There are many small towns where you could walk a few blocks or do "degustations" (wine tastings).

Colmar. What a great city. Did involve walking here but it is really pretty and a definite highlight of the region.

I did visit Nancy as a day trip from Strasbourg and that was an excellent idea. I really enjoyed that trip. My other choices, which I didn't have time for, were Colmar and Mulhouse. All three are easy to get to by train. Just check out what each has to offer to see which appeals most.

I don't know what I'd suggest that wouldn't involve lots of walking, though. Probably Mulhouse or Nancy more than Colmar, but I guess it depends what you'll do when you get there. Nancy has several excellent museums, and the main place near the train station is really a sight in itself. You can get to the museums by taxi, though, shouldn't be a problem (especially the Art Nouveau museum, which is a highlight of that trip, and you'd want to take a taxi there, anyway). I walked it one way and took a taxi back as it had started raining, but I'm sure it's over a mile. Colmar is known as being a picturesque small town, but has sites of interest, such as a museum for the famous French sculptor who did the US Statue of LIberty, Bartholdi (who was from there).

Mulhouse has the national automobile museum (and railway), so if one is interested in transportation, that would be good. Some famous people were born there, including Dreyfus.

Colmar definitely - a charming small town with a great museum.

And the Route de Vin if you have a car - you can explore a couple of towns in a day.

Baden-Baden is a nice idea. They might enjoy trying one of the spas, probably Caracalla. It's a very relaxing town, very pretty in summer, and there are often free outdoor performances. Lots of nice restaurants, shops and cafes, and very pleasant strolls (level, not hilly).

You could also opt for a day pass at one of the hotel spas. The Dorint five-star hotel has very reasonable rates and its spa facilities are quite plush. One thing your parents might appreciate is the spa's relaxation room, it's a quiet, low-light place with VERY, VERY comfortable lounge chairs. A perfect place to take a soothing, late afternoon nap, so they might be willing to stay later than 3 pm.