I am going to be in Strasbourg visiting some friends for the first two weeks of December and am looking for recommendations for places to go on day trips either in France or Germany.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

its funny you should ask. actually we will be there starting christmas day for 4 days. baden-baden, colmar are two stops, the route de vin. there are stops in between.strasbourg itself is pretty cool also.

Do you have any particular interests? Christmas markets will be in full swing if that is something you like. There are a several towns in Alsace for pottery shopping, you could go skiing in the Black Forest, you could go to Basel, the flea market in Metz....just a few ideas.

Colmar is a common tourist recommendation, but I would especially recommend Nancy. Mulhouse also has things of interest. Nancy is good for museums and it has a very good performing arts climate (classical music and opera). Their art nouveau museum for the Ecole de Nancy is one of the best for that style and their central place is special.

Have just got back from there. Between Strasbourg & Colmar it is possible to do a round trip via Thann one way and further east the other way. It includes some great places like Ribeauville, Riquewhir, Kaysersburg, Turkheim, and just south of Colmar is Eguisheim. Do you like walking? There are great walks along this way too, notably the Pagan Wall on the eastern leg of the trip. (I can be more specific about its location after checking my notes which I don't have with me at the moment - let me know).
Tony

Sorry - where I mentioned "east" and "eastern" in my above message, substitute "west" and "western"
Tony

A gem of 20th C. architecture is a small chapel by Le Corbusier, "Notre Dame du Haut" at Ronchamp in the Vosges foothills west of Belfort.

http://www.demel.net/fs-ronchamp.html

I lived in Strasbourg for three years and tell anyone who is visiting the area to see Riquewihr. It is charming, delightful and pittoresque with great food and wine. Enjoy!

In addition to the suggestions above, I would be sure to visit Freiburg and travel along the Route des Crêtes.