GKS

You guys are amazing. I can't tell you how happy I am to have found you all!

Anyhow, I'm now looking into Obernai and a couple other towns. Alsace has always been my dream destination, ever since I saw one tiny picture of it in my High School French book. Not sure if the geraniums will be in bloom when we're there in July, but it'll still pretty much be a dream come true being there.

So it sounds like Colmar is nice maybe for one night, but that the smaller villages are the places to be, right? I know we really want to experience small villages, so that seems like the perfect way to go...

StuDudley

Geraniums should be blooming through Sept. If you really want to stay in small villages, stay in Obernai and near Kayserberg or Riquewhir. That will save some driving (note the miles from northern village to southern village). Colmar is a short distance from Riquewhir/Kayserberg.

Stu Dudley

StantonHyde

Per ira's recommendations we stayed in an awesome hotel: Hotel Schwendi in either Kintzheim or Keintzheim. Great restaurant, awesome wine museum. Alsace was definitely more picturesque than Burgundy--but much more touristy. I LOVED staying in Dijon (better than Beaune because it so touristy). Google dijon rent a home (might be all one word). They have great apartments that were not too pricey. We had Max Renau give us tour of the region and we really enjoyed it. We also had lunch at Olivier's Table (google that as well). That was a fun wine tasting experience. I second less time in Stasbourg--too big and too touristy for me. I submitted a Burgundy and Alsace trip report in October-December 07 plus one on all the logistics. You can search for my screen name and find them. Stu is truly the expert. I planned my ENTIRE trip from the people on this board--awesome resources!

GKS

Thank you guys! So far I have reservations at Maison des Tetes in Colmar and at Hotel Colombier in Obernai (I'm definitely listening to the suggestions!). Both look wonderful (and have A/C and parking!) so I'm already feeling much better about this.

I keep hearing that Beaune is a great place to stay if your focus is wine. Do you guys agree? Or would Dijon be better? I love less touristy, but wouldn't mind it knowing we were in the right place....

Oh, and does everything pretty much shut down on Bastille Day? I'm assuming things like museums/wineries would be closed, but maybe I'm wrong? I think we'll be in Colmar for that holiday, and losing a whole day of visiting wineries wouldn't be great...but I imagine the celebrations would be fun.

StuDudley

Beaune & Dijon are both great places. Beaune is more wine oriented and has several tasting places, a wine museum, and a Marche au Vin that is a "super" tasting place. The village is also charming, and would be a good 1/2 days visit in addition to time for wine. Dijon is much larger, has more diverse stuff, beautiful architecture, antiqures, pretty traffic free squares, and the famous owl walk. There always seems to be "something going on" that the city has organized. We were there 3 weekends in '06, and there was the French Patrimonie weekend when many civic & private buildings were open to the public, a bicycle fun ride at the same time as the Patrimonie, a hige street music 'thing" with hurdy gurdies, pipe organs, singers, puppeteers, etc, and a major antique fair going on too. Last weekend was a street market.

Almost everything will be closed on Bastille day. Use that time for a scenic drive in the countryside or into the Vosges. Some Chateausx may be open - check when you get there - perhaps start with www.chateaudetanlay.com or www.abbayedefontenay.com

Stu Dudley

blackduff

If you plan to stop in Dijon, see if you can reserve at Coco's apartment.

www.myhomeindijon.com

She'll give you a good reception and it's a pleasant stop during your travels.

Blackduff

winebuffs

Hello, we did a tour of the Burgundy vineyards but because we didn't want to drink and drive we took a tour with Burgundy on a Plate which was very educational and great fun. Burgundy really is a beautiful region and not to be missed. We stayed in a small family run 3* hotel called Hotel des Remparts in Beaune. We also drove around other parts of Burgundy and went all the way to Vezelay to see the stunning basilica of St Madeleine. We have also been to Bordeaux (not on the same trip) , the vineyards there are fantastic but we are confirmed Burgundy drinkers now!

Enjoy your break

frogoutofwater

The Eyewitness Guide to Wine is a worthwhile purchase if you are planning to visit wineries, but unless you're going to rely exclusively on pre-arranged tours, it's not sufficient. Each wine region also likely has information on the internet, with listings and contact details for wineries. Used in combination with the Eyewitness Guide, you can organize your own tastings with some confidence.

My husband and I did wine-tasting trips in Champagne and Bordeaux. It definitely helps to plan ahead and book visits to certain wineries in advance - preferably before you leave the US because it can take several days of calls, messages, etc. to confirm a booking. In Champagne, you can simply walk into some of the largest champagne houses and take a tour, but to see smaller houses or some of the more exclusive houses it's better to book in advance. An alternative to this labour-intensive approach is simply to wait until you get to the base city and then book a tour either through the Tourist Information Centre or local Maison du Vin. The risk is that these tours will go to only to very well-known (and/or mediocre) wineries, and you'll miss out on some out-of-the way gems.

If you're going to organize your own bookings, I'd recommend that you try to set up at least 2 appointments per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. With those in your pocket, you can be confident that you'll try something interesting - and then you can take a chance and see what kind of tour you can do as a walk-in.