swandav2000

Hallo Everyone,

I'm idly toying with a trip to Paris this Fall (which would make 2 trips there this year . . yahoo!!!).

I like to arrive in Paris with a good chunk of time in the afternoon so that I can get settled in and get started exploring the neighborhood -- find the patisserie and the fromagerie, etc. But since I live south of Munich, that's getting to be tough.

It used to be easy -- I'd take the overnight train and arrive fresh and with the whole day in Paris to enjoy. But since that overnight train has been discontinued, I'm looking for a town or village that is within 2-3 hours of Paris and that I might enjoy for 2-3 days; I don't mind too much if it takes me 8 or 9 hours to get there. I've discounted Lyon or Dijon because I just don't like cities.

So I thought of Riquewihr, and I started investigating it, but I'm beginning to have some doubts. Looking at a few photos online, it looks like it might be sorta like Rothenburg od Tauber. Not that it looks like it, physically, but it seems to be a similarly set-piece of tourist theater.

Is that an accurate impression??

I'm thinking now of going and staying in Ribauville, so I'll still get to see Riquewihr. I'm planning to spend 3 nights, so I'll have one day to see some of the town and one day to take a walk or bike ride in the countryside.

I'm planning to train to Colmar and take a taxi from there, which looks like it should be around 50€ each way.

Thanks for your help!

s

ANUJ

Last year, we rented a car in Strasbourg and drove down the Alsace Wine route, visiting <i>(among other stops)</i> Riquewihr and Ribeauville. While both are touristy, we found both incredibly charming (I'm not sure how I'd spend 3 days in either though!). However, we spent a night in Colmar (a much bigger town, with more accommodation/restaurant choices etc.) before heading onwards. I haven't been to Rothenburg od Tauber, but the pictures (unsurprisingly) appear similar, given the distinct German architectural and cultural influence.

WoinParis

Riquewihr is indeed touristy ... because it is quaint.

Adelaidean

We did a day tour from Strasbourg that stopped in Riquewihr and a few other villages, I really liked Hunawihr the most. And there was a great bike trail between villages. Very pretty area.

StCirq

Yes, it's been a totally Disneyesque scene for more than 30 years, right down to the tarted-up "local maidens" hanging around the fountain asking tourists to take their pictures (I wrote an article about this for a Canadian wine magazine back in the late 80s) - ugh! It obviously still works, though, as tourists flock there to ooh and aah at its "quaintness." You can't fault the locals for making the most of their heritage, but there does come a point where it's more show than history.

I don't think Ribeauvillé is a whole lot better on the too-touristy scale. I like Obernai. Hunawihr is also lovely.

bilboburgler

It depends, so much of German tourist spots have been cleaned up to the point of Disney it is hard to compare, certainly the two you mention are Frenchified Disney.

If you want that sort of thing in spades then Eguisheim is even more so as is Colmar.

But all these places are live wine making areas, (when you look at it the vineyards are now desolate monocultures.

It depends a bit on why you are coming, wine, biking, hiking, food or just views.

swandav2000

Thanks so much for your replies!

ANUJ -- I actually only have 2 full days/3 nights. I expect to arrive late in the afternoon of arrival day and may have only a couple of hours of daylight after (early Nov). On Departure day, I'd be leaving around 09.00. So two full days. And, as I said, I would use one as a "town" day and one as a countryside day.

Woin -- I'm not discussing the tourists here . . . but whether the village looks like a movie/play stage set.

Adelaidean -- wow, thanks so much for that! I'll begin researching Hunawihr!! That could be the solution!

St Cirq -- thanks so much for knowing what I was talking about, and I love the way you put it as "more show than history." That's it exactly. Thanks for confirming about Hunawihr and the suggestion of Obernai! I'll start researching!!

billoburgler -- hmmm. I'm not really looking for that sort of thing but trying to avoid it. I'd like to find that sort of thing, but maybe more lived-in. I think I am almost equally divided on my goals here -- yes to biking/hiking and views, and yes (to a lesser degree) to wine.

I'm so grateful to you all for helping me & giving me new places to research. Thanks!!

s

swandav2000

I'll add that one thing I liked about Ribeauville is that it looks like it has a central square, which I really like.

s

bilboburgler

Good walking all over the area and you'll also find the bike trail often sits amongst the vineyards rather than on the route du vin.

I might look at Eguishem south to Guebewiller, all real towns with less tourism.

swandav2000

Great!! Thanks so much b'o'b!!

s

StuDudley

You haven't mentioned a car. How have you planned to get to Riquewihr from the train station? We drove past the Riquewhir train station once and noted how far out of town it was, and how small it was.

Stu Dudley

bilboburgler

If you follow my name back to September 2016 I lead a group wine tasting in the area, it might give you some ideas.

Bike hire is strangly difficult to arrange, some hotels offer it free of charge. I'd recommend www.mybikeguide.co.uk but even that lacks much info.

rouelan

Riquewihr is basically one main Street with tourist oriented shops.there is hardly a decent store to find food. But it is cute.Ribeauvillé is more a real village also with a touristic feeling but with good boulangeries pâtisseries. Obernai is even more a real village.
And dont overlook Colmar. It is Much bigger but it is a gorgeous place.

kanadajin

Just to add my own 2 euro centime, I was in Riquewhir for the first time in 1976 and I keep very fond memories of this sleepy (quiet) and such charming/rustic village de terroir. We had to park our Renault 5 just outside against the stone wall and walk in. There was hardly a soul around, and there were also many unforgettable moments of discoveries on that visit. For instance as well as the family run riesling houses where everything was done by hand, let me mention this one highlight about a restaurant I will never forget where we went, and it had a large aquarium near the entrance, and we eventually realized that you had to go and point out the fish you wanted for your meal (!); the chef would pluck it out and after numbing it with a whack on the head would proceed to eviscerate it in front of you prior to cooking it on the spot.

I went back with a dear friend over 20 years later in the late 1990's, talking up my expectations all the way there based on my recollection and looking forward with great anticipation to a second stay. Upon arrival, as mentioned above it was not very long before I realized that its authenticity had been sacrificed on the altar of mass tourism ...

I have never gone back since, and likely never will. Sadly, I know this is not unique to Riquewihr.

HappyTrvlr

We enjoyed staying in Riquewhir a few years ago but it was not in a busy tourist season. There are so many other charming villages on the Wine Road. Didn't care for Colmar but liked the other villages and Strasbourg very much.

Dogeared

Well, the Rue Du Vin, is what it is. It all depends on what you are going there for doesn't it.

I have visited the Alsace many times to taste the wines and buy some. I have also 'bike toured' from village to village tasting along the way. You can find villages that are downright dead every day or some that are packed with tourists on most days. I've stayed in a lot of them and don't really have a favourite.

Kanadajin, you give up too easily. Do you see any crowds of tourists here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yZ4d1yOXQs

We stayed in Dambach la Ville at the Chambres d'hotes Nartz once.
https://www.tourisme-alsace.com/fr/2...et-Michel.html

We wanted to stay a few nights longer but Madame Nartz informed us she was 'tres desole' that they were fully booked. She made a phone call and sent us to Madame Silber who provided us with a B&B room in her home. Both the Nartz and Silber families are wine producers. When we left the Silber home, Monsieur Silber gave me a bottle of his own 'private stock' from the casks in the cellar of his house.

I don't see any current listing for the Silbers as a B&B. Perhaps they no longer bother. Here is their wine site.
http://www.vins-silber.com/

You can find whatever kind of place you want in the region if you just look a little harder. The problem is that today, most people don't even look beyond the first few listings on third party sites like Booking.com et al.

bilboburgler

Yep, I find using google map and then searching "B&B" works wonders.

StCirq

It's the Route du Vin, not the Rue du Vin.

joannyc

Actually, it is Route des Vins.

WoinParis

La route des vins then.