Impressions of Riquewihr

Old Apr 5th, 2017, 12:14 PM
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We spent a week in Riquewhir in 2015. Was it touristy yes, was it pretty, yes. We spent a lot of time in a wine bar at night and the owners invited us out to tour their winery. It was a lovely morning. We used it as a base, so maybe because we weren't there during the day with all the tourists we lived it more.

Anyway, here are our photos so you can see what we did:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...57644953485474
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Old Apr 5th, 2017, 01:16 PM
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Yes, duh...Route des Vins.
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Old Apr 5th, 2017, 02:03 PM
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Just thought of another nice option, we spent a few days in Wissembourg further north, so lovely (but my friend drove us so we did get around easily), little towns, forests, lovely hike to a castle ruin

Train Paris to Strasbourg, then to Wissembourg, I guess?

My photos:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskc9zUas
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Old Apr 5th, 2017, 02:11 PM
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We had lunch there on an extremely hot June day. I liked the cute feel to it and enjoyed a delicious pizza with a cream base and carmelized onions. The wine tasted like a flower, gurwitztraminer?
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Old Apr 5th, 2017, 02:58 PM
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Maybe Gewürtztraminer? Sweet local wine.The "pizza" you had is a classic Alsatian tarte.
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Old Apr 5th, 2017, 08:51 PM
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Holy cow! What wonderful information you've all given, and wonderful delights to tempt me further as I plan! Thank you very, very much!

StuDudley -- I did say this in my op: "I'm planning to train to Colmar and take a taxi from there, which looks like it should be around 50€ each way."

bilboburglar -- Yes, I saw that some hotels offer bike rental, and even electric bikes. But, yes, not sure that I would end up in one of those -- so that link to helpful bike information & routes is helpful!! I see that there is a bike rental place in Ribeauville as well as in Eguisheim. I won't be doing any long distances, though. I'm 62 years old and pretty much out of shape, so a sweet jaunt in the countryside for an hour or two will suit. Thanks again for the link!!

rouelan -- thanks for the good description to show the differences between Riquewihr & the other towns, and also for the additional confirmation on Obernai!

kanadajin -- Ooooh, that is such a sad tale! I'm sorry you had such a bad experience! But, yeah, that's what's happening to so many wonderful places.

Adelaidean -- thanks for the new town to research! Your photos are gorgeous!!

HappyTrvlr, Dogeared, jamikins, deladeb -- thanks you all for your comments & thoughts on Riquewihr and the area!

jamikins -- those are some amazing & enticing photos!! Make me want to join the hordes, lol!!

Thanks again!

s
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Old Apr 5th, 2017, 09:02 PM
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So, on looking more closely at jamikins' photos, I see that she captures almost all of the towns mentioned here. Man, they all look so nice -- I'm getting the impression that any one of them would work well for just 3 nights. Even Colmar, which I had thought would be too large for my taste, looks so inviting in the photos.

Thanks again!!

s
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Old Apr 5th, 2017, 10:53 PM
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Gewürtztraminer? or even some Pinot Gris ends up floral.

Can be bone dry through to very sweet, but so much fruit that the body thinks it is tasting sugar when the wine is dry.

Wonderful stuff.
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Old Apr 6th, 2017, 12:49 AM
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Glad you enjoyed the pics - we really enjoyed our time in Alsace. Be sure to save lots of time for yummy lunches!
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Old Apr 6th, 2017, 02:41 AM
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Gewur vendange tardive. You tell me.
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Old Apr 6th, 2017, 03:07 AM
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Vendage tardive est très sucré. Und auch Eiswein!!!!
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Old Apr 6th, 2017, 05:32 AM
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Here are my photos from my eastern France trip which included many of the towns/cities mentioned in this thread. Maybe they will be of some help to you.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-pictures.cfm

I loved all the places I visited so it is hard to make a recommendation.
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Old Apr 6th, 2017, 09:16 AM
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I must say that reading this thread makes me sad, because our visit to Riquewihr is one of the most memorable ever to me, in 40 years of travel, many trips to France.

However, it was 38 years ago! We stayed at Le Riquewihr for a week, when it was brand new! Loved our week there, during which we did day trips to most of the other towns along Les routes des vins, and hiking up to the vineyards. We had a private tasting with Jean Hugel himself, and we loved the local people we met. (including a trip to the laundromat, on which my husband insists we go on every trip (God forbid any dirty clothes get anywhere near any clean ones!) where I followed him as he went up the street with his laundry bag, as I was feeling guilty for not caring about dirty clothes, or him going up alone, not knowing a word of French.
After a while, I found him as I peeked in the door of the laundromat, but I decided not to go in when I saw him surrounded by local housewives, all showing him how to insert how many coins in to the machine. As usual, he got lots of help.

Our memories of wonderful food and delightful landscapes and villages stays with me. We even ate lunch at L'Auberge de L"ill, (even though we couldn't afford it!) which was divine!

I hope you enjoy Alsace wherever you stay, and hope you can avoid the now too touristy crowds.
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Old Apr 6th, 2017, 06:37 PM
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Hi swandav... it's been a while.

We've spent quite a bit of time in this part of Alsace the last few years. (Our first trip in Alsace was a walking trip between Turckheim and Obernai back in 2003.) It's a lovely area... the mountains, vineyards, colorful villages filled with flowers.

Riquewihr is beautiful in a fairy-tale way. It gets quite crowded with day trippers and tour groups during the main part of the day, but it's quiet and beautiful in the morning, late afternoon, and evenings. So it could a good place to stay overnight if you planned to be away during the day.

Ribeauville is larger, a sub-prefecture, and more of a "real" town. I like it very much. But you could see what there is to see in half a day, unless you want to hike up to the three chateau ruins over the village. Of course you could also do some wine tasting...

(There's a little tourist train in Ribeauville, and I think in Riquewihr too.)

You might also consider Kaysersberg or the village where we stay, Kientzheim. Two years ago our family rented electric bikes in Kaysersberg at the tourist office and biked through the vineyards to Riquewihr, Hunawihr, Ribeauville, Bergheim (one of my favorites), Mittlewihr, Kientzheim and back to Kaysersberg. Most of the bike route was on small vineyard roads. This was really a wonderful day. The scenery is just beautiful. I could not have done the hillier parts on a regular bike, but you just choose how much "assist" you want.

Riquewihr is about an hour's walk, maybe a bit more, from Kientzheim on the vineyard road over the hill.

Colmar is well worth some time. There's a very good museum, the Unterlinden, and also the Bartholdi museum. You could definitely enjoy a full day there and I think you'd enjoy staying overnight too, as it also has a different ambiance at night.

Kathy
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Old Apr 6th, 2017, 10:19 PM
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Hey Y'all!

Oooh yes, jamikins, I'll definitely be looking forward to eating well!! I've seen so many of your amazing photos of food (mostly from your Paris trips!!), and these food photos are again so good and so tempting! I'll probably be looking at them again just before my trip to see exactly what you ate.... (yes I'm an unabashed copycat).

joannyc -- ooooo, more amazing photos!! Some of those destinations have been sitting in my heart for years, so I loved seeing your beautiful photos: Beaune, Dijon, Lyon. I especially loved seeing the Roman ruins in Lyon. And the photos of Riquewihr & Eguisheim are so sweet. Again, they make me want to throw sense out the window and just follow the crowds. It reminds me of that adage -- people flock to the pretty places because they're **pretty**!! I love the details you focus on for many of your shots.

taconictraveler -- what a cute story! I do wish I'd gotten to discover this area 38 years ago!! Thank you for your good wishes, and it seems that I really can't help but have a good visit, from all I'm learning here!

Hey Kathy! Wow, so nice to hear from you -- seems ages since we met in Knoxville. Well, it has been ages . . what, a decade?? I think I saw where you are no longer doing tours, is that right? Thank you for the confirming that I might enjoy staying in R or R if I spend the days out in the countryside, and I might do that. Though I'm usually a (VERY) slow traveler who likes to linger in cafes and wander streets and memorize pretty squares, it might be true that half a day will suffice. I love the tour you describe through the villages on an electric bike -- I'm certainly going to try to do something like that on one of my days. I also saw that it only takes 1h to walk between R/R, so doing both towns & the countryside between could be one day, leaving one day for the bike tour. Thanks for the additional suggestions of Kayserberg & Kientzheim, and I'll be looking at them in more depth.

Wow, so I continue to be amazed at how helpful you all have been! The photos have been great, helping me so much to know how truly gorgeous these places are. If the photos on google maps were this good, I probably wouldn't have needed to post the question here.

I think we need an interactive Fodor's map that links to photos of that area by Fodorites. How could we make that happen???

Thanks so much, everyone!!

s
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Old Apr 8th, 2017, 05:46 AM
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Hi swandav, glad my info was helpful and it's good to be back in touch. I'll be interested to hear what you decide to do with your few days in Alsace. We will be there for almost a month in late May/June.

(And we're still doing our tours, by the way... just getting ready to start our 12th year and will be hosting 14 groups!)

Kathy
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Old Apr 8th, 2017, 02:15 PM
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Thanks very much for your kind compliments, swandav2000! Yes, sometimes you just have to go the touristy locations... there is always a reason why they are "touristy"!
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Old Apr 8th, 2017, 02:51 PM
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I read your post as I am going to Alsace as well as Germany (Cochem) in Sep. We are staying in an apartment in a vineyard for a week on the outskirts of Riquewihr. I chose Riquewihr because I had read many good posts about it! By the sounds of comments here, maybe not so much. However, it is in case proximity to all the little villages on the route du vin that we want to visit in addition to Colmar and Strasbourg and we are using our apartment as a base only. It is only about a 10 minute walk into Riquewihr which I thought would be nice in the morning or evening. I will try and let you know how we make out!
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Old Apr 8th, 2017, 08:47 PM
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Kathy, I am so, so happy to hear that you are still doing your tours! I know that doing them is your passion and your joy! Can you post a link here (sorry to others who may see this as advertising .. . but I'd like to refresh my recollection of the tours). If you don't want to post it here, you can find me on the TA forums for Bavaria and send me a pm. Hey, I'll be in Baden-Baden 15-20 June this year -- maybe a gtg at a halfway point? Strasbourg? If you're not swamped with the tour business and touring!! Where exactly will you be?

joannyc,

BarbaraAllison7911 -- thanks for the offer! I'll be looking forward to any trip report you can post!

Thanks all!

s
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