Information on Alsace in April?
 

Will be traveling to this region in mid-April. How is the weather at this time, wondering what to pack? Going to stay in a different town every 2 nights, hope we are make the right choice...

ttt

Hi John,
We travelled to the Alsace area in May after Paris and Burgundy area. We stayed in Ribeauville and drove out from there to the surrounding towns - very easy to do as it is quite a compact area.
Of the areas in France that we went to, Alsace was our least favorite. Due to its proximity to Germany and the disappearance of the country border checks, it was a very busy, touristy area. The area was crowded with German cyclists, tourists and sight-seeing buses. Although the cafes were not particularly busy, there were people everywhere in the streets. Now, maybe this is your kind of thing.
You are probably aware that the food is less French than Germanic. We found that there was somewhat a Disney, glitzy feel to the towns - Sound of Music?
If you have decided on this area, I would consider Riquewihr over Ribeauville, as a home base. Book there for a maximum three days and if you want to stay, do so or escape south to the Burgundy area.
I am sure others will differ with my assessment.

I appreciate your input very much!!!

I agree with robjame, although there's no area of France I really wouldn't happily travel to. I used to go to trade shows in Strasbourg a lot, and spent a good deal of time wandering around in Alsace. What a lot of people see as charming and quaint there, I see as pure kitsch, especially in the towns of Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé. If you can get a bit off the Route du Vin and into some of the smaller, less-traveled areas, it can be lovely. It makes a nice pairing with a trip to the Black Forest and Freiburg in particular, though.

I spent 10 days in Alsace last October, and enjoyed it alot. I started out in Strasbourg, and spent 3 nights there. It's a wonderful city with lots to see.
I then spent a couple of nights in the small village of Ottrott, near Obernai, at the wonderful Hotel L'Ami Fritz. I could have stayed at that place longer!
After that a few nights in Kaysersburg, and one night in Colmar beforefore heading to Lyon.

I agree with other posters that parts of Alsace are quite touristy (and mostly German tourists!), but still quite enjoyable, and the weather was great in October. Also, I did not expect to like the food so much, but DID. Admittedly, I would have preferred that the Route des Vins be less crowded.
I imagine October in Alsace would be more crowded than April, due to wine harvest, etc. April will probably be beautiful. Have a wonderful time!

We were in Alsace the last week of April in 2005. Actually, they were havong a heat wave and it was in the low 80's, but that was quite unusual. Expect the 60's as an average. In contast to the opinions expressed earlier, my wife and I loved Alsace. We made it a point not to be in the tourist areas on the weekend when it does fill up pretty fast. We found Stausborg to be great for shopping in a very compact area around their outstanding cathedral. We then spent 2 days in Obernai and 2 more days in Eguisheim, spending the days visiting wineries and checking out the villages. As far as the food, Alsace has more 3 star Michelin restaurants than any other area outside of Paris. Think German food with French sophistication. Very few Americans, but very friendly people. We will be going back - we enjoyed it that much!!!

Dean