Paris to Strasbourg to Heidelberg
Jul 11th, 2011, 10:20 AM
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Paris to Strasbourg to Heidelberg
We have 6 days in mid September to sightsee the Northeast region of France by car starting in Paris to Lorraine region then would like to go to Heidelberg. We'll need to drive back to Paris for our flight home. We can take a train during part of this trip if needed. Any suggestions as to what to see along the way? Or any suggestions for the overall trip?
Jul 11th, 2011, 10:35 AM
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Why don't you take the train to Strasbourg and start your road trip there? You will save costs for gas and motorway tolls - which you can calculate at viamichelin.com
It may even be less costly to rent the car in Germany, e.g. in Kehl, just across the Rhine in Strasbourg.
It may even be less costly to rent the car in Germany, e.g. in Kehl, just across the Rhine in Strasbourg.
Jul 11th, 2011, 11:46 AM
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You are early enough to still get some TGV specials for 22 euros per person if you hurry. You could leave from Paris Gare de l'Est and be in Strasbourg in about 2 1/2 hours without any hassles...just stamp your ticket (or have your e-ticket handy), board the train and relax. (gas and car + parking will cost you quite a bit more than this, by the way)_
When you are finished seeing Strasbourg after a couple of days, pick up your car rental in Strasbourg and head north passing through Haguenau and some of the cute pottery villages, stopping for lunch at Wissembourg (do a search here, I have a report on it somewhere). This is still in France.
After lunch and a visit to the old town, take the "back road" through the vinyards from Wissembourg across the border for local flavor and maybe some wine tasting at a vintner along the southern German wine road. If you are not interested in that, take the autoroute (blue signage) via Karlsruhe. Normally the autoroute will take you 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get to Heidelberg but there is currrently some construction which is producing Staus (traffic jams). We have been taking the smaller side roads to avoid them.
Don't know what you were planning on doing in the Heidelberg area, but besides Heidelberg, I heartily recommend Speyer, Ladenburg, Bad Wimpfen and Schwetzingen, among other towns.
As car drop-offs in another country other than the point of origin are expensive, I would plan on driving Heidelberg to Nancy and/or Metz or Reims, depending on your interests to return the car and then train into Paris from there...avoids the hassle of big city driving. Again, you should be early enough to catch a TGV special, especially if you are flexible with your dates and times. Also, with only 6 days, the train will save you lots of time that you'd otherwise be spending on the road.
If you really weren't planning on seeing anything between Heidelberg and Paris, then I would suggest returning the car at Strasbourg again and training to Paris from there rather than Heidelberg. Or (my preference) drive the extra 1/2 hour to Nancy, visit the famous square etc, have a nice meal, return the car and train back to paris from Nancy.
When you are finished seeing Strasbourg after a couple of days, pick up your car rental in Strasbourg and head north passing through Haguenau and some of the cute pottery villages, stopping for lunch at Wissembourg (do a search here, I have a report on it somewhere). This is still in France.
After lunch and a visit to the old town, take the "back road" through the vinyards from Wissembourg across the border for local flavor and maybe some wine tasting at a vintner along the southern German wine road. If you are not interested in that, take the autoroute (blue signage) via Karlsruhe. Normally the autoroute will take you 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get to Heidelberg but there is currrently some construction which is producing Staus (traffic jams). We have been taking the smaller side roads to avoid them.
Don't know what you were planning on doing in the Heidelberg area, but besides Heidelberg, I heartily recommend Speyer, Ladenburg, Bad Wimpfen and Schwetzingen, among other towns.
As car drop-offs in another country other than the point of origin are expensive, I would plan on driving Heidelberg to Nancy and/or Metz or Reims, depending on your interests to return the car and then train into Paris from there...avoids the hassle of big city driving. Again, you should be early enough to catch a TGV special, especially if you are flexible with your dates and times. Also, with only 6 days, the train will save you lots of time that you'd otherwise be spending on the road.
If you really weren't planning on seeing anything between Heidelberg and Paris, then I would suggest returning the car at Strasbourg again and training to Paris from there rather than Heidelberg. Or (my preference) drive the extra 1/2 hour to Nancy, visit the famous square etc, have a nice meal, return the car and train back to paris from Nancy.
Jul 11th, 2011, 11:57 AM
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Second thought on options, again depending on what our interests are...my suggestion above is kind of a smorgasbørd of interests.
If you are really into all the Alsatian kitsch, then you might want to pick up the car after a day or 2 in Strasbourg and head south first to some of the little wine villages that are so quaint ( Kaysersberg, Turckheim, Colmar, the castle of Haut Konigsburg) before heading up to Heidelberg before returning back to Strasbourg, leaving out Nancy/Metz and/or Reims.
If you are really into all the Alsatian kitsch, then you might want to pick up the car after a day or 2 in Strasbourg and head south first to some of the little wine villages that are so quaint ( Kaysersberg, Turckheim, Colmar, the castle of Haut Konigsburg) before heading up to Heidelberg before returning back to Strasbourg, leaving out Nancy/Metz and/or Reims.
