Greetings fellow travelers!

My husband and have up to a week to tour the Alsace Wine Road during July. We planned on beginning the adventure in Strasbourg and ending in Colmar before heading off to Lake Geneva. After reading lots of threads my list of places to visit has grown (Obernai, Barr, Andlau, Itterswiller, Dambach-la-Ville, Riquewihr, Ribeauville and Kayserberg). I just love attending local markets and various seasonal events but may not need as much time as seven days. Which towns should we see and skip?

Thank you! Nancy

Here is a section from my Alsace Itinerary about the Route du Vin & some other scenic drives.

The charm of Alsace is the countryside & cute villages. We’ve stayed in Oberni, Kayserberg twice, and in a Gite near Riquewihr. I would recommend that you stay in the Kayserberg/Riquewihr/Ribbeauville area & take day trips from there. These villages are very close together & the area around the villages is stunning. The Route du Vin is a good road to use to visit all the villages, but it gets a lot of heavy truck traffic & there’s a little too much not-so-scenic commerce on it. There is a prettier and less traveled road that goes from village to village just west of the Route du Vin. It’s actually a very well marked bike route that is much more scenic than the Route du Vin. It probably doesn’t traverse the entire length of the Route du Vin, though. There are a lot of signposts along this route that indicate the direction to the next town, distances, etc. The best way to find this route is to go to Riquewihr & walk or drive around the perimeter of town until you find one of these signposts – it’s actually quite easy to find this route.

Villages not to miss are Oberni, Ribeauville, Riquewihr, Kayserberg, and Eguisheim. There are ramparts around Bergheim and its fun to walk on the top of them & circle the village, looking down into everyone’s back yard. There is a very nice lookout in the town of Zellenberg. Go up into the village & try to find it. There is a viewing table there that’s a little hard to locate, but worth the effort. There is also a very scenic lookout in a cemetery just outside of Sigolsheim – it’s marked on the Michelin map. Hike up to the old Chateau above Kayserberg in the early AM or late PM to get some wonderful views. Visit Haut Koenigsbourg. We really enjoyed the Ecomusee d’Alsace, although I’m usually not a fan of this “Williamsburg” type of stuff. It’s a collection of old houses that gives an insight into housing in the different periods & rural areas of Alsace. There are a lot of storks nesting on the roofs of the buildings in this Ecomusee. The Beauville linens factory & 2nds store is just west of Ribeauville on the road to Ste Marie aux Mines, but expect no bargains.

As I said earlier, Colmar is a gem. Follow the walking route indicated in the Michelin green guide & take plenty of film with you. My wife purchased some wonderful lace in this town. We enjoyed the Musee d’Unterlinden. Spend a ½ day at least in Colmar. It’s easy to drive in & out & parking is no hassle. Stores may be closed on Sunday and Monday.

Here’s a pretty drive through some villages, and then into the Vosges. Head south of Colmar going through the villages of Eguisheim (spend several hours in this village – one of our favorites), Husseren, Hattstat, Gueberschwihr, Rouffach, Westhalten, Bergholtz, and then Guebwiller (visit). Then drive to Murbach to see a nice church in a pretty setting. Take the D430 west through Lautenbach and further until it hits the D27. Take the D27 north over the Col du Platzerwasel toward Munster. Continue on to Munster (D27 changes to D10). Stop & wander around in Munster (of cheese fame). Continue on the D10 to Turckheim (visit).

A farther away trip:
Visit Wissembourg and take the walking tour described in the Michelin Green guide. Then follow drive #3 described in the VOSGES DU NORD section of the Michelin guide. This will take you to Chateau de Fleckenstein, Lembach, Hunspach, & Seebach. In these latter two villages, the houses are half-timbered & painted white – it’s quite a contrast from other villages in Alsace. If you want to see how France attempted to defend itself from the Germans and Russsians after WWI, visit a section of the Maginot line at Four-a-Chaux just outside of Lembach. We enjoyed the tour of underground fortifications, hospitals, barracks, etc.

Stu Dudley

Also worth popping up onto the Ballon D'alsace for a fine view of Mont Blanc and if it is your thing you can drop in and see the only concentration camp in France from WWII

We did almost the same as Stu.
In Colmar we stayed at the Hotel Romantic Marechal.

Hi NA,

When you go to Kaysersberg, I strongly suggest that you visit Kientzheim, even if you skip Kaysersberg to do it.

You aren't planning to reduce your time in Alsace to less than 1 week, are you?

Thanks to everyone for your quick responses.

Stu I appreciate the tip on the commercial traffic on the Route du Vin,the alternate road and the scenic drive to Lake Geneva. Which Michelin map should I buy?

Bilboburgler your recommendation on Mount Blanc is right up my husband’s
ally.

Ira I’ll be sure to Goggle Kientzheim to learn more about this village and yes my husband and I now plan to spend the entire seven days in Alsace.

Definitely staying at Hotel Romantic Marechal. Is there parking on site?

Please don't get the wrong impression but besides having a designated driver how did
you all sample the local wine with such strict driving laws? As a former wine saleswomen
I hope to taste as much as I can without constantly making my husband the designated driver.
Is the alcohol content similar to American wines?

And one last question. Has anyone been to the chocolate factory named Rohan in Epfig?

Warmest wishes,
Nancy

Buy Michelin Map 315, and also get the Michelin Green Guide for Alsace.

Stu Dudley

You can get a commercial "tasters" license for tasting in France. It gives you only slight protection and not worth while for 7 days.

Choices of what to do
Designated driver, bus (there is a locals bus), walk (there are great walks through the hills), bike.

We tend to do a mix of all of the above

Hello again.

I know most shops are closed in Europe on Sunday but Monday also?

Did any of you find a few stores open
on Sunday in Colmar?

Hi N,

>how did you all sample the local wine with such strict driving laws?

Sip slowly and continuously.

>Is the alcohol content similar to American wines?

Usually lower - anywhere from 8-12% for the whites.

I don't think the 300 series of Michelin maps is available anymore. We had to settle for 516, which is 1:2.75K.

If you look up Kientzheim at www.viamichelin.com you can see the Route du Vin and zoom in to get the tertiary roads.

Enjoy your visit.

ira, about the Michelin 300-series maps ... Good news: they are still available. There are 45 of them covering France and Corsica, easily recognizable by their bright yellow cover and the words 3XX Local in the top left corner. The scale is typically 1/175000, although I'm pretty sure I have a couple that are at 1/150000, which is even better.

Stu's recommendation is bang on: map 315 covers Alsace. It's title is Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin, Territoire-de-Belfort.

I have seen these maps for sale at Tabacs in France, but I buy mine in Ottawa at World of Maps on Wellington. (www.worldofmaps.com) They must be available in the US, too, perhaps through Amazon.

Anselm

Hi A,

I have checked all of my sources in the US for the 315 map.

There was supposed to be one out in Dec 2006.

Amazon.com is still waiting for it.

I shall look to see if I can find one when I get to Strasbourg.

Hi NancyAnn,

I would just do a 'drive thru' in Barr if you feel the need, we stayed there last May for 5 nights while doing visits to Alsace area and personally it was far from my fav town, pretty run down and boring. I hope this doesn't offend anyone and is strickly my opinion.
S

ira, my brother is going to drop by that map store for me within the next week. (I need 301 and 302 for our trip this fall.) I could ask him to pick up #315 if it's available and then I could send it to you.

AA

Anselme - the section of France covered by 301 & 302 is about the only region in France we have not even touched. When are you going and what are your plans there?

Stu Dudley

Hi Stu. We'll be there for the first week of November. We haven't filled in all the details yet, but the aim is to look at the Ypres and Somme battlefields. (This won't come as a surprise if you remember my trip report from Verdun and Chemin des Dames battlefields last fall.)

We'll probably rent a car in Arras and then meander our way from Iepers south and east. There are a couple of Canadian war memorials we particularly want to see, and then we aim to follow the steps of Wilfred Owen, the war poet, through the Somme, ending just east of Cambrai, where he was killed.

I gather the scenery is rather dull, but we're going for the history. We'll finish up with a week in Paris.

Anselm

Hi it's Nancy again.

Good news. I was able to buy the Michelin 315 map on the web site https://www.languagequest.com.

Learned about a chocolate factory in Epfig that is known for it's molded figures. has anyone stopped by or taken a tour?

Hi AA,

Thanks for the offer.

Since Nancy has found a site for it, I'll save you and your brother the trouble.

It would have been a pleasure, ira.

Nancy, glad you tracked it down.

AA

ttt