Where to stay in Alsace?
 

I have been searching and reading previous posts on the Alsace region, and have found them very helpful. Right now, I have reservations for 2 nights (in September) in Stroudsbourg. Is this a good place to stay in Alsace - will we be convienient to visit the vineyards and other smaller towns? My fiance does not mind driving, I just do not want to spend the entire visit in the car! Can you tell me, in general, how far are the vineyards from Stroudsbourg? We will be driving along to Paris next, has anyone done that drive before and can you tell me how long it took you?

Many thanks!

You wouldn't by any chance be referring to Strasbourg?

Yes, Strasbourg, sorry for the typo~

There are vineyards both north and south of Strasbourg, but the prettiest villages such as Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr and Kaysersberg, are on the Route du Vin between Strasbourg and Colmar. They are certainly not far at all, (Colmar is about 75km from Strasbourg) and Strasbourg is a convenient and interesting place to stay. You might, however, want to take a day to travel the route, stopping at villages and towns along the way, and stay overnight in Colmar. There's also lots to see south of Colmar, but you may not have time for that.

Plan on 4 to 5 hours by autoroute from Strasbourg to Paris, plus any stops you might want to make on the way (e.g. Nancy, Reims).

Strasbourg is a fine place to stay. Colmar is an hour drive, Mulhouse is 1 1/2 hours. Be sure to go to the national car museum in mulhouse. We also went to Baden-Baden which is an hour north. The many of the vinyards are north of Colmar. A quarter or half day in Colmar and a leisurely drive up the wine road with liberal stops for wine drinking makes for nice long day. It sounds like you have reservations in Strasbourg but we stayed at the Comfort Inn on the river and the rooms were huge by French standards. Have fun.

Thank you everyone, I mostly wanted to know if it was a central (and nice) place to stay in the region.

Jay - you mention Baden-Baden, I didn't realize it was so close. I was planning on staying there the night before we got to Strasborg, do you think it is worth it? Is there another place I should stay instead? We will be driving from Munich to the Alsace region, and have one night to stay someplace in between. I'm having trouble picking that spot!

Thanks

Let me suggest the cute little walled town of Eguisheim which just a few kilometers south of Colmar. We found it the perfect place to visit the Alsace area. We also drove the Wine Road as far as Strasbourg. Strasbourg seemed just a large urban city and none too clean at that. Colmar was smaller and had a pleasant older area around some canals. But it was Eguisheim that was so nice to return to in the evening. The walk around the inside walls was out of another era with hanging flower boxes and several shops open to sample the local wine. Also enjoyed visiting the Chateau de Haut-Koenigsbourg for lunch and a splendid view over the Rhine Valley. It is a lovely area of France now (formerly Germany!)

On this trip we returned to Zurich to fly home so can't help you with the drive to Paris.

We have to disagree with Margo..we loved Strasbourg. We stayed there a few days and thought it was a lovely place. We did one day trip out of there down the "Wine Road" and loved those little villages ( we did go to vineyards but they did not seem to offer tastings..same time of year as jules 248 will be there).The trip did not go to Colmar but we did a train trip there on another day and that was interesting too.Have a great time jules!

My response is as easy as ABC.
Anywhere But Colmar.
((H))

Here's a link to hotels in the Alsace area:

http://www.visit-alsace.com/hotels/hotels_ang_3e.html

We stayed at Hotel L'Ami Fritz, in Ottrott. I would not stay in either Strasbourg or Colmar. We took a day trip to Strasbourg and 1/2 day to Colmar -- couldn't wait to get away from both.

I would vote for somewhere around Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr and Kaysersberg. ((b))

jules,

Allow me to suggest that you consider sleeping in the delightful Alsace vilage of Ribeauville. An especially nice place to bed-down for a couple nights is at the two-star Hotel de la Tour (www.hotel-la-tour.com) The hotel is centrally located, overlooks an attractive square, is very reasonably priced, and offers clean, comfortable lodging, with more than a hint of personality.

Ribeauville is a particularly attractive village, as a couple castle ruins peer down upon the active, shop-lined "downtown". Strolling its streets is a delight, yet it doesn't present the touristic crush of, say, Riquewihr.

Best of luck, and try to make a day-trip to nearby Colmar. Among the city's touristic pleasures is a visit to the Dominican church which proudly displays Martin Schongauer's magnificent 1473 painting, "La Vierge au buisson de roses". The painting is so vivid, so magnificent, it'll take your breath away.

Jules_248 -
If you have the time to add a day or so to your two nights, I'd suggest staying in Strasbourg and one of the wine villages. Doing both will enhance your Alsace experience. You can easily spend two days in Strasbourg and also a few days along the wine route to the south. As others have said, it's not far. I believe Colmar is a must to see the Unterlinden Museum with its incredible Issenheim alterpiece, the Bartholdi (Statue of Liberty sculptor) Museum, and the lovely Petite Venice section. However, I would not stay there, but in one of the surrounding small wine villages which are so picturesque. Like Margo, I would suggest Eguisheim. Try the ***Hostellerie du Château in the center of the village or the *** Hotel Saint Hubert on the outskirts in the midst of the vineyards. If not Eguisheim (my personal preference), I would pick Ribeauvillé.

Strasbourg is neither boring nor unattractive, but IMO it's not "genuine Alsace."

To me, genuine alsace means a small quaint town with medieval architecture constrasted with gorgeous half-timbered houses, narrow & crooked streets, a view of neighboring vineyards in the rolling countryside hills, lazy street cafes serving wine by the pitcher, pastry shops (how about those macaroons!) and, of course, beautiful flowers oozing from window boxes.

Strasbourg has a wonderful cathedral, nice cafes (including a pedestrian zone) and it even has "petit france," which is worthy of a visit if time permits. Yet, I get the feeling that Alsace IS the small villages, while Strasbourg is a reproduction of Alsace (something like an Epcot Center feel).

Since you just would have visited Paris, I would recommend a stay in a small village. My favorites are Obernai, Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé and Kaysersberg. Plenty of hotels listed on this forum, but book NOW since you're traveling in a high season for Alsace.

I have not yet been to Inguisheim, but given Margo's comments, I will visit it on my next trip to Alsace.

In my humble opinion Strasbourg is a perfectly fine place to stay. Yes it is a big city but it is a great place to day trip from. As far as where to stay in Baden -Baden I am sorry to say that I can't help you. We always stay in Strasbourg. There are two spas in BB and one is nude and one is not. The modern caracala (sp?) is the non-nude one although there are places to go nude if you want. There is a someone named btilke who posts here regularly that gave me some excellent advice. You can email me if have any more questions.

DavidD - thanks for the thumbs up on Ribeauville and the Hotel De La Tour. We leave this Saturday, and are staying there for 2 nights after 2 nights in Strasbourg. Good to hear a rave review.