sarabeth

Hi all, Hubby and I are planning Alsace in late September. We have calendarized 10 days in the region. I would love opinions as to where to stay, maybe 2 or 3 places as bases and then to do day trips. Also, driving back to Paris at the end, for which we have planned about 3 days. Which cities/places should we hit along the way? thanks much!

StuDudley

We'll also be there in September for 2 weeks. It will be our 4th attempt to visit this area - prior 3 were cancelled due to my wife's father's stroke then 2 Covid cancellations. But we've visited Alsace on 3 other occasions - once staying near Riquewihr in a Gite for 1 week. This time we're staying near Benfeld. You can really visit most of Alsace from 1 location.

Attached is an old itinerary I wrote for Alsace, plus our itinerary for the September trip. Page numbers are from the Michelin Green Guide to Alsace. Descriptions like "green highlighted" is where I marked-up a Michelin map with a recommended Michelin scenic drive described in the Green Guide. There are perhaps too many scenic drives for you. Some of the major villages like Riquewihr, Kayserberg, and Ribeauville are not mentioned on our September itinerary because we thoroughly explored them on our prior trips.

Returning to Paris - Nancy if you are huge Art Nouveau fans (we spent 2 weeks there), Reims for a nice city plus Champagne.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

Oops - I submitted our entire September Alsace & Burgundy itinerary by mistake;

Stu Dudley

kerouac

September is the time of the choucroute nouvelle in Alsace. It should not be missed.

bilboburgler

It depends a lot on what your interests are. You might like staying in the centre of Strasbourg for a couple of nights to really get to know the old town, then down by the Rhine to go roller blading near this https://www.visit.alsace/en/24600140...ortified-town/ and then a few nights for wine and hill walking in one of the more centralised wine towns (not Colmar which is not really a wine town), if you time it for the same time free guides walk the vinyards you get to learn a lot.

Debbielynn

Some of the things we enjoyed when we were in the region many years ago. We stayed in Riquewihr, I believe for 2 nights.


I found this museum in Strasbourg to be very interesting. The display told about the life and times of the Alsatian people.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...Grand_Est.html


Beautiful restored fortress in the area
https://www.google.com/search?q=haut...&client=safari

If you like medieval art and famous alterpiece, in Colmar
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...Grand_Est.html

kerouac

I guess it's time to dump my photo report from 10 years ago here.

Strasbourg in September (by kerouac2) | Any Port in a Storm (proboards.com)

Michael

You could stay in Strasbourg to visit the cathedral and its various museums:

https://flic.kr/p/2gAwubh https://flic.kr/p/7psoHH https://flic.kr/p/2gAxBoY https://flic.kr/p/7psrLc
and in wine country:

https://flic.kr/p/7psvFz
and in the northern part of Alsace known for its grey-blue pottery:

https://flic.kr/p/7pwneu

SemiMike

Here's what we did three years ago, and had a wonderful time: Trip Report: Two weeks in the Alsace-Lorraine

I am not at all a fan of multiple bases in a compact area like the Route des Vins. Why waste all that time moving and packing, versus a little bit of extra driving from a single location?

sarabeth

Thanks for all your replies. Lots to see and we are always very thorough when we travel and we do a lot of research, so I don't really need help with things to see.. The help I need is specific mention of two or three places to stay as bases and then do day trips. We were thinking Colmar as one of them, so do you have 1 or 2 more? Thanks

StuDudley

First time we visited Alsace for 1 week, we stayed near Riquewhir in a Gite. This Sept, we'll stay near Benfield for 2 weeks in a gite. We were/will be able to see everything from both bases - even the white villages & Wissembourg up north and Mulhlouse to the south. Wissembourg is less that 1 hr 20 mins from Benfeld and Mulhouse is less than 1 hr away. You do not need to have multiple bases - unless you like packing & moving. On our 1 week trip, we took a train from Colmar to Nancy for a day-tip (no overnight stay). Benfeld has a train station and so does nearby Selestat (plus Colmar & Strasbourg).

Rent a gite so you can go to a farmer's markets, pick up some goodies, and prepare a meal at "home". We have rented 72 gites in different areas in France & stayed in them for 114 weeks.

Stu Dudley

november_moon

We recently visited that area and had just 4 nights, but would have loved to have spent more. We stayed in Strasbourg and visited Colmar as a day trip by train. We enjoyed both towns quite a lot. I really liked staying in Strasbourg - there is plenty to do and see in town, including plenty of bars and restaurants with great food. Colmar was pretty busy - felt busier than Strasbourg, but I think that is because 1. The old town is smaller, so the visitors are more concentrated and 2. We visited on a day trip so we were there at the exact same time as all the other visitors. I would love to go back and stay a couple nights.