6 Best Sights in Alsace-Lorraine, France

Opened in 2010, this offshoot of the famed Parisian museum is one of the city’s biggest pulls. It features similarly bold architecture: its roof is composed of a shell-like white fiberglass membrane held in place by an intricate network of wooden lattices. Light passes through the roof and through the huge picture windows in the galleries, bathing the interior in an ambience of airy luminosity. The eclectic temporary exhibitions are themed or monographic, showcasing the work of modern and contemporary artists.

The cultural highlight of Colmar is the Musée d'Unterlinden; once a Dominican convent and a hotbed of Rhenish mysticism, the building's star attraction is one of the greatest altarpieces of the 16th century, the Retable d'Issenheim (1512–16), by Matthias Grünewald, which is displayed in the convent's Gothic chapel. Originally painted for the convent at Issenheim, 22 km (14 miles) south of Colmar, the multipanel work is either the last gasp of medievalism or a breathtaking preview of modernism and all its neuroses. Replete with raw realism (note the chamber pots, boil-covered bellies, and dirty linen), Grünewald's altarpiece was believed to have miraculous healing powers over ergotism. Widespread in the Middle Ages, this malady was caused by ingesting fungus-ridden grains, and its victims—many of whom were being nursed at the Issenheim convent—experienced delusional, nearly hallucinogenic fantasies.

Arms and armor are among the treasures in the enchanting 13th-century cloister. Upstairs are fine regional furnishings and a collection of Rhine Valley paintings from the Renaissance, among them Martin Schongauer's opulent 1470 altarpiece painted for Jean d'Orlier. A copper-roofed wing has three floors dedicated to modern and contemporary art (including the Guernica tapestry by Jacqueline de La Baume-Dürbach), as well as temporary exhibition space.

The exterior of this massive, neoclassical palace (1732–42) by architect Robert de Cotte may be austere, but there's plenty of glamour inside. Decorator Robert le Lorrain's magnificent ground-floor rooms include the great Salon d'Assemblée (Assembly Room) and the book- and tapestry-lined Bibliothèque des Cardinaux (Cardinals' Library). The library leads to a series of less august rooms that house the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Decorative Arts Museum) and its elaborate display of ceramics. This is a comprehensive presentation of works by Hannong, a porcelain manufacturer active in Strasbourg from 1721 to 1784. Dinner services by other local kilns reveal the influence of Chinese porcelain. The Musée des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum), also in the château, includes masterworks of European painting from Giotto and Memling to El Greco, Rubens, and Goya. Downstairs, the Musée Archéologique (Archaeology Museum) displays regional finds, including gorgeous Merovingian treasures.

At the city’s modern and contemporary art museum, Adrien Fainsilber’s stunning 1998 building sometimes outshines the displays inside. The latter includes a choice collection of 20th-century fine art, graphic art, and photography. Downstairs there is a permanent collection of Impressionists and Modernists up to 1950, with some notable furniture by Spindler and Carabin. The mix of 20th-century artistic movements featured helps you compare and contrast modern pioneers like Monet and Gauguin with the New Realists. Drawings, watercolors, and paintings by Gustave Doré, a native of Alsace, are enshrined in a separate room. Upstairs is a space dedicated to modern art exhibitions and installations.

There's more to this museum than the usual assembly of dilapidated statues rescued from the cathedral before they fell off (you'll find those rotting in the Barrage Vauban). Sacred sculptures stand in churchlike settings, and secular exhibits are enhanced by the building's fine old architecture. Subjects include a wealth of Flemish and Upper Rhine paintings, stained glass, gold objects, and massive, heavily carved furniture.

In a splendid building that now spills over into a spectacular modern wing, a broad and varied collection of art treasures lives up to the noble white facade designed by Emmanuel Héré. The showpiece is Rubens's massive Transfiguration, and among the most striking works are the freeze-the-moment realist tableaux painted by native son Émile Friant at the turn of the 20th century. A sizable collection of Lipchitz sculptures includes portrait busts of Gertrude Stein, Jean Cocteau, and Coco Chanel. You'll also find 19th- and 20th-century paintings by Monet, Manet, Utrillo, and Modigliani; a Caravaggio Annunciation; and a wealth of other old masters from the Italian, Dutch, Flemish, and French schools; and impressive glassworks by Nancy native Antonin Daum. A free smartphone app can be downloaded in English and can help you navigate the museum.