3 Best Sights in Alsace-Lorraine, France

With gingerbread, half-timber houses that seem to lean precariously over the canals of the Ill, plus old-fashioned shops and inviting little restaurants, "Little France" is the most magical neighborhood in Strasbourg. The district, just southwest of the center, is historically Alsatian in style and filled with Renaissance buildings that have survived plenty of wars. Wander up and down the tiny streets that connect Rue du Bain-aux-Plantes and Rue des Dentelles to Grand'Rue, and stroll the waterfront promenade.

The monumental buildings around Avenue Foch and Rue Gambetta were built as a showcase for Germany’s might following its annexation of Metz in the late 19th century. The area forms an architectural encyclopedia of German town-planning, with prime examples of Romanesque Revival, Art Deco, and Jungendstil. The centerpiece is the train station, built using reinforced concrete (a cutting-edge technique at the time) in a style reminiscent of the great castles of the Rhine, much like the central post office at 9 rue Gambetta.

To find Colmar at its most charming, wander along the calm canals that wind through La Petite Venise, an area of bright Alsatian houses with colorful shutters and window boxes that's south of the town center. Here, amid half-timber buildings bedecked with flowers and willow trees that weep into the eddies of the Lauch River, you have the sense of being in a tiny village.