The Alsace wine route, positioned in japanese France, is an excellent mix of fairytale cities and picturesque vineyards. 3 days on the Alsace wine route provides you sufficient time to go to a handful of those charming cities and to discover the countryside.
In regards to the Alsace Wine Route
The Alsace wine route stretches 170 km, beginning close to Strasbourg within the north and ending south of Colmar.
Over seventy cities are positioned alongside the Alsace wine route. Of those seventy cities, about twenty of them make the listing of high locations to go to within the Alsace.
The Alsace wine route is the place France meets Germany. The Alsace has modified fingers a number of instances between France and Germany and the structure and the meals replicate that. Alsatian meals is an excellent mix of German and French delicacies, with spaetzle, foie gras, tarte flambee, and baeckeoffe all making their manner onto the native menus.
This mix of French and German tradition can also be mirrored within the structure right here. Colourful, half-timbered homes line cobblestoned streets. Add in adornments of flowers, whimsical decorations on the buildings, and charming avenue cafes, and it actually does really feel like you’re strolling round in a fairy story.
Colmar | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Little Venice, Colmar | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Tarte Flambee
Finest Issues to do on the Alsace Wine Route
Go to the Fairytale Cities
Undoubtedly, one of the best factor to do alongside the Alsace wine route is to go to the enchanting cities. More than likely, pictures of colourful buildings with flowers spilling out of window containers is what first attracted your consideration to this area.
A lot of the cities alongside the Alsace wine route are small. You’ll be able to stroll by means of lots of them in only a few hours, and even much less, as some are tiny.
Exploring the cobblestoned streets was our favourite factor to do within the cities, however you may as well buy groceries, do wine tastings, and naturally, dine on Alsatian meals.
Ribeauville | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Riquewihr | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Colmar | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
These cities could be discovered alongside the complete 170 km route, however the most well-liked and probably the most picturesque are positioned close to Colmar, on the southern finish.
We spent 3 days on the Alsace wine route and visited twelve cities. All have been very good, however after all, we had our favorites. We cherished Colmar, Eguisheim, Riquewihr, Ribeauville, and Bergheim.
For a full listing of our favourite cities, learn our article: 10 Fairytale Cities to Go to Alongside the Alsace Wine Route
Go to Chateau du Haut – Koenigsbourg
Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg is a medieval citadel positioned within the Vosges Mountains. It’s positioned close to Kintzheim and Saint-Hippolyte on the Alsace wine route.
This citadel was destroyed throughout the Thirty Years Wars within the seventeenth century. The citadel lay in ruins for 200 years. From 1900 to 1908, the citadel was restored below the path of the German emperor Wilhelm II. In 1919, the citadel turned French property with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Now, this citadel attracts over 500,000 guests yearly.
Chateau du Haut-Koenigsburg | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Price: €9
Hours: Hours differ by season. 9:15 am to five:15 pm, longer hours throughout the summer season months, shorter hours throughout the winter months. Go to the official web site for the complete itemizing.
PRO TRAVEL TIP: The citadel tends to get very crowded noon. Get right here at opening time to keep away from the crowds.
Hike the Vosges Mountains
Over 1700 km of climbing trails wind their manner by means of the Alsace wine area and the Vosges Mountains. If you wish to take a break from fairytale cities and wine tastings, put in your climbing footwear and hit the paths.
Go to the Alsace Tourism web site for extra info.
Tips on how to Get to the Alsace Wine Area
The 2 largest cities on the Alsace wine route are Strasbourg within the north and Colmar within the south. In case you are touring by airplane or prepare, probably you’ll arrive in one in every of these cities.
Strasbourg has an airport and a big prepare station. From Strasbourg, it takes 35 minutes by prepare and 1 hour by automotive to succeed in Colmar.
Colmar has a prepare station however no airport. So, to get to Colmar, you’ll both should take a prepare or drive. There’s a high-speed prepare that connects Paris to Colmar in below 3 hours.
An alternative choice is Basel, Switzerland. Basel additionally has an airport, and from right here, it’s takes simply 50 minutes to succeed in Colmar by prepare or automotive.
Getting Round Alsace, France
The easiest way to get across the Alsace wine area is by automotive. This offers you probably the most freedom and adaptability to day journey to the small cities. The most affordable manner to do that is to reach in Strasbourg or Colmar after which hire a automotive for the time that you’ll spend within the wine area. Return the automotive to identical place to keep away from paying a drop payment.
By prepare, you will get to Colmar, Selestat and Strasbourg. The prepare doesn’t journey to the small cities.
It’s additionally doable to cycle by means of the wine area. Bike trails join lots of the cities, so for those who like the thought of getting round by bicycle, it’s comparatively simple to do right here. Click on right here to study extra.
Day Excursions of the Alsace Wine Route
Listed here are three day excursions from Colmar…go wine tasting or go to a number of small villages with a information.
The place to Keep
Because the wine route spans 170 km, with Strasbourg within the north and Colmar within the south, for those who keep in one in every of these cities, you’ll do extra driving than for those who base your self within the heart of the route. Even so, Strasbourg and Colmar supply some benefits.
Since Strasbourg has an airport and prepare station, it’s simple to get right here after which it’s simple to maneuver on to your subsequent vacation spot as soon as you’re completed visiting the Alsace area. Nevertheless, it’s the largest city on the Alsace wine route. Actually, it’s extra like a small metropolis. Parking is usually a problem and this metropolis lacks the attraction of the opposite cities on the Alsace wine route (in my view).
Strasbourg | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Overlooking Strasbourg from the cathedral | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
It’s also very simple to get to Colmar by prepare. From Colmar, it’s only a brief drive to a number of the finest cities on the Alsace wine route. And Colmar itself is a good little city full of a lot of nice eating places. Positive, it will likely be an extended drive to get to the northern cities, however that could be price it.
Colmar | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
We stayed in Colmar and cherished it. Within the mornings Colmar was very quiet and I cherished strolling the streets and going to the bakeries for contemporary pastries and occasional. There was loads of parking on the town so having a rental automotive was not a problem.
To search out out the place we stayed and to get lodge suggestions in Colmar, learn our article One Good Day in Colmar.
Colmar is a very talked-about spot on the Alsace wine route so it will likely be crowded noon and lodging can promote out throughout the peak seasons. In case you like the thought of staying in a city that’s quieter and “much less busy,” take your decide from cities like Kaysersberg, Bergheim, Dambach-la-Ville, or Ribeauville.
Dambach-la-Ville | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Tips on how to Plan Your Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
For one of the best expertise, plan to spend not less than 3 days on the Alsace wine route. This offers you sufficient time to day journey to the cities, dine on the Alsatian meals, go on wine tastings, and actually expertise this area.
Throughout our go to, we sometimes visited 4 cities per day. 4 cities per day is lots and it did really feel rushed. Nevertheless, we needed to see as a lot as we might so we might collect info for this text. Though we noticed lots, it left us feeling exhausted by the tip of our go to.
I like to recommend retaining your go to to 3 cities per day and savoring the expertise somewhat than racing by means of every city simply to see as a lot as doable.
Right here’s how I like to recommend you propose your time.
Arrive within the first city by 9 am. The streets will nonetheless be quiet and uncrowded. In case you are into pictures or simply need to seize these colourful, cobblestoned lanes crowd free, that is one of the best time to do it. You might stroll by means of city after which go to a bakery or espresso store for a mid-morning snack.
Eguisheim is a good city to go to very first thing within the morning. I took this picture alongside Rue de Rempart round 9 am.
Eguisheim | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Colmar, Riquewihr, and Kaysersberg additionally make good cities to go to very first thing within the morning, if you wish to seize the streets crowd-free.
Spend the center a part of the day within the second city. Have a leisurely lunch, buy groceries, take your time exploring the city.
Spend the afternoon on the town #3. Go wine tasting and have dinner right here or within the city the place you’re staying.
Kaysersberg | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Eguisheim | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Tricks to Have the Finest Expertise
Some cities really feel like ghost cities earlier than midday. Throughout our go to, Rosheim, Kintzheim, and Dambach-la-Ville felt like this. They nonetheless are good to go to within the morning, however these quieter cities could also be higher to go to within the afternoons, when different cities like Colmar, Riquewihr, and Eguisheim are full of guests.
If you wish to go to Chateau du Haut – Koenigsbourg, do that at opening time. Just like the extra widespread cities, this citadel will get very crowded noon.
One in all our favourite experiences was lunch at Auberge des Lavandieres in Bergheim. This pretty little city is extra of a “native” spot so it feels gloriously quiet in comparison with Riquewihr and Colmar. You might have lunch right here after visiting Chateau du Haut – Koenigsburg.
Make your entire dinner reservations upfront. In case you are visiting the Alsace wine area throughout peak season, it will likely be virtually unattainable to get seated at a restaurant for dinner and not using a reservation. Not less than that was our expertise in Colmar in August. Getting seated for lunch was a lot simpler.
Most cities have parking tons positioned simply outdoors of town heart. There will probably be indicators for parking as you method the city. Many parking tons have automated pay cubicles the place you pay just a few euros after which enter within the license plate variety of your rental automotive. So, be sure to have spare change for these pay cubicles.
What We Did
There are lots of other ways to plan your time, however here’s what we did.
- Day 1: We arrived in Colmar within the afternoon and spent the night exploring the city and had dinner.
- Day 2: Eguisheim, Kaysersberg, Riquewihr, and Ribeauville
- Day 3: Dambach-la-Ville, Obernai, Rosheim, and Strasbourg
- Day 4: Kintzheim, Saint – Hippolyte, Chateau du Haut – Koenigsburg, and Bergheim
We might spend the start and finish of every day strolling by means of pretty Colmar.
This seems like a quick itinerary, and it’s, however we solely spent an hour (or much less) in some cities: Dambach-la-Ville, Kintzheim, Rosheim, and Saint – Hippolyte all fall into this class.
You might spend hours in Kaysersberg, Riquewihr, Eguisheim, and Strasbourg. And there is sufficient to do in Colmar to maintain you busy all day.
Even with three very busy days, we didn’t get to all the cities alongside the Alsace wine route. Different cities that we heard fantastic issues about are Turckheim, Barr, and Hunawihr.
Riquewihr | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Bergheim | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Finest Time to Go to the Alsace Wine Area
The Alsace Wine Area could be visited year-round. Nevertheless, for those who get your timing proper, you’ll be able to go to the Alsace throughout one in every of its many festive seasons.
From late March by means of early April, Colmar is embellished for Easter and you may buy groceries on the Easter markets. In early July, classical musical artists carry out on the Colmar Worldwide Competition. On the finish of July into early August, Colmar hosts the Alsace Wine Truthful. And eventually, the streets in Colmar fill with smalls outlets and decorations throughout the Christmas market season.
The busiest instances to go to the Alsace are throughout the summer season months and from late November by means of December, when it’s the Christmas market season. If you wish to keep away from the crowds, go to the Alsace Wine Route in late winter and early spring, in between New 12 months’s and Easter.
Late spring and early fall are additionally good instances to go to. That is the shoulder season so crowds and lodges costs are decrease.
Kaysersberg | 3 Day Alsace Wine Route Itinerary
Itinerary Thought: 7 to 10 Days in France
When you have 7 to 10 days accessible and are searching for a pleasant trip thought, take into account spending 3 days in Paris and three days within the Alsace wine area. Journey from Paris to Colmar by prepare in below 3 hours. As soon as on the town, hire a automotive for just a few days and highway journey by means of the area. Return to Paris by prepare (or proceed on to someplace new…Zurich and Lucerne, Switzerland are one other fast prepare journey away) and fly residence from Paris.
In case you are planning a visit to the Alsace Wine Area and have any questions, remark beneath.
Extra Info for Your Journey to France:
- COLMAR: One Good Day in Colmar, France
- ALSACE WINE ROUTE: 10 Fairytale Cities on the Alsace Wine Route
- BEST OF PARIS: Paris Bucket Listing: 45 Should-Have Experiences in Paris
- EASTER IN PARIS: Easter in Paris: Tips on how to Have the Finest Expertise
- PARIS ITINERARY: 3 Days in Paris: The Good Itinerary for Your First Go to
- FRENCH RIVIERA & PROVENCE: 10 French Riviera and Provence Itinerary
Planning a visit to France? Learn all of our articles in our France Journey Information.
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