18 Itinerary: Reims, Strasbourg, Colmar, Annecy & Lyon?

I won't advise where to put them, but four nights in Colmar and Strasbourg is too many nights. I'd allocate three at each (at the most), and add them anywhere else, except unless you intend to do day trips. You might even consider adding a few extra nights to your time in Paris if you haven't been there before.

You also could stay in some of the smaller Alsace towns such as Eguisheim, which is just four miles from Colmar. Eguisheim has bus connections with Colmar, Turckheim and Ribeauville—the latter two being among “charming towns” in the wine country of Alsace. You could easily use four of the eight nights in Strasbourg and Colmar and stay two nights in Eguisheim and two nights in Ribeauville as bases to explore more historic Alsatian towns.

Hi Marco,
We spent three days and two nights in Annecy after our RS Alps My Way tour a couple of weeks ago. We thoroughly enjoyed Annecy but felt the time we spent there was adequate to do the things that we wanted to do.

Wow. You want charm, cathedrals, and art and you pass right by Metz and Nancy, both of which I find much more interesting than Strasbourg. Plus Strasbourg and Colmar are basically right next to each other (you can find threads on this forum where they do day trips back and forth between the two.) I do like Strasbourg, but best at Christmas when the EU politicians have all gone home and the holiday markets are in full swing. Colmar in tourist season I just avoid.

I spent four days in Lyon just a couple months ago, and enjoyed it. The Beau Arts is really good! Reims is a day trip for me, but if you want some really charming towns take a ride from there down the Champagne Road to Chateau Thierry.

Nancy has a huge art footprint, and the interior of the Notre Dame of Our Lady of the Annunciation is better than the Strasbourg Notre Dame (although currently about half the interior is scaffolded). This was the premier city for the Art Noveau movement beginning in 1900, was the center for the art glass of Daum and others, and the main plaza is just fantastic. Excellent art museums also.

Metz has one of the best museums in France, the Musee la Cour d'Ore, and it's free. Plus two fantastic churches, the Cathedral St Etienne, and the Temple Neuf.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/p9i02Wk.jpg[/img]

Thank you, this is my updated plan:
Reims (2 nights)
Strasbourg (3)
Eguisheim (2)
Ribeauville (2)
Colmar (3)
Annecy (3)
Lyon (3)

Marco, I think your original itinerary was better than your updated one. I might have added a third day to Reims just because it's your first stop on the trip. Adding additional overnight stops is going to use up too much time as you check out-check in to different accommodations. The train service between Strasbourg and Colmar makes the two added villages easy day trips. If you are interested in seeing a castle, Chateau du Haut Koenigbourg is in the same area and can be reached by public transportation.

I wonder about your plan to take the 9 am train. Overseas arrivals are a bit unpredictable and CDG is a big, sometimes confusing airport to navigate. I never commit to a specific train on arrival day and just wait to buy tickets until I'm through deboarding, passport control, etc.

Reims (2), Colmar (5), Burgundy or Jura town like Beaune (3), Annecy (4) and Lyon (3)

I find it amazing that someone would consider allocating the same amount of time to Annecy as Lyon.

Lyon has far more to offer to visitors. My suggestion would be to spend less time in smaller towns like Reims and Eguisheim (and Annecy) and more in Lyon and Paris.

And don't think I don't like small French towns: I own an old stone house and live in a hilltop village of around 500 people. But there's so much more to see and experience in places like Lyon and Paris than there is in small towns that might warrant -- at best -- an afternoon or a morning to visit.

@Anita - Yes, I would buy the Reims train ticket at the airport.

I have been to Paris several times, and will spending 4 nights there at the end, if anything, I would remove Paris nights to spend more time elsewhere.

Ok, so this is the latest plan:
Reims (2 nights)
Strasbourg (4)
Colmar (5)
Annecy (3)
Lyon (4)

From Colmar, visit Eguisheim, Ribeauville, Riquewihr, and Kaysersberg as day trips, or as overnight visits without checking out of my Colmar hotel, as time allows.

Hello,

I realise I am replying to this forum a little bit late. I hope that you haven't gone on your trip quite yet!

Concerning the Strasbourg / Colmar section of your trip, I think it is wonderful that you are interested in spending so much time in the region of Alsace. It is surely a beautiful destination and much worth taking your time in.

One element to consider is the 'Wine Road' in Alsace. After spending your nights in Strasbourg (I personally would cut this down to 2 - 3 nights), you can take your car and start at the beginning of the wine road. From there, you can meander down the wine road for 4-5 nights, taking your time and staying in new villages along the way.

The advantages of this option are 1) You will get a real feel of the region as you will visit the wine road in totality 2) you will have the chance to visit a great number of magical villages that aren't as well known per se as Eguisheim, but equally worth visiting 3) you won't waste any time due to the uni-directional aspect of your trip. This 'road trip' of the wine road at a slow pace is also great because you won't be doing more than 30 minutes in the car per day.

Do not that the wine road does not entail you to take the highway, but rather to drive leisurely through vineyards.

Here is a map (second photo on the right) of the wine road with quite a few stops listed. http://www.travelandlifestylediaries.com/2013/05/overview-and-map-of-alsace-wine-route.html

As you can see, the villages you plan on doing are all about half-way down, whereas there are lots of lovely ones before and after that. Some of the bigger 'attractions' to visit are also in that first-half of the wine road, such as the Haut-Koenigsbourg and the Mont Saint-Odile (the latter being a one hour drive from Colmar).

If you're planning on doing wine tastings, which I'm assuming is a given looking at your itinerary, some that I really enjoyed last year are Achillé, Domaine Weinbach, and Domaine Mann Vignoble des 3 terres in Eguisheim!

Here is the blog of one of France's most renowned food critics. If I'm not mistaken, he is originally Alsatian, which explains the large concentration of restaurants recommended in the area! I don't see a button to put the site into English but your computer can perhaps translate it automatically or you can weed through methodically with names of restaurants and towns. (you can click on the names of villages in the right-hand column. He also recommends hotels/auberges, winemakers, and shops! ::: https://www.gillespudlowski.com/recherche/0/0/France/Alsace/

I will write another post regarding the rest of your itinerary.

Have you already been to Burgundy?

When I look at your itinerary (keeping in mind that you would gladly replace your 4 days in Paris with another destination) an options and thoughts come to mind.

1) After your time in Alsace, spend 4 nights in Burgundy. You can use Beaune or another nearby village as a base. After that, you can head to Lyon, then to Annecy. Drop your car off in Annecy and take the 3-hour train back to Paris from Geneva.
2) There are also (much!) less-visited parts of Burgundy that are very beautiful, notably southern Burgundy.
3) Regardless of whether or not you decide to do stop in Burgundy for 4 nights (or two or whatever you wish) I would probably do Lyon followed by Annecy in that order).
4) Annecy is an absolutely stunning town. Keep in mind that there is a Chateau to visit about a 10-15 minute drive on the other side of the Lake. A possible day trip could include 1) Geneva 2) Yvoire 3) Megève, Combloux, Saint-Gervais, Chamonix etc. It all depends on what you're interested in.
5) I am of the personal opinion that four nights in Strasbourg is a bit long. If I were you I would probably spend 7 days maximum in Alsace. If you do decide to spend 4 nights in Strasbourg, consider a day trip to Baden-Baden or other villages nearby (I know I saw a post on this forum recommending some).
6) If you have already been to Burgundy/ don't want to go or to return there are a few easy 4 day trips where you could spend time after returning to Paris. You could either go say to Honfleur and the surrounding area for 4 nights or to Saint-Malo.

Best of luck and enjoy your fabulous trip!

I agree with the general consensus that 4 nights in Strasbourg PLUS 5 in Colmar is a bit much when you are, at the same time, skipping over Burgundy, Chamonix, or Switzerland (the shortest way between Colmar and Annecy is through Switzerland).

Strasbourg is easily visited as a day trip from Colmar, and if you'd rather not do that, then I would spend max 2 nights in Strasbourg. 4 in Colmar is OK. The villages around Colmar are small: visiting one typically takes less than two hours, and sometimes much less, especially with a car. If you stay 5 nights, you could visit Freiburg in Germany.

If I replace Annecy with Burgundy and allocate 5 nights to it, where should I spend the nights?

Please give me one option with a car and one option using only public transportation.