Husband and wife on driving tour need to decide where to go between Loire Valley and Alsace region. We have 3 nights near Amboise, but could shorten to 2 nights if necessary. Then we have 2 open nights before we arrive in Colmar. Thinking 2 in Colmar and I already have the last one in Strasbourg booked. I realize 3 nights means 2 full days. Originally I had thought Dordogne or Annecy. I know it is a lot of driving for a short amount of time in either location. I suppose somewhere closer such as Beaune makes sense, but I am having trouble getting excited about the area. Since we have not been to France I have no experience to draw upon. The days are at the end of April. I am also wondering what we can do May 1 when we will be in Alsace being it is a holiday. Has anyone done a route similar to ours? We could shorten Loire stay to 2 nights, thereby giving 3 nights for the missing leg. Thanks for your thoughts.
Posted by
11569 posts
The Burgundy region with Beaune and Dijon plus many small wine villages is a wonderful place to visit. I would rank it over the Loire and staying in Colmar. In fact,in Alsace stay in a combination of Strasbourg and a wine village such as Riquewehr or Kaisersburg instead of Colmar. Give Strasbourg another day.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7887 posts
I don't often travel in April, but I wonder if the weather is iffy for on-foot enjoyment. I would not add two days to two days of Chateaux, but you don't mention wine or anything else. Especially with a car, I think there are more interesting things to do in Alsace - but it's a matter of taste.
For example, Le Corbusier's chapel in Ronchamp. We liked Besancon, and slept there three nights with a car. If there are no Covid impediments, you could go to Basel or Freiburg for the day. Our three-star Michelin dinner at L'Auberge de L'Ill was memorable, while staying in Strasbourg. It is out of the way from the Loire, but I consider Perouges to be a very special location, worth a luxury overnight in a converted cave room, in the silent stone town. If you are going to Alsace anyway, it makes more sense than Claret Country. Food-ies might choose Lyon.
I don't have experience with the May holiday, but how about some American, French, and German cemeteries in Alsace? A pretty town with a Flower certificate is still pretty on a holiday.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15784 posts
I ended a tour in Chamonix and took a car, drove north then spent several days in Burgundy and 3 in a village near Colmar (Eguisheim) and 2 nights in Strasbourg, where I dropped the car. Burgundy was much different to Alsace, I enjoyed both tremendously. With a car, I would recommend staying in villages rather than having to drive in/out of cities (like Beaune and Colmar), though both are worth a day's sightseeing. However, my trip was in mid- to late June. Earlier in the year, the scenery may not be so charming. Right now I'm in Italy and the vineyards in Tuscany and Umbria haven't begun their spring growth yet, the deciduous trees are just beginning to sprout their leaves.
I haven't been to the Loire area to compare.