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Advice on 3 days in Alsace

Hello all, great to meet everyone! Would love some advice on my Strasbourg + Alsace itinerary! Spent about 3 hours researching this (NOT AI) so hopefully I didn’t completely overcook it 😂

Before anyone says they are exhausted from reading, I’m Asian, super structured, sporty, and terrible at spontaneity. No plan = I’ll probably just go idle. Love food + adventures, so packed days are my thing.

Not much of a drinker, but happy to try tiny portions of Alsace wine. Any must-dos, food recs (budget of about 40 Euros max), or things you’d swap/drop?

Tue 18: Strasbourg
- 09:02: Arrive by TGV; drop bags at Hotel Arok (7–8 Place de la Gare, 67000) ~09:15
- 09:30–10:15: Breakfast: Café Bretelles (order a bretzel + café) · a boulangerie (bretzel / kougelhopf slice) · Christian (pain au chocolat / hot chocolate)
- 10:15–10:45: Wander Petite France / cathedral square while empty
- 11:00–12:15: Petite France Free Tour (Ponts Couverts, Barrage Vauban, Pont du Faisan, Benjamin Zix + Petite France). Meet: cathedral, corner rue Mercière
- 12:30–14:00: Lunch: The Embassy (order the daily plat du jour) · La Chope (plat du jour, often a wädele/pork knuckle or fleischnacka) · Gurtlerhoft (order the choucroute or a bibeleskäs/fromage blanc plate)
- 14:30–16:15: Original Free Tour, booked (Cathedral, Gutenberg, Kléber, République, Saint-Étienne + Neustadt)
- 16:45–~18:00: Cycle to Parc de l'Orangerie (Vélhop): storks + lake; back by ~18:00, return bike
- 18:30: Dinner: Binchstub Gayot (booked) (order tarte flambée: a savoury gratinée + a sweet dessert flambée)
- 20:41–21:15: Blue hour: Petite France + Ponts Couverts, via Quai des Bateliers, Terrasse Rohan, Homme de Fer

Wed 19: Colmar + villages (e-bike loop)
- 07:45: TER Strasbourg → Colmar (~30 min; buy ticket). Pastry + coffee
- ~08:30: Pick up e-bike in Colmar (verify hours + ~35 km battery)
- 09:15–10:15: Eguisheim (ride ~30 min via vineyards; empty & early). Graze the free shop samples: munster cheese, saucisson, pain d'épices
- 10:35–11:30: Turckheim (~20 min ride; quiet)
- 12:00–14:30: Kaysersberg. Lunch: Au Lion d'Or (order choucroute garnie: sauerkraut + several sausages/pork, a sampler in one plate) · Winstub du Chambard (splurge; order baeckeoffe) · village bakery picnic (tarte flambée slice + munster). Dessert: bakery kougelhopf
- ~15:15: Ride back to Colmar; return bike
- 15:30–19:30: Colmar old town (Petite Venise, Koïfhus, Marché Couvert, Chagall windows). Goûter: Jaune Citron (a tarte or macaron). Dinner: Au Koïfhus (order baeckeoffe + a side of spaetzle) · La Soï (tarte flambée with tomme cheese) · Caveau Saint-Pierre (order a fish matelote or coq au Riesling)
- 20:40–21:14: Blue hour: Colmar Petite Venise (by the station = safe for last train)
- Last TER: Colmar → Strasbourg (~30 min; verify time) → Arok ~22:30

Thu 20: Haut-Kœnigsbourg + Sélestat, then Paris
- ~08:00–08:45: Optional quick photo shoot; check out of Hotel Arok, bags to storage (grab dry laundry)
- ~08:55: TER Strasbourg → Sélestat (~18–20 min; buy ticket)
- 09:25: Shuttle Sélestat → 09:55 Château (Line 500, €6 return, cash only; castle €6 with ticket)
- 09:55–~11:35: Haut-Kœnigsbourg (fortress, ramparts + valley/vineyard panorama) (~2h)
- 11:35: Shuttle Château → 12:05 Sélestat
- 12:05–14:00: Sélestat old town on foot (Église Saint-Georges, Vauban ramparts, Tour des Sorcières + half-timbered lanes). - Lunch: Place d'Armes café (plat du jour: spaetzle or a tourte) · La Maison du Pain (flammekueche / quiche + a mannele) · market picnic (bretzel + munster)
- ~14:15: TER Sélestat → Strasbourg → arrive ~14:35. Grab kougelhopf + munster for the train (Le Goût du Terroir)
- 14:35–17:30: Relaxed buffer: souvenirs (Le Générateur), café, canal wander (rail-strike cushion)
- 17:45: Collect bags from Arok
- 18:57: TGV Strasbourg → Paris Est → 20:42

Posted by
3484 posts

If you chose these lunch dining spots because they are popular, you might want to consider getting to them right at or a little bit before noon, because if they are complet by the time you get there you will have to wait another 45 minutes to get a seating.

Regarding big pretzels, if you are accustomed to Philadelphia, Baltimore, or even NYC soft pretzels then you will find German pretzels disappointing. If you want to get the Alsacienne food experience, aim for mild sausages with choucroute.

Posted by
2584 posts

Sorry, I'd love to help you. But, I must have a mental condition because I'm having extreme difficulty reading your minute by minute detailed itinerary. I don't see when you are traveling.

I do agree with the previous poster. Book a table at restaurants. In Colmar, La Soï doesn't open until 7pm and books up days in advance.

Enjoy your trip!

Posted by
11997 posts

It looks good to me. You may get delayed, and if that happens, you'll need to let something drop.

Beware that a choucroute garnie is a huge dish and takes a bit of time to eat. It's winter food. Last time we had one at Bofinger in Paris, a restaurant known for its choucroute, my husband and I split one portion and still couldn't finish. At home, I serve it when we have company. If you have the possibility of a sausage or two with choucroute (sauerkraut cooked French style), that would be a reasonable lunch or dinner.

Yes, book your restaurants ahead of time. We were in all these places with family a few months ago and booked ahead. One restaurant reservation had to be moved when our train was 4 hours late. Their only opening was after 9:30 pm. So do book ahead.