Alsace

I have a limited perspective because I've only stayed in Colmar, but really did love it--I think it depends what you're looking for, though. We had a short-ish trip split between Colmar and Paris, and wanted a balance of stuff to do but also relaxation, and Colmar was perfect for that for us as it's quite small.

We loved Strasbourg, such a beautiful city, and stayed there three nights. Then we picked up a car and drove to a wine village to spend a few nights in Riquewehr. It had a lot of charm and we easily drove to many other of the wine villages, all lovely. The one place we didn’t care for was Colmar. We spent a day there which we regretted.

Strasbourg could make a nice base in the northern Alsace. You could also base yourself in the nearby but much smaller towns of Barr or Obernai, each of which has fewer than 11,000 residents. And Obernai has a 30-minute train link to Strasbourg so there’s no need for a car. Further south, my favorite towns of Ribeauville and Riquewihr , each with a few thousand residents, make nice bases. Ribeauville has a wine co-operative where wines from dozens of local vintners can be sampled under one roof.

I arrived by car in Alsace after 5 wonderful days in Burgundy (and highly recommend it). Then I spent 3 days in Eguisheim (just a bit outside Colmar) with easy access to the roads to the other villages (all interesting, some more than others). I'd been to Colmar in the past, so I only visited for 1/2 day or so. Then I drove to Strasbourg, returned the car and had 2-1/2 days there (I'd been before for a day).

Anywhere in rural France seems to be enjoyable.

These are great replies, and I am going to research all the places mentioned. I tend to like smaller villages/towns more than large cities, so these are good suggestions. Thanks to all of you.

I agree with Kenko about Obernai as a good base for the northern part of Alsace and Barr if you prefer a lesser touristy but nevertheless charming place. For the southern part I am thinking of Bergheim, much quieter than the more famous villages like Riquewihr or Kaysersberg. Or Kientzheim just a few km east of the latter. Just some examples, there are plenty of charming places in Alsace.

another vote for Obernai which was suggested to me by Ms Jo in Frankfurt. I was through there in June and really liked it.

I've spent a couple of weeks in Alsace total.

I can't imagine why anyone would dislike Colmar. To me it is one of the best small cities in Europe for tourism. It's a place like Bruges or Rothenburg, only knock maybe 🤔 too busy? My strong preference.

Stayed 3 nights in Obernai once. Good spot, inexplicably not pedestrianized though. The road through the center of the town town is busy so you do a lot of trying to not step off the sidewalk. Outside that good food, scenes and locale.

Don't forget Freiburg - right there too. Wonderful lively scenic wealthy small German city with a great cathedral. University town and a bit of a hippy hang out in places. Maybe the greenest city in Germany.

So many lovely villages. We preferred the slightly less touristy among the well known.

Basel is an interesting city. I joke to my wife that it's the most diverse city in Switzerland - every sort of rich person lives there. If it's blazing hot 100's of locals float the river right through town, fun if you have time and can wrangle something to float on.

"I can't imagine why anyone would dislike Colmar" - Me too.

One base is good for 7 to 10 days with a car (10 is better), just not Strasbourg or Colmar (busy getting in and out). Base somewhere in between, train to Strasbourg or park and ride. We based for 3 weeks in in an apartment in Riquewihr (2104/15?). Hiking is good in the immediate area, if you are interested, easy to medium difficulty.

We liked all the most visited villages and towns. Re the less touristy spots, I liked Andlau, Dambach, and particularly Bergheim – Bergheim has a nice and easy path around the village, not many shops, a few good restaurants, attractive streets and buildings. Taking in a good hike or attraction in the morning, one village a day is sometimes enough for us – we are in the 2 hour lunch team.

Hank mentioned Freiburg and Basel, both worth a day or more (Strasbourg may be two days for you if you are considering the museums). A day can be had with a stop in Endingen first, followed by a stop in the lovely town of Gengenbach. My wife's favourite day of the trip was when we parked at the train station in Bad Krozingen, walked by the side of the creek to Munstertal (easy), then back to the attractive little village of Staufen: castle ruin, long lunch, walkabout etc, then a return walk to Bad Krozingen. Repeated it, more or less, a week later.

Barr is indeed lovely, and super central as it lies roughly halfway between Strasbourg and Colmar. So is nearby Obernai (a bit more touristy perhaps?).

You have another question regarding

The cross-over from NW France (Bretagne/Normandie) to NE France (Alsace)

I haven't seen answers to that one yet. It depends on your starting point.

If it is Normandy, I suggest Compiègne or Reims as a stopover. Senlis was not a bad idea either, but it takes you too close to Paris, which you want to avoid (whatever Google maps says!), and Soissons is not very exciting IMO (only ever passed by, though).

Compiègne has three sights of note: an 18th c. palace in town with a Napoleon connection, a medieval castle in Pierrefonds restored by Viollet le Duc, and the WWI Armistice memorial.
Reims does not need much of an introduction I guess?

In both cases, the most interesting route is via Rouen and the N31, which passes through Compiègne. It takes about 45 minutes longer to Reims than the motorway route via Amiens, but you save 25-30 euros in tolls and hours of boredom.
A short way off N31 east of Rouen, you have the village of Lyons La Forêt: a lovely lunch stop.

If it is Brittany, and I take that you mean northern Brittany i.e. Saint Malo, Dinan, Mont Saint Michel (yes I know technically in Normandy), then I recommend Troyes as a stopover. Beautifully preserved medieval town center... and clothing outlets galore in the outskirts.

It's been a while since I was in that area, but what I liked the most were the smaller villages and wineries (plus ruins and hikes in between). Unfortunately, it seems you've picked the three largest cities in the area. If that's what floats your boat, okay. But even so, I'd pick the most central so you can see more of what this area has to offer.

I would love to return to some of the smaller towns. My one visit was fortunate to coincide with asparagus season, which I believe is circa May. So if you enjoy asparagus, lucky timing!!

Like many of you, we also prefer smaller, quieter, less-touristed villages as opposed to large cities. I should have done a bit more research on Nancy, Colmar, and Strasbourg before posting my original question. Their populations are much larger than I had assumed. They sound like great places to visit, perhaps a day-trip (preferably by train) each, but probably not what would be ideal for us as a "home base".

So thank you all for the many suggestions of smaller villages in the area, including those in Germany (some of which I visited in 1979 - ouch!).

Also, thank you for the recent post regarding potential stops between the west and the east. Those suggestions were very helpful.

Okay, my research work is cut out for me.

St Avoid is not too far west of Strasburg and the Colmar area and is a town of about 15,000 people. Lovely little town we liked exploring and went there to.see the American Cemetery which is the largest one in Europe. Well.worth a good.two or more hours.. I think.there are over 10,000 or.more of.our troops buried there including many from the Battle of the Bulge. It is well worth a visit, very sobering!