alsace home base?

Colmar, Colmar and Colmar. Every cute town is a short and beautiful drive from there.

Enjoy.

We stayed in the tiny village of Kientzheim and absolutely loved it. Colmar would have been too big for us! We really enjoyed being in a tiny place and visiting others. But Colmar will be perfect for some, of course!

My dad and I loved being able to walk five minutes down the street and out of the village, or around the walls, or up in the vineyards (for the scenery). When we wanted somewhere bigger, we got in the car.

Colmar. Totally agree. Hardly a 'big' town either. Oh, BTW, when in France, do the wine.

I second (or is it third) Colmar. Definitely not a big town, but actually has some things to do in town. Walk the medieval streets, get photos of the bridges and canals, good choice of restaurants, and one of the best museums in Europe. I've spent TONS of time in small towns in Europe, and they are quaint, but sometimes limited in where to eat or how to finish your evening. Colmar is still pretty small by many standards so I think that you'll love it. I definitely recommend the wine, but the beer is pretty darn good in Alsace as well!

I spent 2 nights in Colmar. It's a charming city, a small one, but a city nonetheless.

I'm planning a return visit next month, this time with a car, and am staying at a B&B in Eguisheim. After doing some research, it seemed like the best town to base in.

We stayed in Eguisheim in 2012 and loved it. I think it fits your description of "small and quaint". It is easy to drive in and out of and get to other places. I have never stayed in Colmar, but I did not regret my decision not to stay there. (only because we were so happy in Egulisheim...not because there was anything negative about Colmar.) I think you need to define "small". Eguisheim has several restaurants and about 3 blocks of shops, and a very pretty town square. There was a wonderful hike that left from town and went up to the 3 chateaus. You could also enjoy a walk through the vineyards. There were a couple of wineries, but no major museums etc. Colmar is considerably larger than that and with many more restaurants and some museums. They are only a few miles apart, so going between them is not difficult. It really comes down to how small you want to go. I will also add one caveat. We were there in September of 2012, and it was perfect as far as crowds go. It got a little busier during the middle of the day but not bad, and morning and evening were quiet. We visited many villages in the area and some were "overrun" with day trippers and tourists. (case in point: Riquwhir). However, someone told me recently that Eguisheim was named something like "cutest small village in France" or something and that it has increased in popularity.

I like Eguisheim, a small quiet town and a great base to drive The Wine Road. Near Colmar which is a city. No crowds in Eguisheim, at least in the fall 😃 but it is a tiny walled town.

We stayed here - http://www.ot-eguisheim.fr/en/annuaire/hotels/hotel-restaurant-auberge-du-rempart-lei253000035.html

I had beer with dinner at the end of a lovely day driving the road during harvest and walking in the tiny walled towns, no need to be a wine lover.

Enjoy the trip!

Bonjour! I highly recommend you look into staying in Kaysersberg. My husband and are on the second of four weeks in Colmar. We chose Colmar for several reasons, most notably the fact that its train station is a central hub (we are not renting a car). We have visited several quaint and charming towns within the Alsace region during our stay (all the ones listed in the posts below) and Kaysersberg is my absolute favorite- the people, the atmposhere, the size, the scenery- It's just perfect and an easy walk to Keintzheim, noted in a recent post. The two towns are essenetially connected. Eguisheim and Ribeauville are also nice but perhaps a bit too small and with a tiny bit less charm than Kaysersberg. Kaysersberg left us with a special feeling that the other towns did not. I have been a frequent international traveller for over 20 years and do just fine in larger cities but find Colmar a bit larger and much more busy than expected. We are definitely enjoyiing our time in Colmar but I would not categorize the town as quaint. Chaming and cute it is- quaint it is not. It is filled with tourists on most days and a plethora of shops, restaurants, bakeries, etc. offering much of the same things and mostly geared towards tourist. We try to frequent the same couple of bakeries and restaurants for a mid-morning snack or afternoon drink/people watching and have yet to be recognized by the staff as returning customers. So, if you prefer to get lost in the mix- Colmar if your place. If you want to experience the quaint feel of a small town with more mom-and-pop type places and beautiful green scenery, I recommend you consider other locations. Additionally, you can see the lush, beautiful countryside that surrounds Kaysersberg as you are walking through the town and there is a nice, rushing river that runs through the middle of town, offering a nice place to stroll or sit for a while. Unfortunately the green countryside surrounding Colmar is not visible until you are on the outskirts of town and the "canals" are mostly still water and a bit dirty- more of a man-made attraction than something of natural beauty. Again, please do not take away from this post that Colmar is not worth the visit. It is, and we are enjoyiing our time here. It just doesn't sound like the experience you are looking for as a home base.