Alsace Region

We generally stay in Freiburg (Germany) because that’s the area where my family lives. It’s a beautiful, small university city with an impressive Müenster. There’s an indoor market that becomes a restaurant/nightclubbish space in the evening and outdoor market in the Müensterplatz. It’s on the train line between Colmar and/or Strasbourg and Basel, I believe.

Strasbourg has a very pretty, pedestrian area and a magnificent Cathedral. The tile roofs in the area are very special. I was last in Strasbourg in 2024 and I still found it charming. Do your research for dining recommendations. We had an excellent lunch at a wine bar (can try to track down name), but a lousy dinner at a spot along the water (canal?).

It’s been at least a decade since I visited Colmar, so I can’t really speak to it other than I remember gorgeous roses in bloom one year when I was there in June. Of course, the Alsatian wines (Pinot Blanc, Cremant, Rieslings) are all wonderful and should be sampled. In the Black Forest, if you get there, the Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) is enjoyable.

Will you have a car or are you relying on public transport and/or day tours? Are you thinking of staying in Strasbourg, Colmar or a wine village/town?

I spent a week based in Colmar without a car a few years ago and it was easy to explore the area. With a car, I would choose to stay in one of the wine villages.

We visited Alsace in early August 2024. We had a rental car (rented from Europcar at the Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg “EuroAirport,” and returned it there before catching the shuttle into Basel at the end), and stayed for a few nights in Bergheim, France then a few nights in Strasbourg. We also continued into Germany for a few nights in the Black Forest before Basel, but we had longer than 5 nights.

Bergheim is a small town along the Alsace Wine Route, and Rick Steves (correctly) recommended it as the least-touristy town along the wine road. It was charming. There was some thought about bicycling along part of the wine the route, visiting town to town and perhaps doing some wine tasting, but it was simply way too hot for that to have been enjoyable. At least I didn’t want to arrive at a vineyard all sweaty and breathless. We did a little (hot) hiking, and there’s a wonderful butterfly sanctuary a few miles south, and a medieval castle a few miles north of Bergheim. Storks in town, too.

Strasbourg provided a large city as contrast to small Bergheim, with a magnificent cathedral, restaurants, museums, and boat rides along the canals. We stayed at Airbnb’s in both places. The car was excellent for getting around the Alsatian countryside and to sights, but it stayed parked while we were in Strasbourg. Since we needed it for Germany after Strasbourg, we kept it. If you had a car for a few days (recommended), you might look at turning it in in Strasbourg (depending on potential one-way car rental fees), and go by train from Strasbourg to Basel at the end.

Be sure to have Flammkuchen (aka Tarte Flambée) at every opportunity. If you’re a fan of sparkling wine, look for Crémant d'Alsace.

If you’re active, consider a cycle trip. We took an e-cycle trip that included nights in Obernai, Ribeauville and Colmar with cycling from Strasbourg to those three towns, then a loop Colmar to Colmar day with Visits to Eguisheim and Turckheim.

Before we got the bikes, we spent 2 nights in Strasbourg. And at the end, we spent a second night on Colmar. So, six nights for us, but you could work with a vendor for something shorter.

If interested, look at freewheelingfrance.com for multiple options/vendors. We used velovoyageur.com.

It’s all relatively flat, unless you detour up to Haute Koenigsburg.

You can arrange winery visits along the way.

Mulhouse, the last city in France before you get to Basel in Switzerland, has the French national museums of automobiles and railways, both of which are world-class and hugely recommended if the subjects interest you.

Normally I just drive around Alsace, but I have stayed in both the Maison Rouge and the Aloft in Strasbourg. Both are very good. I've also spent several nights in the Marriott Courtyard in Freiburg, which was well placed for visiting that city. There's a lot to see and do within the region, and it really helps to know what interests you. I find Strasbourg itself expensive and yet August is probably a good time to visit as the EU offices will be empty as that's their vacation time. I rate Mount St Odile above all the little towns as worthy of a visit. The MM military museum is fantastic. The pottery villages are interesting. Hagenau is vastly overlooked by American tourists. Epinal is also. If you have a car and any interest in Art Deco or glass art you should go visit Nancy. If you just want to walk in the woods there's a lot to choose from. I like Wissembourg more than most of the commonly recommended towns. It's pretty, and hugely important historically, and another place where any tourists are likely to be European. It's also the first city on the French wine route for the area. The Schloss in Karlsruhe is really nice. Pforzheim is where you go to buy watches and clocks. Kloster Matchern is impressive. The auto museum in Mulhouse is world class.

We're going to take a food and wine tour with L'Alsaciette Colmar on the recommendations of this forum. We won't have a car, so we figured this would be a nice option.