Alsace Region

We are staying in Colmar for five nights in April as a base,we like the greater variety of Restaurants in a city the size of Colmar and places to walk to at the end of the Day.
Mike

We stayed in Barr a fairly quiet (tourist wise) ismall town not far from Strasbourg (1/2 hr by train).
Beautiful old town much of it built in the 16th C.
It has vinyards and small wine villages surrounding it.
In the nearby forested Vosges mountains within easy walking distance there are 3 fascinating 13th C ruined castles hidden away (free entry perfect locations for a picnic lunch).
Mount Sainte Odile is also nearby, a popular historic religious centre offering spectacular views.
We stayed at Maison Rouge, very pleasant and affordable. We also ate at their outdoor restaurant several times and were very satisfied with the food, drink and service.

Personally I love Riquewihr, but there are a number of others - Ribeauvillé, Bergheim, Kaysersberg, Obernai,

Yes, any of those and more. We spent a week at an apartment in Riquewihr and loved it. If you stay in Riquewihr (and probably some of the others) you can easily get to Colmar and Strasbourg w/o a car and spend time there.

My favorite region in France! We spent ten days in the area, staying in Strausbourg and making day trips to Colmar, Riquewihr, Obernai, and more. Colmar: Don't miss The Isenheim altarpiece - Musée Unterlinden. Requewhir: Walk through vineyards, and then take the Kaysersberg - Ammerschwihr Trail up to the Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle. Obernai is the cutest possible town with the best farmers market.
https://www.alsace-wine-route.com/en/unmissable-towns-and-villages/

We took the same general approach a couple of years ago: base in the cities, take the cheap local buses to the wine villages. We loved it, and we especially loved Strasbourg. We were a little cool on Colmar, actually: we preferred the (manageable) bustle of Strasbourg, and found Colmar to be a little too kitschy. Plus, it turns out that my wife doesn't much like Alsatian food, and that's about all there is in Colmar (unless you frequent $$$+ restaurants--which we can't, since we're students).

Tons of people do the opposite, of course: find a quaint apartment or B&B in Ribeauville or Riquewihr or Eguishiem, etc., and make a few sorties into the cities.

Don't know how many people are in your party, but I can recommend a couple of AirBNBs in Strasbourg for 2-ish people if you're interested. We stayed for 10 days in a little apartment on a canal in La Petite France in Strasbourg, and it was awesome.

Spend some time in Strasbourg and then in one of the wine villages such as Kaysersburg or Riquewihr. You can visit Colmar if you want but it was our least favourite place in Alsace.

With or without a car? You won't need or want a car in Strasbourg, it's easy to get around on foot. If you plan to rent a car, you have more options in Strasbourg, then drop the car there and train to wherever . . . Without a car, Colmar is probably best (train from Strasbourg). There are buses to the villages but you'll make better use of your time driving and staying in one of the villages. I stayed in Eguisheim (excellent location, lovely B&B). There were few restaurants but I can only eat in one a day and only one meal choice each time, so having lots of venue options doesn't mean much to me. What I liked best was being able to drink as much as I wanted and then walk home. If you don't drink wine, then you can easily have dinner in any village or even Colmar and then have no issues in driving back to your rooms.

"Spend some time in Strasbourg and then in one of the wine villages
such as Kaysersburg or Riquewihr. You can visit Colmar if you want but
it was our least favourite place in Alsace."

I'm going to Colmar in September. Can you tell me what you didn't like about it?

-- Mike Beebe

I am with CA Mike. Colmar is a lovely place to stay with a nice selection of restaurants, shops, architecture, and museums.
Many on this forum advocate staying in the wine villages, which are completely charming but lack the variety of Colmar. I suspect if you live in an urban environment, the villages are quite refreshing but if you live in a more rural setting a bigger town or city is a nice change. Think about what setting would make you the happiest. Alsace is a wonderful place to visit, enjoy!

Without a car, Colmar is a charming place with several very worthwhile sights. On my second trip, I had a car . . . PITA in Colmar, both parking and the driving in and out through the large modern city to get to the quaint historic center.