Alsace village and Black Forest route sequence suggestions

The biggest problem I see in this routing is you are trying to see things in such a way that you IMO you won't see much of anything. If your checking things off a list go for it. If you want to enjoy each village spend a day. Two for Colmar. I would honestly say rethink and slow down.

I agree with Lifetime travel. If you only have one and a half days, the schedule is way too much. I would focus on either Colmar or the Black Forest, but you don't have time to see both.

It would help to know where you are coming from (before Colmar) and where you are going to after, and what your full schedule is.

Thanks for feedbacks. We are actually from Heidelberg, where we will be staying with friends, and then heading onward after Colmar. Given this, we have about 1.5 days in this region and are trying to make the most of that limited time. Later, we will go to Strasbourg to stay and see that city.

We completely understand that this is a faster-paced plan and that we won't be able to explore each place in depth. Our goal is more to get a scenic overview, experience a few of the Alsace villages, spend a proper evening in Colmar, and also see a bit of the Black Forest landscape.

We are comfortable with some longer driving and shorter stops, as this trip is more about seeing a variety of places rather than slow exploration.

That said, we are very open to refining the plan, if you had to prioritize within this timeframe, would you adjust the villages or the Black Forest route in any way?

I've never understood this type of "touring".

To see the places you want in the Alsace, you're going to spend 3 hours driving, minimum, and another hour trying to find a place to park, just to hop out, take a picture, and leave some of the nicest places you could spend a day in. If you figure 2 hours in each town, which is basically running through the old part of the city, dodging other tourists, that's going to be a very long day. And you won't really get to know anything of the town. And that's without factoring in a couple hours for lunch.

Now those towns are nice. They're very popular. They get crowded, and expensive. But really, why go there? there are other, just as nice places, hidden away within an hours drive of Heidelberg. Plus, you pass some fantastic places on the drive down.

You want a scenic drive? From Heidelberg head west to Bad Durkheim, Then south on L516, through Wachenheim, Deidesheim, to Neustadt on the Weinstrasse. Then take L512 through Maikammer, and Edenkoben, to Edesheim. From there take L507 through Frankweiler to Albersweiler, and from there head to Annweiler. From there take 48 to Bad Bergzaben and Wissembourg. On this route you pass over a dozen castles, including the one King Richard was held prisoner in. You'll drive through towns that go back over 1300 years, medieval walled places, vineyards full of grapes, fantastic scenery, and on any given day you'll pass 2-3 car clubs making the same run just because it is such a great drive.

Just a taste of that route:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/VCO8sj1.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/xKhvXjj.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/A8SjewM.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/BAYsufk.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/4mjNnVo.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/RqhpbSM.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/GgqpLHd.jpg[/img]

It's not the best way of doing things, but if that's all the time you have....and it is your holiday. There are a few options. Just to add:

Day 1: Take a slight detour to Gengenbach before you hit Ribeauville. It will add about 30 minutes to your drive, but well worth it. Play it by ear after that. If you just walk the main drag of each village, may be enough time. La Grappe d'Or in Riquewihr for food.

Day 2 Black Forest: a scenic drive once you reach Staufen (my favourite spot, after Gengenbach; pretty village, castle ruin). Munstertal to Todtnau (waterfall close by), then head to Todtmoos and onto Bad Sackingen (attactive, compact old town, which has a long, covered wooden bridge leading into Switzerland). I drove this route in September of 2015 (?), and it was very quiet. I stopped off in Todtmoos for a coffee (been to Staufen a couple of times before), then spent some time in Bad Sackingen. Drove back on the same route; if you want to save time, you can take the highways back.

Staying two nights in Colmar?

Thanks @Gundersen

Thanks for the suggestion, this is really helpful. I am checking the route and spots you suggested.

I agree, it is not ideal trip. Yes, we are staying at Colmar for two nights and then next night at Strasbourg.

Be sure to check the rules for taking your car into Strasbourg. A Crit'Air sticker is needed for that city. Check with the car rental firm (in Germany, right?) to see if the car will have it. I assume you know to return the car in Germany to avoid the very big fee for dropping the car in a different country (500-1,000 euros).

German rental cars won't have the French Crit d' Air. That's not like the vignettes you need for Austria or Switzerland, it's a registration with the VIN of that specific vehicle. You have to apply for it, and it takes weeks to receive. If you don't have one I suggest parking at the main train station in Strasbourg and using the public transport into the old town.

For Strasbourg, I got it sorted.
We are staying outside city and we will use public transport to get into city as @KGC adviced.

I saw that Gundersen mentioned Gengenbach, which I would also heartily recommend. It's a lovely and charming town in the Black Forest and is one of my favorite spots in Germany. That said, it is easily reachable by Strasbourg by train. It's probably about a 40-minute train trip from there, so you could make it a day trip or, even better, spend a couple of nights there at some point if you have the time, or do both! Also don't miss the Vogtsbauernhof Open Air Museum, which is well worth a visit. Again, you can get there by either car or train.