Auto needed in Strasbourg?

In my opinon, no. I am not a fan of car rentals, but we were glad to have a rental upon our departure from Strasbourg, to stay in places like Riequewehr, eventual destination Avignon. We also had a Michelin star dinner planned at L'Auberge de L'Ill that needed a car. (Last word is the name of a river, EYE, EL, EL.)

It depends on the time of year. We spent 4 nights in Strasbourg in December for the Christmas markets. We did not have a car. We traveled by train and bus to Ribeauville, Kaysersberg, Colmar, Obernai and Gengenbach. We were sooooo glad NOT to have a car. Parking is basically non-existent in the small villages. Cars were parked for a mile in every direction, and people were parking in the vineyards.

Last July, we spent 4 nights in Colmar with a car and drove to Eguisheim, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg and Turckheim. Parking was no problem.

Turckheim has a train station, so you could easily take the train from Colmar. The public buses go to the other villages. You can use SNCF Connect to see the times. Also be aaare that Strasbourg requires the Crit Air permit for parking anywhere near the city (even Park & Ride lots).

You can't drive in most of the historic center of Strasbourg, so a car is unadvised. You could rent one for a day if needed, but there are plenty of things to keep you busy in the region that do not require a car.

If staying in Strasbourg, no. My guess is you can get to most places by bus. We had a rental car last May and of the places mentioned by others we had no problem finding parking except for Riquewihr. At Riquewihr, there wasn’t an open space anyplace, so we just kept driving. We also walked from Hunawihr to Ribeauvillé.

A car would be very handy if visiting Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg or The Three Castles of Eguisheim. We based ourselves in Colmar since our German rental did not have the French environmental sticker needed to drive in Strasbourg.

When are you going? We spent 5 nights in Strasbourg last month and never needed a car. The first part of my trip report below might be helpful. There is a lot to do in Strasbourg, and we took day trips to the Wine Villages, Colmar, and Gengenbach, Germany. The only place where a car might have been helpful was for the Wine Villages, but there is a hop-on hop-off bus depending on the month.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-alsace-wengen-murren-lucerne

Let me just add that parking in Strasbourg is expensive. Most hotels, if they offer parking, charge 40-50 Euro/day. Plus, traffic can be a big issue. Last month, while driving it took me over an hour to go 1500 meters to my hotel due to road blockage. And then I had to find parking. Normally I take the train.

When I stayed in Strasbourg (5 nights), I just rented a car for one day so I could drive out to the villages and through the countryside. Parking was a bit of a challenge, but most of that was due to my poor planning. In hind sight, someone here suggested finding parking areas BEFORE the trip and marking them in the maps app so they're easy to find when you're on the road. I did that a few months later when I drove in Italy and it was such good advice. I saw Colmar and spent a day in Paris by train. I planned to visit a few villages in the Black Forest, also by train, but there was bad weather, so I decided to change those plans. All that to say getting a car for one day might be worth it, but otherwise train travel works well.

Enjoy your trip!

I'll be visiting again this September and will have a car. I think you can do without in Strasbourg. If you plan on visiting towns, however, either a car or a booked tour that includes transportation is necessary.

Brad