We are a retired couple and would like to spend a few days in Eguisheim at the beginning of October.
Will the restaurants and Cafes still be open?
Any suggestions as to how we could spend our days?
Are there easy hikes, parks, interesting sights, other than the town itself?
Elizabeth Appleyard
Thank you
Of course you can go ahead with your planning, but be advised that this area, one most heavily hit by the virus, might not be "open" for tourists in the fall.
I haven't been to Eguisheim. All I know about it is that it is a very small (pop. under 2000), picturesque wine town quite close to Colmar, where I spent several nights in 2018. I can tell you that Colmar is gorgeous, though touristy in normal times. Colmar has a very good art museum, the Unterlinden, with a magnificent altarpiece. I have no idea whether that museum will be open in early October.
I don’t have specific for Equisheim but we spent 5 nights in the Alsace last spring, based in Colmar and enjoyed this walk from Riquewihr to Ribeauville.
Eguisheim is one of many charming towns and villages on the Rue du Vin in Alsace, south of Strasbourg. Spend a few days in beautiful Strasbourg ( take a canal boat cruise) and then switch to one of the ten wine villages. We stayed in Riquewehr which was well situated for exploring the area. There are vineyards, biking paths, small museums too. Contrary to mentions above, we did not like Colmar and went there only because of Rick Steve’s guidebook. It was so touristy in contrast to the wine villages.
I think this October is too soon to plan any travel in Europe.
We were in Alsace in early April and had choices of hotels and restaurants although it was quite cold.
Assuming you travel when it is possible and safe to do so.
Elizabeth, in your previous post you mentioned staying in Colmar for nine nights then onto Eguisheim. Eguisheim is only about 7km from Colmar but I guess you have your reasons for the change. This part of the world is best explored by car, with which you can also see parts of the Black Forest. If you are stuck on public transport, I believe buses go from Colmar to Eguisheim, Riquewhihr, Ribeaville and Kaysersberg. I liked them all. Train to Strasbourg and Basel. Not sure about Freiburg.
We also stayed in Riquewihr, for three weeks with a car, and did lots and lots of walking (none in the vineyards around Eguisheim). Riquewihr has many walks in the surrounding vineyards and woods, one of which is the walk mentioned above by Laurel (you’ll come across a team of large spotted pigs if you are lucky). Off the top of my head, the 3 castles in Ribeauville, the six village route starting from Riquewihr, two different paths from Riquewihr to Kaysersberg (vineyard and steeper forest route), the woods around Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, vineyards around Bergheim (great little place). Plus parts of the Black Forest.
https://www.ribeauville-riquewihr.com/en/
Eguisheim: https://www.tourisme-eguisheim-rouffach.com/en/
The only place we ate in Eguisheim was at Caveau Heuhaus. It was the best of the Alsatian bacheofe (stew) which I tried. The décor is way up my street.
I stayed at a B&B on the "outskirts" of Eguisheim (it was a 5-6 minute walk to the center) for several nights with a car to explore the area. With a car, it's very convenient because there's easy access to the main roads. It's smaller than most of the Alsatian villages, not as much to see and explore. I was there at the end of June, 4 years ago, and only about 3 restaurants were open mid-week, though all were open Thurs-Sat. I didn't mind that, but for more variety you'd want to stay in a larger village.
Public transportation is very limited between the villages. My guess is that most of it is linked to Colmar and mostly for kids going to school.
Eguisheim is definitely worth a visit. We based in Colmar for 5 nights last December and one day visited both Equisheim and Kaysersberg (preferred the latter). Also drove into the Black Forest for a day and in hindsight should have spent a second day in Route du Vin towns. Also went to Basel for a day but should have gone to Strasbourg instead.
Two sides of the same coin, I far prefer Basel to Strasbourg.
We also based in Colmar and loved it. Day tripped into Eguisheim and liked it but preferred Colmar--lots of restaurant choices and charm.
Eguisheim is charming. Whether you stay there or in another wine village, you should definitely stayin one of the villages not in Colmar.
I started in Colmar and had a car, which made visiting villages and the Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg on the way to Strasbourg very convenient. If you stay in a town and want to stay in the area, rent a bike or just walk around the vineyards. The towns will have enough places open to eat and the weather should still be good in early October. Somewhere around the middle of October it gets cold, depending on the year. I started in Burgundy in early May and it was too cold, by the time I got to Alsace (five days later) the weather was comfortable but the area was still fairly quiet.
