Help me plan my Colmar-Eguisheim trip

Why Eguisheim? It was great for me toward the end of June when I spent 3 nights there with a car, but it didn't have nearly the attraction of other Alsace villages.

Even in June only a couple of the restaurants were open on weekdays, more - but not all - were open on Friday evening - my last night there. I didn't go into any shops which leads me to believe that there weren't many and I don't know if those attracting tourists were open at all. Albeit my visit was 10 years ago, and with the increase in the last couple of years of tourists generally in Europe, that may have changed.

On the other hand there is a lot to see and do in Colmar. I'd plan on spending my time there.

Chani, thanks for the input.
My next day will be Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé by public transportation.
Third day: Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg
I want to see Eguisheim because it looks pretty and the first time I saw it in photos it got me interested in Alsace.

We visited Equisheim in May 2023 for two nights, and like Chani, we had a rental car. I agree about the restaurants. Not all we’re open, some opened late, and many were fulled booked by tour groups. I don’t know how far the town center is from the bus station, so you need to factor in some time for that.

The town is pretty and can be seen in 1-1.5 hours, but at that point you should ask yourself whether the time you’d be there worth the time it will take to get there and back. All the shops were closed by 5pm and other than walking around the streets, there is little to do in the evening.

Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg Is impressive. How easy it is to get there using public transportation I have no idea.

After Eguisheim, we used Colmar as a base for four nights to explore the other villages.

Stay in Colmar the first day.

If you catch an early shuttle to Koenigsbourg from Selestat then you'll have time to pop into Eguisheim for some photo opportunities later on the third day. Caveau Heuhaus is a good place to eat. You can always get a taxi back to Colmar ($25?)

In October 2022 I stayed a week in Colmar without a car.

I spent about 3½ hours in Eguisheim, but that included a leisurely lunch outdoors at Caveau Heuhaus and the 40 minute petit train ride into the vineyards. I only took the train ride because I had time to kill waiting for the bus. But, it was a beautiful, sunny day and the vines were beginning to turn color.

You might want to consider visiting Turckheim. It is a beautiful walled village along a river with frequent bus and train service from nearby Colmar.

Another idea is an organized tour. I enjoyed an all day tour with L' Alsaciette. They offer a half day tour in the afternoon to 2 villages along with a wine tasting. While they require a minimum of 2 to book the tour online, I emailed them directly and they were happy to add me to a tour with another party. It was a lovely day.

I'm eavesdropping as we will be in Colmar in September. Have already signed up for a tour with L'Alsaciette for a food and wine tour in accordance with the heavy forum influence!

Thank you!
This gives me a rough idea the size of the village…
Yes, I will be staying in Colmar the first night. Second night in Selestat so I can take shuttle directly to the castle on the third day.
A wine tour is out of my budget. I guess i should mention I will be traveling with my 7 year old. Turckheim Is maybe for another trip.

Given the limited number of restaurants in Eguisheim, is reservation necessary?

Is it better to visit the village mid afternoon (3pm) or late afternoon (5pm)? Do crowds disperse by noon? Or is the village not crowded in general? Are cabs easy to get?

Thank you

With travel in March, you shouldn't have to worry too much about crowds. I think most of the shops in Eguisheim close around 6.

While I didn't book a table ahead of time in Eguisheim, shortly after I was seated people were being turned away. I have found it is best to reserve a table, even if you call or stop by earlier in the day, especially for dinner. BTW, the best Tarte Flambée in Colmar is at la Söi and they book up days in advance.

I wouldn't rule out the half day tour without first contacting L' Alsaciette. Arnaud and Agnes are very accommodating. You're traveling off season, so they may be willing to work something out that is more kid focused. On their regular tours kids are half off. The tour I booked included the castle.

There is very limited taxi service in the area. I wouldn't rely on a taxi unless I could lock in my return.

EDITED. Sorry, Dana … as KD pointed out below … I missed your reference to your 7 year old in your replies to your original post.

You can enjoy wine tasting in Colmar as an early, small plates dinner with wine tasting at Au Temps d’un Verre. Small plates might well be kid friendly.

For your 7 year old, I think that Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and Haut Koenigsburg would be the most fun. Those first two mentioned towns are the most picturesque. And Haut Koenigsburg is a fine, re-imagined and re-built castle, as German monarchs loved doing in the 19th century. Not sure how well those work by public transport as a single day trip. Certainly all do-able as a day trip by rental car. And Colmar’s Little Venice neighborhood is fun, too.

Not sure that busing to Eguisheim on top of those would add much. Eguisheim is cute, but not all that interesting in my view.

fred, She said she is traveling with her 7 year old so she said no wine tasting and would seem unlikely biking between villages.

I took the bus between Colmar and Eguisheim a few years ago and it was pretty straightforward. The walk from the bus stop to the town centre is easy. For me, Eguisheim was just okay and I can't imagine spending more than a couple hours there, tops. The problem with the later bus is that there may be little to do and see by that hour, which is one of your concerns. The town was busy while we were there, but it was also the start of the Christmas Market, so probably more going on than in March. As others have suggested, there will be far more to do in Colmar.
I'm with jeanm on her suggestion of Turckheim......super easy to get there by train and it was such a pretty little town. Much more appealing than Eguisheim in my opinion. I appreciate that you are determined to visit Eguisheim, but Turckheim might give you more options in terms of transportation and as such, make it easier to divide your time between it and Colmar.

Have a wonderful trip!

I’ve visited Eguisheim on two different occasions, both times bicycling from Colmar. Yes, it’s a pretty little village, but it’s one of many in the area. I think much of its popularity has to do with the fact that it is so accessible from Colmar, especially by bike through the vineyards. You can bike there, do a wine tasting in the village, and bike back to Colmar almost entirely on bike paths. As you are not interested in wine tasting, and you plan on visiting Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé the next day, I would suggest you spend the full day in Colmar. There’s lots to see there, just wandering through town. Your seven year old might also enjoy a boat tour through the canals. Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé are both pretty places too- maybe a little bigger than Eguisheim but still quaint. I don’t mean to knock Eguisheim, but seeing all three towns on your condensed timeframe is redundant.

Any 7 year old would adore Monkey Mountain. Do try to get there for a visit.

Now I am second guessing myself.. i have booked 6 nights in Eguisheim as I thought it would be a good base to drive to the little villages or take trains. Now it seems I should maybe have chosen Colmar as a base?

From here we will be driving to Lake Constance for three or four nights.

Any suggestions whether I should change my trip because I have too many days? I prefer to have one place as I don’t wanna keep jumping around. After leaving Lake Constance, we will be driving back to Prague.

Nicolatwig I don't want to hijack Dana's post, but assuming you have plans to fill your days then, IMO, it's not too many days. Only you can determine that.

Whether staying in Colmar or one of the villages, it is really the evenings you need to think about. Will you be going out to dinner or cooking in? If eating out, are there enough restaurants in the area in your taste and budget to make you happy

The big advantage of staying in old town Colmar, outside of the transportation options, is that you can walk to a choice of restaurants and enjoy the local beers and wine and not be concerned about driving. The big disadvantage is parking.
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nicolatwig - you won't be taking any trains from Eguisheim as it has no train station. Colmar has, among many other things, a train station and would be a far better base for 6 days in the region. I appreciate wanting to stay in one place and do day trips from there, but I suspect 6 days in Eguisheim might be a bit much. I liked Colmar very much and it would allow you to visit other villages, as well as Strasbourg, which is a lovely place to wander, easily.

Nicolatwig I loved staying in Eguisheim because it was so easy to drive out of the village in a couple of minutes and be on the main road to all the other villages and sights. Colmar is a big city. I drove in once from Eguisheim for a day trip (I'd been to Colmar before) and it was a long drive from the main road full of city traffic. If you want to have a couple glasses of wine with dinner, you'll want to be back in Eguisheim. Otherwise you can eat dinner every evening in a different village. Or you can enjoy large lunches and then eat light in the evening, with a bottle of wine in your room. Or perhaps eat dinner with possibly one glass of wine, then have dessert with a drink in Eguisheim. I ate at one restaurant in Eguisheim 2 nights running because it was open and it was very good. On my last night I went to another place that hadn't been open midweek and it was also yummy. There were a couple other choices as well. It does depend on the time of year for your trip.

We are returning for the third time to Colmar and Eguisheim in December for 6 nights and 2 nights, respectively, to visit the Christmas Markets without a rental car. This tells you how we feel about these two cities!
We plan to visit several of the nearby cities mentioned above by train from Colmar and take day trips by bus to Ribeauville, Riquewihr, Kayserberg and Freiburg Germany.
Having trouble navigating the sites for the last four bus trip destinations, can anyone post a link that is easily accessible in English?

mosesrus

I just use google map to find the bus schedule and bus location. And I also found this site to confirm the bus stop https://services.fluo.grandest.fr/fr/proximity/stopPoints/4791444?fromTimetable=true
Use built in google translate to translate it to English

Thank you all for the valuable advice. And hijack away if it helps other travellers too.

For the experienced Alsace traveller, is reservation necessary for restaurants in Colmar as well?

I would book restaurants in advance. The better restaurants book up. And I don't necessarily mean expensive restaurants. I stopped by La Söi in Colmar on Tuesday afternoon in October looking for a table for 1 on the weekend. First I was told not possible and then the owner offered a seat at the bar for Saturday night. And this place is inexpensive, but terrific Tarte Flambée.

Dana, thanks for the link. I too would recommend reservations in both cities.

I would also recommend making reservations. Not only does it ensure you actually get to eat in the restaurants you are interested in, but given that you are travelling with your child, there is nothing worse than wandering from restaurant to restaurant trying to find one that has space, with a hungry and tired little one. I am aware this is not for everyone, but on a month long trip to France and Italy several years ago with my two children, I had dinner reservations for all 30 nights (although we were still flexible and made some last minute changes a few times for a variety of reasons). Some of my friends thought I was crazy, but I came back from that trip knowing it was the smartest thing I had done. We saw so many people turned away from the restaurants we were eating in, and knowing where we were eating each night and that we wouldn't just end up in some random restaurant where subpar food costs just as much as great food (I am a total foodie so these things matter to me) made for a stress free evening after long days of sightseeing. Happy, well-fed kids = Happy Holiday (and happy parents!). Also, my understanding is that restaurant owners appreciate reservations as they have a sense of how many they are cooking for, which is especially important in small, family-owned places.