Possible to visit Colmar and possibly 1-2 other small villages in one day trip from Strasbourg?

From just outside Colmar’s train station, you can take the line #7 Bus to Eguisheim in 10 minutes. Even better than Kaysersberg, Ribeauville and the medieval walled-city of Riquewihr are on the same bus line of #106 from Colmar. The #106 bus arrives in Riquewihr from Colmar in 30 minutes and reaches Ribeauville 15 minutes later.
Have a great trip!

My opinion is it would be easier to pick just one town to visit because your time is limited. Either that or just staying Colmar. Once you subtract the travel time from the places you’d like to visit you’d only have about an hour to walk around each town.

Eguisheim is southwest or Colmar while Kaysersburg is northwest so there will be a little backtracking. You could possibly save time if you picked towns on the same side of Colmar, but you’d still be very rushed.

There are few restaurants by the train station in Colmar and the main part of town is a mile away from it.

One December day back in 2019 we woke up in Colmar and spent the morning walking around (big Christmas Market) and eating. Then just after noon we (me) drove our rental car to Equisheim and then on to Kaysersburg. After appetizers in the latter we drove back to Colmar in the dark for dinner and more walking around before sleeping (in Colmar). It was a great day! Enjoy and don't worry about what time you get back to Strasbourg as long as you catch the last train. You could rent a car in Colmar for the Route du Vin town visits but your driver probably shouldn't drink too much wine.

I think the wine villages look similar to each other, so I would pick just one. That will save you transportation time and feel less rushed.

I hope someone can tell you how easy it is to get taxis and if Uber is even a possibility.

Skip Colmar and focus on the charming wine villages. We stayed in Strasbourg and Riquewehr.,
loved them both! The wine villages are different from each other.

Thank you. Your planned itinerary makes me feel much better about my own very crazy rushed and somewhat unrealistic plans for the area. 🤪 If you can pull this off in one day, good for you, I'm going to try and simplify things for my visit in September. My questions in a separate thread.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I think we’ll just wing it and go with the flow starting in Colmar and then going to Equisheim. If we have the time and desire to go to Riquewihr and/or Ribeauville afterwards; we’ll try out the bus.

Supez, my partner and I are planning the same schedule as you in Alsace, but the following weekend! If you have time, would love to read any lessons learned from your trip. Have a wonderful time!

@JohnP

I just remembered that I never updated you with our experience. I hope you had a wonderful time in Alsace.

We got to Strasbourg and were ready to explore and walk around 10:30am. We took pics and walked around La Petite France, did a walking tour, a boat tour (this was bad, the canal system broke, they dropped us off somewhere else and also couldn’t do half the tour, they said to email for a refund but I never got a response). Then we just toured the markets and saw the lights the rest of the night and had dinner. One of our best meals in France was at L’Oignon. You probably need a reservation there but we got lucky as there was one table when we walked in.

The next day, we just walked by the canal, toured the markets, went inside the Cathedral, walked around Neustadt and the 2 parks there (Contades and Orangerie). We then went to rest up at the hotel until dinner since it was cold and rainy.

The last day, we took the train to Colmar around 8:30am and found it to be a cute smaller version of Strasbourg. We took pics, walked around and had breakfast there. We then took an Uber to Eguisheim (wasn’t too expensive, like $16). We spent around an hour walking around Eguisheim and then had lunch there.

At this point, we were actually pretty much done with everything and kind of bored. All the architecture and stuff are pretty much the same around all the villages, the markets seem to have most of the same food too. But we decided we had the time and took an expensive $40 Uber to Riquewihr. It was nice just like the other villages were but it felt way more touristy than Eguisheim. We spent 1.5 hours here before taking another expensive Uber to the Colmar train station. We took a train back to Strasbourg and just rested at the hotel until a late dinner around 9pm.

Looking back, I probably would’ve spent 2 nights instead of 3 nights there since we got there very early the first day. We would’ve did the first day the same, then go to Colmar the next morning and come back around lunch time to see Neustadt and the parks. We enjoyed the markets, food, city, architecture and the whole Christmas vibe even though we’re not Christians. But it very well may be worth the 3 nights to people who celebrate the holiday, all the decorations and stuff were beautiful. It was also nice to see a different part of France since this was my second time in the country (only went to Paris the first time).

Supez, thank you for remembering me! You are very kind to leave a report and some helpful “ lessons learned.” My partner and I were in Strasbourg last weekend and had a wonderful time. You had, and it sounds like executed a more detailed plan than we had. We were so taken with Strasbourg on our first night and the following day, rainy Saturday, that we decided to forgo Colmar to our next visit (hopefully, we return!). I think your idea of using taxis is interesting and probably, because of the pace you were on, worth the money. Adding taxi travel to my considerations.
For other first time Strasbourg visitors some thoughts: the cathedral is magnificent. Please don’t let the long line to enter dissuade you. The line moves quickly and once you are inside, you will be awed. If you visit the cathedral, don’t miss the astronomical clock to the left of the altar as you face forward. I don’t yet understand it, but I have never seen anything like it. As well, we attended a 0930 Mass on Saturday. The line to gate in was very short, and the cathedral is cleared of visitors for the Masses. You ca find Mass times on line. Enter from the left side of the cathedral as you face it. The Mass was moving and beautiful.
Also don’t be afraid of trying out the tram. It is easy to use and fun! We took it from the gare to Kehl, Germany—just to say we visited Germany. And we found, somewhat to our surprise and only two blocks from the Tram station, a very nice, small Christmas market in the center of the town. A stage is set up for musicians, who alternated between Oompa-type music to covers for North American singers. All very good and it added to the atmosphere. And, since it was smaller than Strasbourg's Christmas markets, a little easier to access the tasty food and mulled wine.
Supez, thank you again for thinking of me. I’m already using your notes for our next visit!