I'm hoping to do a very brief visit to Colmar and the surrounding towns on the Route du Vin in September 2024. We will have very limited time (about 2 days in/around Colmar), since this will be a stop between other places on our way home (so we can't really extend our time here).
My question is how to prioritize the towns, since we won't have enough time to do them all without turning the day into a farce.
We will be based in Colmar. We have just a single day to "do" the nearby towns (we will do Colmar on other days). Obviously, that's not enough time to really visit them all and see everything (even though I know the towns are quite small), and even if we limit ourselves to just a few, we will only be getting a quick, superficial look at these places. That's OK, we can manage with that.
I've been to Alsace before (years ago, mostly Strasbourg), my spouse has not, and she wants to check out "the cute towns" (her description) around Colmar. She is not a wine drinker, and while we both find vineyards and wine culture charming, only I will be imbibing when we go.
From our base in Colmar, we plan to take the "Kutzig" hop-on/hop-off bus (perhaps for this one, it may be a stumble-on, stagger-off bus?) between the towns. As I understand it this bus does a (roughly) circular route, including: Colmar, Ribeauvillé, Hunawihr, Riquewihr, the Kaysersberg vineyards, Turckheim, and Eguisheim.
For those that know the towns, how would you prioritize them, and how many do you think it's reasonable to try and visit in a single day?
We will have one full day to do this, getting up early to catch the first bus departure at 8:30 am (last bus returns to Colmar around 7:20 pm). This will be a full day for us. We will be going on a Sunday in late September (hopefully after the peak summer tourist crowds have abated somewhat, perhaps before fall wine-harvest tourism peaks, and maybe before the big Christmas machine fully cranks up into top gear...at least I can hope).
I know it will be tempting to hop off the bus at every stop, but we will want to pace ourselves (we may bring along a picnic lunch for a mid-day stop). How many of these little towns (and which ones) should we focus on? My initial guess (after only doing a tiny bit of research) suggest Eguisheim and Riquewihr are the must-see stops, after that, I'm not so sure. Your insights are welcomed.
PS: I do not have a recent vintage Ricks Steves France book handy (I do have old editions, and plan to pick up the next edition scheduled for publication next summer). For those with the current/recent books, does the chapter on Alsace provide guidance on a one-day Rick-style blitz itinerary of the towns?
Thanks.