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Two Weeks in March: Alsace + ??

Our family will be in Alsace--specifically in Gundershoffen and Colmar--during the second week of March. After that my husband and I will peel off from the group for a second week. We will start in Paris to meet up with family but can fly home from a different airport, ideally a non-stop to NYC. We have had the good fortune to visit Paris several times as well as Normandy, so we are looking to expand our horizons on this trip.

We especially enjoy smaller towns and cities where we can get around on foot or use public transit. We love bike tours, walking tours, art museums, concerts, hardware stores, pubs, theater, and cultural experiences as well as just hanging out in a cafe and watching the world go by. Cities that are touristed are great, but so are "normal" towns that tourists don't tend to visit.

One thought was several days in Annecy (possibly bike around the lake) and then a second location closer to an international airport. As a teacher, I tend to travel abroad only in the summer, so March weather will be a new consideration. We no longer ski, so we probably wouldn't opt for more wintry, snowy locales.

All suggestions welcome and appreciated!

Posted by
3253 posts

If you spend time in Annecy, take a direct bus to Chamonix for the day (1h 45m). A good airport to fly home from is Geneva (GVA). There are direct buses from Annecy to GVA that take an hour.

Posted by
1534 posts

You're not going to want to ride a bike anywhere in France in March. Alsace had snow into April this past year and, so far, this year is colder and wetter.

How about Metz? Very attractive, excellent museums, very good food and cafes, easy to walk around. There won't be a lot of tourists, especially Americans. Has a really nice garden and old fortifications. Excellent shopping. Very good indoor market, nice church. Stay at the Citadel.

Posted by
1534 posts

Take a look at Nancy also. Both the Art Deco and Jugendstil movements were huge in this city. Nancy is mostly flat, and very nice to get around. And if it's dry, and you want to bike, just buy a used one at the shop behind the Notre Dame. The city is also an art glass mecca. Daum...