This is the first leg of an ambitious 20 day itinerary. Heading directly to Reims from CDG. Will briefly tour Verdun enroute when leaving Reims. Beyond that Colmar, Beaune and Chamonix are the definite stops. We are ok with just a sampling of each area and don't mind one night stays. Interested in picturesque towns, castles, countryside and vineyard scenery (but not wine tastings). What are your favorite towns and sights in Champagne, Alsace and Burgundy?
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, United States
33 posts
In Champagne, I prefer Epernay to Reims. Much smaller, a less hurried experience.
In Alsace, I prefer Riquewihr & Ribeauville to Eugisheim. The latter is a bit, I don't know, bland? But the former two are quite touristy.
I love Beaune, but if you're not going for the wine, I'm not sure what you expect to find. And the drive through Poully-Fusse (near Macon) is simply wonderful.
Posted by
Rick Steves Europe
355 posts
Hi Carolyn,
I spent several weeks last summer in the Alsace, Burgundy and Chamonix area. Here are some of my favorites:
Alsace - The villages of Eguisheim & Riquewihr and Koenigsbourg Castle
Burgundy - villages of Pommard (easy 40 min. bike ride from Beaune) & Meursault and Chateau de la Rochepot
On route to Chamonix: Annecy. Ideally, I'd spend a night or two here and do a boat cruise and bike ride along the lake
Posted by
Albany
161 posts
The Alsace region is rich culturally, and the small towns are charming, delicious, and boast local wines and liquers. Strasbourg, Colmar, Obernai are my favorites. Strasbourg for its cathedral, but it's meeting of all waterways. Colmar for a special altarpiece and for charming streets. Obernai-- hike through vineyards above it to a castle. Love this region!
Cleo
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
Hi,
A good and interesting itinerary you have planned. I like eastern France, I haven't enough time there as I would like. Favourite places are Strasbourg, Obernai, (do as day trip r/t from Strasbourg), Reims, Colmar, Chateau Thierry sur Marne. Metz is all right for one thorough visit. Even Forbach is interesting. If you're focused on the historical places, I would suggest Nancy, Troyes, Bar le Duc, Gravelotte and other villages west of Metz.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15784 posts
I started in mid-June in Chamonix and ended in Strasbourg, loved everywhere. I started with a night in Cluny, and though I wasn't so impressed with the abbey and other sights, I really enjoyed the town, especially since I happened to be there on Saturday for the weekly market. Then I spent 4 nights in Avallon and saw a little of Burgundy, every small town and village was delightful, with chateaux, churches, an abbey or two, in-between. Most of my driving was off the toll roads - more scenic, but definitely more challenging to drive and a lot slower. I only spent about 1/2 day in Beaune, it was enough. Then I stayed in Eguisheim to tootle around Alsace - much better than staying in Colmar, because I avoided the longish drive in/out of the city. One of my faves was several hours at Monkey Mountain, which made up in great part for not seeing the Barbary apes in Gibraltar when I was in Spain. I returned the car in Strasbourg and enjoyed 2-3 days there, car-less.
From my experience, there are no wrong choices. Even small villages had good tourist offices (and people who spoke fluent English) with self-guided walking tours and lots of brochures of driving routes and sightseeing in the area.
I prefer to stay in one place for several nights and drive the extra hour back and forth rather than spend the time packing/unpacking. In Avallon I stayed in a "cabin" that had a small kitchen. It was great because I could relax with my feet up and eat the goodies I kept buying in the markets I kept running across. I thought I would do a lot of wine tasting, but in the end I did only 2 very brief ones. Instead I had wine with my dinners, and sometimes a glass at mid-day.
The only place I did a lot of tasting was in Reims/Epernay which was part of a separate trip to Paris and when I wasn't driving at all. I think 1 day in each (there's a commuter train between them) is sufficient. If you don't want to drink champagne, then you may want to spend less time. I took 3 tours (Tattinger, Mercier and Martel). They were different and all were interesting, more about the history than about the wine-making. The Museum of the Surrender was very interesting and I found the basilica (Sant-Remi) lovelier than the cathedral.
Posted by
Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada
776 posts
We spent 3 days in Colmar last fall, we day triped to Basel just to say we went to Switzerland...LOL It was just ok.
We loved Eugisheim, St. Hypolite that was on our way to our fav in Haut Koenigsbourg castle. It was a lovely 3 days. On the way there we stopped in Chalons en Champagne for a quick stop and had a lovely time.
We loved it all.