Paris→Strasbourg→Colmar or Paris→Baden-Baden→Strasbourg?

I would do option 2 - we really enjoyed our tripe to Colmar, Strasbourg, and Freiburg.

I would also pick option 2. I haven’t been to all those places, but I have been to Baden Baden and it was not my favorite (and I rarely feel that way about a place I’ve been!). Enjoy your trip!

I am flying back to Paris in late August. Given the 2 options, I vote for Option 2, well worth your time.

Here's another vote for option 2.

One more sort-of option I would throw in is instead of taking a day trip to Baden-Baden, Freiburg or Heidelberg, you instead head for Gengenbach in the Black Forest, which is a short 30-40 minute train ride from Strasbourg. The town itself is absolutely charming (I've heard it described as a "chocolate box" village) with lovely half-timbered houses, lots of hiking opportunities in the area, and good restaurants. I spent 4 nights here last year and just loved it.

Of the mentioned towns, I was least impressed with Baden Baden and Freiburg. We spent 2 nights in Eguisheim. A couple miles from Eguisheim are The Three Castles of Eguisheim. They are 2.4 miles from Eguisheim if you wanted to go on a walk. Near Baden Baden is Geroldsauer Wasserfall. It’s 5.4 miles from town. We drove to its parking area and the falls are 1.2 miles from the parking lot and an easy walk. Just past the falls is a cafe where you can get food and drinks. The walk was easy and in the shade since you walk through woods.

We spent a night in Gengenbach and enjoyed it, probably because there was a town festival the day (Sunday) we arrived. Something to remember when planning is that most stores (shops, grocery, etc.) are closed on Sundays in Germany. For my wife and I, had it not been for the festival Gengenbach is good for a few hours at most. It is a pretty town.

We spent 4 nights in Colmar taking day trips to Strasbourg, Hunawihr, Ribeauvillé, Obernai, Barr, and Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg. For us, one day for Strasbourg was enough. We did have a rental car.

We spent 4 nights at Maison Rouge in Barr about 45 mins train ride from Strasbourg. It was a perfect location for us with great hiking/photography opportunities.
The old town has the typical Alsatian architecture and is very charming. Just beyond the expansive vinyards were the forests of the Vosges. Hiking through those forests we found 3 13th C castle ruins. We also hiked to Mt Ste Odile and to a number of nearby wine villages.
Maison Rouge was a very pleasant hotel by our non fussy standards. We aren't food/wine types so were happy to dine at their restaurant (outdoor) each evening. Maison Rouge is currently listed at $AUD108 (about $USD70) a night so quite inexpensive.

Thank you for your feedback and ideas!

It doesn't look like Gengenbach is particularly easy to get to from Strasbourg or am I misunderstanding? Walk or transit across Rhine to Kehl and then it looks like there are trains at the weekend only?

I think I just must not be understanding the transit options to/from Gengenbach.

It doesn't look like Gengenbach is particularly easy to get to from Strasbourg or am I misunderstanding? Walk or transit across Rhine to Kehl and then it looks like there are trains at the weekend only? I think I just must not be understanding the transit options to/from Gengenbach.

Gengenbach and Strasbourg is a very easy train ride. You just catch the train at the Strasbourg station and take it to Gengenbach. There is a short transfer in Offenburg but that's it. There are multiple trains every day.

Go to https://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en, plug in Strasbourg, gare and then Gengenbach Bahnhofstraße, your approximate dates, a time, and it should show you all the available trains. I'm seeing a train about every hour.

ETA: I am using the German trains for the above, which I think would be your best option if you take this even though you would be coming from France.

Thank you. The SNCF website is so torturous. And my DB search somehow didn't find these.

Ha, I wholeheartedly agree about SNCF!

I don't understand how it's even possible for a website to be that bad.

So to get there from Paris, it looks like it's necessary to book separately: Paris-Strasbourg, Strasbourg-Gengenbach?

Well, it depends - you can book it through the int'l section of DB if you don't want to go through SNCF, but I'm not sure how that would work since you are staying in Strasbourg, right? I'm assuming you would stop at Strasbourg and go to your hotel, leaving Gengenbach as a day trip.

But you can check it out here - just go to https://www.international-bahn.de/en and plug in your cities and it should show you the options. I imagine it will be in 2 segments - the first using the SNCF train to Strasbourg and then the German trains.

Option 1 seems pretty cool, especially if you're tempted by hiking in the Black Forest around Baden-Baden. Nature vibes can be epic for a photographer like you!

I was thinking I might go from Paris-Gengenbach to stay a few days, then to Strasbourg. But it looks much cheaper to book separately (Paris-Strasbourg, Strasbourg-Gengenbach) since together the fares are well over 100 euros. But there's a doable connection from Paris-Strasbourg (38 euros), arriving 11:54, and Strasbourg to Gengenbach 12:50. So I think I will do that.

Thank you for the suggestion of Gengenbach. It looks very relaxing. My plan down is
Arrive Paris (one night there)
Train to Strasbourg, then Gengenbach for three nights
Train to Strasbourg, four nights (including a day trip to Colmar)
Back to Paris for two nights and fly out

Are you flying into CDG? You can bypass Paris for the first night and catch the train from CDG - Strasbourg. Adding the extra night either in Paris prior to departure or one of the other locations.

Enjoy your trip.

Be sure you see the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, especially for the Isenheim Altarpiece.

Second choice for me also. I haven't been to Baden Baden; I studied it and it dropped very low on personal priority list. I liked both Colmar and Strasbourg a lot and plan to return.

Only comment is 2.5 days isn't much for Paris. I've been 8 times, three to five days each time and still haven't seen everything.