Tuscany Hill Towns or Alsace villages - What would you choose?

Regarding grape harvest, that occurs in the fall, around when the hills turn golden. We were in Tuscany this past May, and the hills were lush green. We had some morning fog, which restricted views, but that's not predictable. With the varying geographies of the hill towns, you should have great photography options. You didn't mention whether you appreciate wine?
Tuscany is best experienced via a car, due to the area being rural, and the lack of public transportation options.
I haven't experienced enough of Mosel and Alsace areas to answer that part of your question.
Have a wonderful trip. Safe travels!

Regarding grape harvest, that occurs in the fall, around when the hills turn golden. We were in Tuscany this past May, and the hills were lush green. We had some morning fog, which restricted views, but that's not predictable. With the varying geographies of the hill towns, you should have great photography options. You didn't mention whether you appreciate wine?
Tuscany is best experienced via a car, due to the area being rural, and the lack of public transportation options.
I haven't experienced enough of Mosel and Alsace areas to answer that part of your question.
Have a wonderful trip. Safe travels!

Thanks for your comment. We are not really into wines, and I updated it in my post for clarity.

I think this is an apples and oranges comparison.

I haven't been to Strasbourg, but I did go to Colmar (not too far away) and saw a bit of that part of France on the "Best of Eastern France" Rick Steves tour. I have been to Tuscany several times.

For me personally, there is no choice; I would choose Tuscany, and it's not even close. The food, the views, everything about it is really awesome to me.

But this is based on my own tastes: I have not enjoyed my time in Germany in the past (mostly just in Munich) and I didn't enjoy Colmar when I was there. Italy is in my blood (literally with some Italian heritage) and there's something about it that I love.

My first trip to Tuscany (we stayed just outside Montalcino) was in June and it was warm at times but not hot. It could be hotter though, perpaps we got lucky. I thought it was all quite photogenic, but then again, I just love those golden hills.

Good luck deciding! Road trips can be a blast, so you have a great trip ahead of you, no matter which you end up with.

Either of these sounds like a much better idea than doing Vienna, Budapest and Montenegro in four days. By Mosel Valley, are you thinking of the German part, basically between Trier and Koblenz? Most agree that that is the most scenic part and it is the part Rick recommends, but the Moselle (French spelling) also flows through the French region of Lorraine, which is closer to Alsace, and then Luxembourg before Germany. There is Luxembourg city, not on the Moselle but worth a visit, as well as historic Trier with its Roman sites in Germany. Combining any of this with Alsace is still quite a lot of ground to cover in a short time. Alsace alone could well take up four good days easily.

Either of these sounds like a much better idea than doing Vienna, Budapest and Montenegro in four days. By Mosel Valley, are you thinking of the German part, basically between Trier and Koblenz? Most agree that that is the most scenic part and it is the part Rick recommends, but the Moselle (French spelling) also flows through the French region of Lorraine, which is closer to Alsace, and then Luxembourg before Germany. There is Luxembourg city, not on the Moselle but worth a visit, as well as historic Trier with its Roman sites in Germany. Combining any of this with Alsace is still quite a lot of ground to cover in a short time. Alsace alone could well take up four good days easily.

Yes, Vienna, Budapest and Montenegro is very nice and my wife wants to keep that as a separate bigger/relaxed trip, so dropping that idea for this year.

That is a fair point, and I agree Alsace alone could easily fill four days. That said, we are actually comfortable with a faster pace and do not mind longer drives if it allows us to see distinctly different landscapes on the same trip.

Our priority is less about lingering deeply in one place and more about visual and geographic contrast—vineyard villages, river valleys, historic towns, architecture, especially from a photography standpoint. With that in mind, we were considering Alsace as the core, with a selective slice of the Mosel (likely the German section) rather than trying to cover everything.

Fully understand that this won’t be relaxed, but we are okay trading pace for variety. Curious how people would structure this efficiently without it becoming chaotic.

Hi, I’ve stayed in Strasbourg, Colmar, and we visited the surrounding small villages during a mini-van half-day tour. And I have stayed in Siena & Montepulciano and visited Pienza and San Gimignano.

Photos are my main souvenir, and I have a canvas enlargement of one of the little villages outside Colmar in my set of travel photos displayed in my home office. From an architectural standpoint consider whether you want the half-timbered German look or the Italian stone structured look. I find the countryside photos less interesting than the small towns with their many unique features. I was taking a lot of photos in Montepulciano early in the day before day tourists were arriving, and it was not only lovely from a photography view but such a peaceful walk through town and out to the church at the base in the valley.

And since you love photography, any chance you might want to consider pairing your dates with a local festival? I’m not sure of the dates of the barrel race up through Montepulciano, but I have attended festivals such as Arezzo’s jousting, Asti’s palio, Spello’s Infiorate, and Venice’s Regatta Storia - amazing photography opportunities!

Thank you, this is really helpful, especially the way you framed it as an architectural "visual language" choice rather than one being objectively better. That’s exactly the kind of perspective we were hoping for.

Photography is our main souvenir as well, and we do enjoy quieter early mornings, so your Montepulciano experience resonates a lot. We are less interested in festivals this time (traveling with a child and trying to keep days lighter), so the core decision really comes down to: stone hill towns + soft landscapes vs. colorful villages + river valleys. Looks like, we are leaning towards Alsace villages for this time.

The good news is there’s no”wrong choice”. Have a great time!

I recommend you read my trip report on driving in Tuscany and Umbria. Note that my visit was in late March so not much in the way of scenery, but also not many tourists at all.

I spent 3 nights in tiny Eguisheim near Colmar in late June about 10 years ago. It was a great choice with a car - easy driving in and out and near access the the main roads to the many scenic Alsatian towns. I was in Burgundy before Alsace and the rolling hills of wheat fields, some bright green with early summer planting, some golden with ripe wheat and some browning after the spring harvest, round bales and tire tracks adding variety. There was probably some in Alsace as well, but I didn't pay attention. Alsace also has scenic routes, don't let the name "wine route" fool you, there's a lot more charm than wine, lots of medieval churches, half-timbered buildings, cobblestone streets and and nesting cranes, though the young ones were almost as big as their parents. Never been to Mosel Valley. Strasbourg is beautiful, with canals, and a rose pink cathedral.

This is really helpful and good report. Thanks for sharing. Appreciate that.

We spent a total of 6 nights in Tuscany last May. Three of those nights were in Siena. We drove through Val d'Orcia, and we stopped in Pienza, Volterra and San Gimignano. I wish we had more time. We thought the scenery was fantastic! The rolling hills, the cypress trees, the vineyards, the olive groves, and the pretty hilltop towns with awesome architecture. You certainly can't go wrong with Tuscany. We haven't been to Alsace, Mosel Valley or Strasbourg so can't compare.

Tuscany definitely fits a scenery, driving, and photography style. We were constantly stopping to take photos. Temperatures were comfortable in May. There was fog in Siena in the early mornings, and we got some awesome photos of the fog over the hills from our hotel room window.

Thanks for your opinion and I definitely agree. I believe Tuscany should need more time, as it is vast and beautiful, so we are keeping it for later trip. This one, we will go with Alsace.