My husband and I will be flying into Frankfurt from the US in October 2025 and plan to visit the Alsace region in France first and then will head to the Mosel Valley in Germany before flying back out of Frankfurt to the US. We would like to travel by train from Frankfurt to Colmar France but are unfamiliar with the railway system in that area and would appreciate any guidance, suggested websites, etc in which to look. Also, are there any regulations that we need to be aware of when traveling between European countries? Finally, we plan to rent a car in Colmar and spend several nights in a smaller town nearby (place still undetermined at this point), so any advice on renting a car in Colmar would be appreciated. Many thanks for your help.
Posted by
Schwerin
3285 posts
I recommend to use Deutsche Bahn journey planner: https://int.bahn.de/en
Avoid cross-border car rentals - they are expensive.
Assure you have driving permission (not only license) for countries you want to drive in.
For Germany: Validity of foreign driving licences in Germany
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5695 posts
The DB website will work for rail tickets. You can also look at the French rail site: https://www.sncf-connect.com/app/en-en/home/search/od
You can look at AutoEurope to see what rental agencies are in Colmar. Always try to pick up and drop off in the same country. Otherwise the surcharge will be many hundreds of €. In France each driver is required to have an International Driver's Permit (obtain from your local AAA before leaving home).
Posted by
Wengen
2612 posts
Note that it is very early to buy train tickets. I would wait till July at least. French train schedules for Fall aren't even on line yet.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
8075 posts
Check if a Multi City flight into Paris and out of Frankfurt might have lower net costs. We rented in Strasbourg, which might have more car options, and can be reached by TGV direct from CDG.
It’s your trip, but I might not pair two places so far apart. Have you already seen the scenic middle-Rhine valley already?
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8247 posts
As others suggested, use the German Rail site for planning, and for a ticket to Colmar. You can try some dates a month or two our to get a sense of routes and costs. You will find two basic routes to get there from Frankfurt, for the least changes, there is a fast ICE train to Basel, Switzerland, then a regional train to Colmar. It sounds out of the way, but less hassle and just as fast. You can also go with multiple changes to Offenburg, then to Strasbourg, and then to Colmar.
A car would be fine, either rented in Colmar or Strasbourg, depending on what you find, to explore the area near there. However, I would return the car and take the train to the Mosel Valley, renting again there if needed. You really do not want to try to pick up in one country and drop off in another, and there are differing requirements for "Green Zones" in each country that a local rental car will be set up for. Get an IDP from AAA before you go.
Crossing borders on train is a non-event, at most the rare walk through by Police near a border might be done, but nothing else.
For what it is worth, train to get to the Mosel Valley from Colmar or Strasbourg can be done to either Trier or Koblenz. Most routes to Trier will take you through Luxembourg City, probably worth getting off the train and going for a stroll before heading on to Trier.