Alsace??

I have only been to Strasbourg. Whilst the German influences are still strong it does not feel purely German. The signs are French, as far as I could tell the locals (i.e. people working in shops etc) spoke French as their first language (though there were lots of German tourists around). The food is a mix of French and German. I cannot speak for the rest of Alsace though.

We were there just a few weeks ago, and enjoyed it very much. Strasbourg was just great, just about right for a two-night visit. Not so much to do there that you are going to be upset if you miss something. But enough to do so that you will not get board. A great first stop, which was what we did, flying into Strasbourg and sixteen nights later out of CDG. Strasbourg is also a big enough city that it does not get overwhelmed by tourism (postcard stands in the center notwithstanding). The cathedral was great, the pink sandstone that they built it from makes it unique (though not in the region, where this stone is common).

We also enjoyed Colmar -- the Unterlinden Museum lives up to RIck's depiction. Just a great museum, and not just painting. Martin Schongauer is an artist was prominent in Alsace, who was new to me. Haute-Konigsburg Castle was nice, and the views from up there are really something. Of the smaller towns we found Kaysersberg and Euguishim (sp?) to be especially nice. Alsace in the smaller towns treads a fine line (staying just barely on the right side of it) of being tourist friendly without pandering too much to us tourists. At least in May it stays the right side of the line. Even in May though, there were tour buses lined up in the parking lots in these tiny towns. A month later and it might have been too crazy for us. At a minimum, the Unterlinden in Colmar and a couple of days in Strasbourg are well worth it.

A friend of ours in France if from Alsace, and he always says he has a German name but a French heart and I think you will find that true of Strasbourg, too.

One big surprise for me were the Vosges mountains around Colmar. Most sources describes them as "a low mountain range", but I would say low only compared to the Alps. The main road between Colmar and Epinal follows a mountain pass that takes you nearly to the summit. Probably a great view on a clear day (I was there on a cloudy day...).

To me, that is akin to saying, "I have been to London, is Edinburgh worth it?" Or, "I have been to Germany, is Austria worth it?" IOW, they are different enough to merit visiting and I personally love Strasbourg (and have been to Germany numerous times even, gasp, visiting some places there more than once). :-)