My wife and I just completed 12 days in Europe--3 in Paris, 2 in Colmar, 1 in Bacharach, 2 in Bruges, 1 in Middelburg, 1 in Ghent, and 2 in Haarlem. In Paris we stayed near Rue Cler at Hotel du Cadran. Tiny rooms but wonderful hosts and breakfast buffet (E587 for 3 nights). The cafes and markets along Rue Cler were great. Versailles, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame were totally overwhelmed with tourists. The train and subway from the airport to Rue Cler is manageable. We rented a car from the Europcar franchise near the Arc de Triomphe--a Fiat 500 with manual transmission and no A/C. Total bill was E127 for 7 days. We drove over 1800 km. Of the places we visited our favorite was Colmar--a friendly, smaller city in the Alsace region of France. The small, walled towns along the Alsace Vineyard Route were beautiful and charming. The wineries were plentiful, no tasting fees and friendly hosts. The castles along the Rhine were incredible. We bought a small picnic cooler for the car but could only find ice in Germany. Rick's recommendations were helpful, however, if we return, we probably will not stay at Hotel Adornes in Bruges (noisy and expensive), Hotel de Nieuwe Doelen in Middelburg (too much cigarette smoke from the bar drifting into the rooms), and Hotel Amadeus in Haarlem (weird, noisy room in the attic). Driving was a challenge. We bought a road atlas in Germany, however, many of the roadways along our route had numbers different than shown in the atlas. Traffic across Belgium was horrific. Two lane roads should be avoided if there is a four lane alternative. To avoid the drop-off fee for our car rental, we drove back to France from Ghent Belgium (Hotel Orion was wonderful (E105) with some nice restaurants just around the corner) to the Lille France train station and took the high speed train to Amsterdam. If driving, double or triple the time Google Maps gives you to reach your destination. The best brew pub was Het Anker in Mechelem Belgium--great beer and great food. Oh yeah, just about everyone wears blue jeans and tennis shoes!
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Glad you had a good time.\
It's different than here.
"Driving was a challenge." Yep, and you drove in the easier driving parts of Europe.
Try Italy.
No, actually, take the train in Italy.
Posted by
51 posts
Where did you stay in Colmar? I am on the fence about adding it to my trip. Sounds like you really enjoyed it. Any restaurant recommendations there?
Thanks
Posted by
OP
Montana
5 posts
Kent: Thanks for the tip about Italy. This was our first driving experience in Europe--definitely different than driving in the States. The left lanes are strictly for passing--no "Texas drivers" as my Dad used to say--camping in the passing lanes. It is pretty amazing how most drivers obey the posted speeds--when there are any--unlike many US drivers. We rented our car on a Sunday morning in Paris, as I mentioned at the Arc de Triomphe Europcar franchise, on our way out of town to avoid driving in Paris on a weekday and to avoid the 15-20% add-on fee for rental at a train station or airport. The only trick was trying to find a franchise that was open on Sunday. Our biggest frustration with driving was trying to understand the route markers and directional signage, as they are different in each of the countries; and when highways were closed for construction necessitating a detour. Besides the rental car fee of E127 for 7 days and 1800 km, we paid about $150 USD for fuel, parking, and tolls--about $40 USD/day or $0.16/km total. We actually enjoyed the experience and would do it again (except maybe in Italy).
Posted by
OP
Montana
5 posts
Judgekw: Yes, we really enjoyed Colmar and the surrounding area. After 3 days experiencing the crush of people in Paris, it was nice to relax a bit in a smaller sized town (66,000) and drive through the beautiful, uncrowded countryside. We stayed at the Hotel St. Martin, in the middle of the old part of town. We had a nice room on the 3rd floor with air conditioning, a small refrigerator, a large bathroom, and beautiful wood beams. We had a view of one of the churches and the canal from the room. The free city parking lot was a short walk away. We paid $220 USD for 2 nights. Breakfast was extra--E13/pp--which we thought was a bit expensive so we had coffee and croissants at a nearby cafe one morning and a nearby patisserie the next for about E6/pp. We had a good dinner the first night outside at the Schwendi Bier Winstub on the other side of the canal from the hotel, however, there are many more nearby options.
The Alsace Vineyard Tour is a couple day affair if you do it justice. We only spent part of one day. The many small towns are unique and picturesque with large Gothic churches, narrow, winding streets, and castles. There is very little urban sprawl with the countryside outside the small towns consisting of farms and vineyards. We even drove up the mountainside to the three towers on the Schlossberg Hill and had an easy hike to the structures through the balsam fir forest.