"Sometimes overlooked beautiful corner of France" Top 5 Page for this destination Alsace by rexvaughan

Alsace Travel Guide: 1,892 reviews and 5,918 photos

The Rhine is the eastern border - Alsace

Beautiful country, wonderful cities

For me, Alsace has just about everything a traveler could want. The Wine Road is centered in Colmar and stretches through myriad lovely villages each with its own display of colorful cross-timbered architecture. The cuisine is somewhat unique as it tends to blend some of the best of French and German. The capital, Strasbourg, is a major European center housing both the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice and is peppered with picturesque canals and architecture and features a world-class cathedral. Colmar, if anything, may be even more picturesque with myriad canals, colorful architecture and the wonderful Unterlinden Museum. To top it all off, the locals here seem to all be friendly and helpful.

Friends here and there

Our hometown friend's father in Marckolsheim

We have visited Alsace twice and both trips were at least partly inspired by a friend in our town, a delightful young Alsatian woman who owns an Alsatian restaurant called, appropriately enough, Café Alsace which is our favorite place for dinner, lunch or Sunday brunch.

Grand history and ecology

Typical beautiful architecture in Colmar

On our first trip to Alsace, we stayed at a small hotel in Colmar and the second trip we stayed in the B’nB/Gite of a friend in the small town of Marckolsheim. We certainly enjoyed the cities of Colmar and Strasbourg, but also loved the small villages that dot the landscape and explored a few of those on the Route du Vin. Our plan for the Wine Road was pretty general, which allowed us to spend more time than planned in the small village (population about 600) of Hunawihr. We stopped for a sample of the Gewurztraminer, but had been drawn to the town by the picturesque church dominating the vineyard landscape. It turned out to be a small but magnificent 16th Century fortified church with an archway wall plaque displaying the history of the church. We also discovered a small but lovely butterfly center and a Stork Reintroduction Center where the almost depleted stork population is being brought back to life. Very important to folks here as the stork is a primary symbol of Alsace. Our brief stop turned into a half day exploration of Hunawihr.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Great variety of things to enjoy
In a nutshell:Lush vineyards, lovely villages, great art

Last visit to Alsace: Oct 2012
Intro Updated Mar 29, 2013
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Reviews (21)

St. Martin Church Things to Do (14)

St. Martin Church is sometimes called a cathedral, but it is not as Colmar has never been the seat of a bishopric.... more travel advice

In the heart of Alsace Restaurants (4)

This is an attractive inn on the main street of Marckolsheim and the restaurant menu seems to be pretty typically... more travel advice

With our friend Edouard in Wettlesheim - Alsace

Sipping the wine Things to Do (14)

Among many other unique characteristics of Alsace is its wine. I think it is the only wine region in France which names... more travel advice

Anne's place in Marckolsheim Hotels (2)

You know you are probably off the beaten path when you find yourself about 15 miles outside of Colmar in a nameless... more travel advice

Transportation (1)
Off the map?!

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Travelogues (1)

Written Jun 9, 2004

6 photos

La Route Des Vins d'Alsace

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Comments (17)

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Nemorino Apr 4, 2013 at 2:48 PM

Beautiful photos from your two visits to the Alsace! I’m glad you enjoyed your visits there and found such great places to stay and eat, and try the wine.
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  rexvaughan Apr 4, 2013 at 5:07 PM
  
  Thanks, Don. We had a great time there and then spent a week in Germany as well. We met some of my wife's distant cousins and were received like visiting royalty.
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balhannah Dec 27, 2009 at 9:24 PM

The Astronomical clock would be worth seeing. sounds like a nice area to visit.
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Yaqui Nov 8, 2008 at 6:25 PM

I agree with Deecat! What a absolute delight! Something to be said about these wonderful villages or towns. They are little treasures that are undiscovered! Thanks for sharing!
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SteveOSF Aug 6, 2008 at 12:45 PM

An excellent page. This looks like such a beautiful spot to visit.
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Pawtuxet Jun 19, 2008 at 5:29 AM

Lovely town. We passed thru briefly and I'm sure we missed many wonderful things. The astrological clock is fascinating. Thanks for the view.
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deecat May 28, 2006 at 12:36 PM

What a delight this must have been...the way I love to travel...some small villages, wine, surprises such as the butterflies and stork nests. I LOL about the "pork" incident.
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mustertal Apr 20, 2006 at 1:14 AM

The Alsace is my favorite part of France. So many pretty villages.
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VeronicaG Dec 3, 2005 at 12:34 PM

You must have been very patient and quick to get such gorgeous photos of the butterflies--and the storks---I would have loved to see them!!
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BerniShand Dec 10, 2004 at 2:29 PM

finding places like Huniwahr is pure serendipity, but France is full of hidden treasures, come to England soon, l`ll show you round our ancient church, we have an angel ceiling you`d love. Wonderful page Rex
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jamiesno Dec 7, 2004 at 3:25 PM

It's cool learning of these places I had not heard of!!! Thank Rex!!