Top Alsace hotels
Notre-Dame Cathedral Strasbourg
119 Reviews You will be attracted like a magnet to the cathedral. It's huge, and dominates the city. The little streets are quaint, full of people in the best of time and pleasant for a stroll, maybe with an ice...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Old Town Colmar
55 Reviews In the square you can pick up an easy 4-mile English tour through the Old Town. We understand that the train does not stop, so you will have to return to take photos unless you have a fast camera. We...
See All 164 Things to Do in Colmar
La Petite France Strasbourg
51 Reviews The Maison des Tanneurs in Petite France is today actually a restaurant. On our visit to Petite France we didn`t dine here, nevertheless, the building is worth a visit, if only to see from the...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Petite Venise Colmar
20 Reviews This is certainly the most popular photograph of Colmar. A must for every visitor. It is taken from the bridge of the Turenne street on the Lauch River. The half-timbered houses which form the...
See All 164 Things to Do in Colmar
Boat trip on the river Strasbourg
18 Reviews The River Ill winds its way around the old city of Strasbourg. So a great way to see and learn all about this city is to take a boat ride around it. Boat tours can be just for sightseeing, or for...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Museums Colmar
32 Reviews Here's my journal entry for the museum: "Followed signs through ancient sculpture, a very dark Alsatian wine cellar (no doubt authentic), XV and XVI century painting . . . and really...
See All 164 Things to Do in Colmar
Place Gutenberg Strasbourg
9 Reviews Place Gutenberg is two blocks west of the Cathedral. At its center is the excellent statue to the town's most famous citizen created by David d'Angers in 1840. Along one side of the square is the...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Churches Colmar
25 Reviews St. Martin's Collegiate church as we see now was built in the 13th century and is in Alsace a major example of Gothic architecture. The foundations go back to the year 1000. The bulb-shaped dome that...
See All 164 Things to Do in Colmar
The European Parliament Strasbourg
13 Reviews The European Parliament represents, in the words of the 1957 Treaty of Rome, 'the peoples of the States brought together in the European Community'. The Parliament has got 626 Members (30.04.2003) of...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
House of Heads Colmar
10 Reviews Each time I passed in front of the Maison des Têtes (House of the Heads); I wondered what had inspired the merchant Anton Burger in 1609 to build this manor in German Renaissance with its 111...
See All 164 Things to Do in Colmar
Les Ponts Couverts Strasbourg
10 Reviews The three watch towers at the end of La Petite France were rebuilt in the 19C to maintain the watch tower appearance and the neighborhood remains as it was along the district but without the tanning...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Fountains/ Statues Colmar
11 Reviews "A military ground for Execises was developed on the premises in 1793 , and was named "Champ-de-Mars". It was developed into a public park in 1808 in its southern part, while the Place Rapp area...
See All 164 Things to Do in Colmar
Palais des Rohan- Museums Strasbourg
8 Reviews The "palais des Rohan" was built for the infamous Rohan family who detained the town's bishopship during several decades. The palace presents the architectural specificity to be the only 'historical'...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Barrage Vauban Strasbourg
5 Reviews The Barrage (dam) Vauban (aka the great lock) was built around 1690, using the plans from the king's Louis XiV architect Vauban (thus the name). It was intended to reinforce the town's security : the...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
The Council of Europe Strasbourg
5 Reviews Strasbourg is a host for several European institutions. One of them is Council of Europe. It is the oldest international organization working towards European integration, founded in 1949. It is...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Église Saint Pierre le Vieux Strasbourg
4 Reviews Église Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune (Church Saint Peter the New) stands at the end of Petite rue de l'Église/Klein Krichgass. Three churches have been built one after the other on the same place. There...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Pont Saint Martin Strasbourg
2 Reviews Point Saint Martin is second most famous bridge in Petite France. From the bridge is great view of canal and half timbered houses. Under the bridge is great restaurant with gallery which was washing...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Musee de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame Strasbourg
1 Review Visit the Musee de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame. This museum dedicated to art of the Strasbourg and upper Rhine region is set in a magnificent group of ancient buildings, the oldest being from the 14th...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
The Modern Art Museum Strasbourg
1 Review This strange masqued horse (signed by Mimmo Paladino) stands on the entrance roof of the "Musee d'Art Moderne et Contemporain". The new glass and pink sandstone building hosts since 1998 works from...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Church of Saint Paul Strasbourg
2 Reviews At the convergence of the rivers Ill and Aar is Le pont d'Auvergne. Sitting in this place is another magnificent church, L'eglise Saint Paul. Rather spectacular views of the church is afforded...
See All 442 Things to Do in Strasbourg
Alsace is made for cyclists. Strasbourg, the biggest city, has well marked bike paths in the city, and easy routes to the countryside. Everywhere in Alsace there are bike friendly roads and paths. You will see cycle route markers along the way, and there are also maps made specifically for this purpose. Whether for an afternoon or for several days, it is one of the best ways to see Alsace and the countryside.
Along the Rhine River is the Rhine canal. This canal, like others throughout Europe, were built for transporting goods. Many smaller canals are popular now because they are so scenic. We have friends who have taken days long tours along canals, but since they are so easy to reach, they are a great destination for a walk or bike ride. This scene, for example, is just to the south of Strasbourg. A walking and bike path runs along the canal, so it is easy to enjoy the route without the noise, pollution and danger of cars and trucks. What a great way to spend some leisure time.
The two cities to visit are Strasbourg and Colmar. Strasbourg is a must. You will find here on VT more than 1000 tips what shows the importance for tourism of the capital of Alsace.For a stay my preference goes to Colmar, a very nice town with many typical houses and a small river. It is a "family sized" town and much safer than Strasbourg (29 warning or danger tips; only 3 for Colmar with one to say it is safe!).One needs a full day for each city.Next are the famous Alsatian wine villages. There are many large like Obernai, a town in the north, or the 5 best known and most visited like Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg, Eguisheim and Turckheim. These are located in a hilly area about 10 Km west of the main road A35 joining Colmar to Sélestat. It is possible to visit them in one day but that would be a rush. There are also many small villages, not les typical, and there is also the...
Soufflenheim is famous for its many potteries, see my shopping tip. There is a big church , said to be beautiful inside, but unfortunately it was locked when I wanted to go in. Close to the church there is a path leading up to what is called the Oelberg - Mount of Olives. It looks like this was a cemetery once, now it is being reconstructed and looks like an empty lot with just one statue in it, but no path to get to it.Since it had been raining, it was very muddy when I was there. However, on the other side of the open field there is the scene of the Last Supper done in ceramics and this is worth seeing.It must have taken a lot of time to shape the statues.I suppose in a few months the work will be finished and the Oelberg will be turned into a park or a cemetery again. I'll be back and I'm looking forward to see the Oelberg again in spring.Walking up the path I had a good view on the...
There is a small train taking tourists through the town, while explaining the major sights.We took the tour and enjoyed it very much. The driver was doing a terrifc job, as some of the streets were very narrow and of course also totally crowded.The ride was about 30 minutes and gave a good, basic introduction into Colmar.Be careful:A white and a green train are doing this tour and they don't accept tickets from each other.We had bought our tickets in the tourist information for the wrong train and had to get new ones.Tickets were 6 or 7 Euro each.
This was our second stop. In the meantime it had rained heavily, but luckily it had stopped by the time we reached the parking lot of the castle. There are many parking spaces further up the road, but they were all taken. If you have problems walking, drive up as far as possible.We had to walk up the hill for about 20 minutes and enjoyed the view, even though it was still cloudy.The Haut Koenigsbourg is everything you expect a knight's castle to look like, straight out of a fairy tale book. In fact, it's not even very old. It was destroyed in 17th century, but was restored in early 20th century by the last German emperor. He wanted the castle to look like a medieval castle and he succeeded. It is a spectacular castle, with a drawbridge, knights' armours and weapons, large paintings on the walls about hunting scenes and much more. One of my favourites was a lamp in the shape of a...
Don't miss this strange painting on the wall just outside the main entrance to the cathedral. It is a hand with a finger pointing down and the inscription: Hie vor ist diss gemichet - Something happened here". Unfortunately there is no explanation as to exactly what happened there, or even when it happened, only some speculations - accident? War? Punishment?
From everywhere you can see the high spire of the cathedral St Peter and Paul. Again, the colourful tiles of the roof against the blue sky looked great. On the ground of the church you can see parts of the old Romanic chapel from 11th century. There is also a cross-coat (walkway) left with many very old tombstones.I was most impressed by the old murals inside the cathedral, especially a huge one of St Christophorus. My camera wasn't good enough to take a picture of it, though.Something else I found very interesting: A maze done by the German artist Heinz Becht.He was first in Wissembourg as a young boy and kept coming back. When he heard about the monk Otfried von Weißenburg - the German version of Wissembourg - who had created a maze in 9th century, he decided to recreate this maze and give it to the cathedral in Wissembourg.
Our first stop was Wissembourg in northern Alsace. This is a lovely little town, one of my favourites in the area.There is a large parking lot just outside the centre, where we parked. It's only a few minutes walk from there to the old part of the town. The banks of the small river running through it, the Lauter, have been planted with lots of flowers, a very nice and colourful picture. Add the blue sky to it and you can imagine a picture-perfect scenery.Around the centre there are still parts of the old fortification walls left. Today this is a nice area for walks.
Kaysersberg is a charming small town with streets lined with medieval and 16th century houses, a castle ruin, and a fortified bridge. It's also the birthplace of Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer. He has a museum here.
Hotel Gutenberg Strasbourg
1 Review and 183 Opinions I toured Alsace by bicycle in mid-September, 2008. After the group ride was over, I stayed for 3...
Saint-Martin Hotel Colmar Colmar
4 Reviews and 76 Opinions We stayed 2 nights in 2004. When we arrived we were given keys to a small attic room which was...
Citotel Hotel d'Alsace Wissembourg Wissembourg
7 Opinions
Reviews and photos of Alsace attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Alsace sightseeing.
More Cities in Alsace
Q: My daughter 22 and I will be going to Alsace next April. We will travel from Paris.We will stay three nights. What's the cheapest...
A: Where you stay depends on what you want to see and do and also your transportation. We drive so we stay in one of the wine villages. We've stayed in Barr many times and...
Read 6 Replies
