Must-See Villages in Alsace
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Alsace just might be the most romantic region of France. It is the perfect couples' destination or even for a girl’s trip away. While Alsace is most renowned for its white wine, you don’t have to be a connoisseur to appreciate this charming destination. For fans of Beauty and the Beast, seeing the colorful villages that inspired the films is well worth the trip.
Last September was our two-year wedding anniversary and I planned our trip to Alsace as a surprise for my husband. He loves wine and is a foodie, so Alsace felt like the perfect destination for us. I hid scavenger clues around our house in the week leading up to the trip so he could slowly piece together the words, “Alsace, France.” The year before, we had done an 8-week wine-tasting course and some of our favorite wines were from this region of France. Needless to say, he was very excited when he finally solved the puzzle.
Before I dive into the best villages, here’s a quick look at our overall costs for the vacation. For our four-day trip, I budgeted £500 ($630) for the car rental, Airbnb, and flights. We flew from London Gatwick to Basel, Switzerland for £184 ($230) round trip with EasyJet. Our rental car was an automatic Honda CR-V which cost £136 ($171) from Alamo and we used the Booking.com insurance policy. Our biggest expense was for this cute little house we rented which was £268 ($337) for three nights. But it is up there with the best places I’ve ever stayed in and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a quintessential French home. In all, I came in at £88 ($110) over budget with the trip costing £588 ($741). To compensate for that, we bought loads of charcuterie and cheese with a fresh French loaf and had a couple of our meals in the garden of our rental accommodation. You could definitely do it for cheaper, but this was an anniversary trip, so we splurged more than we normally would.
I didn’t do a breakdown of what we spent while in the region, but that is highly dependent on what activities you like to do. We visited the main castle, which was luckily free the day we went, and the rest of our activities were essentially free as we were just sightseeing. We paid €25 to our guide for the Strasbourg tour because they did an amazing job. Had lunch out a few times which was around €10-15 per person with a glass of wine. And, of course, I ate my weight in French pastries, but those are priceless in my book.
Now let’s get to the villages! You can easily visit all of these in a four-day trip, so add them to your bookmarked locations on your map of choice. You only need around one to two hours per village as they are all quite small, but I’d recommend adding an hour to that if you’re having lunch or want to do wine tastings or any of the local attractions. I would personally try to only see three towns per day as you can burn out and not appreciate them as much after that.
Eguisheim
The perfect place to start if you flew into Basel. This town also tops the list as my favorite village. The circular road that runs around the village leads you on a loop so remarkable that you might not notice that you’ve gone around more than once. Grab an ice cream cone as you wander these quaint cobbled streets. Then stop for lunch at Restaurant Kas’Fratz. My favorite meal of the trip was a goat’s cheese salad at this town center restaurant with a view.
Kaysersberg
Heading north, the logical next stop from Eguisheim is Kayersberg. I loved this village because it surprised me. As you park, it seems like there isn’t anything here, but once you are on the pedestrian roads, it takes your breath away. The main lane here is wide and lined on both sides with fairytale buildings covered in flowers. We particularly enjoyed watching glass being made (viewing is free) at Verrerie de Kaysersberg.
Riquewihr
If you’re a Beauty and the Beast fan, this town is the stop for you. I would go so far as to say, it’s the most beautiful of all the villages. However, that comes with the usual caveat–it is also the most busy. Definitely go, but go either early in the day so you can walk the streets saying, “Bonjour” as all the bakeries open, or go in the late afternoon after the tour buses have cleared off. We went at 11 AM and it was rammed.
Ribeauville
If you’re stopping in Riquewihr, it’s a given to also stop in Ribeauville. They are very near to each other and you could even rent a bike to ride through the vineyards between the two as it’s only estimated as 24 minutes. We found Ribeauville to be exceptional for its dessert options from the many wonderful patterseries. It also seemed like a great place for wine tastings, we were just a bit early in the day for that. (Though that didn’t stop me from having dessert for breakfast, obviously).
Saint-Hippolyte
This Alsace village is tiny. But it is home to one of the most popular Instagram photos of Alsace and it is an easy stop on the way to Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg. The thing to not miss is the small bakery on the main street called Au Virage des Pains. Get there early for all the best-baked goods.
Obernai
Obernai is a slightly bigger village bordering on a town. There was more car traffic here, so it didn’t feel quite as quaint and charming as the rest. However, it is a lovely town and would be ideal for stocking up on groceries if you’re staying in a self-catering Airbnb. I highly recommend this one. It is utterly perfect and in a good location between Strasbourg and Colmar.
Bonus Cities
While you could very well just spend your time in Alsace among the vineyards, at the many castles, and in the villages above–a stop in the two main cities of Colmar and Strasbourg is something I would highly recommend. If you can only make it to one, my vote would be Strasbourg. More on that below.
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the gem of Alsace. While Colmar wins consistently as the most beautiful place in France, I found Strasbourg to be just as charming and considerably less touristic. It is home to Notre Dame Cathedral which looms over the town center. The doors to the cathedral are carved with the life story of Jesus and the intricacy is incredible (even if you’re not religious). Inside, there is a clock that baffles the mind. Make sure you check the time so you can watch it work at the top of the hour.
A walking tour of Strasbourg is a must. I think the town really comes to life when you hear its complex history. You’ll also learn about why each house in town is the color it is based on the professions of those who lived and worked there. I recommend booking this free walking tour where you pay what you think the tour was worth at the end. Did I mention there are free food tastings? Yes, please.
Colmar
There is no denying the beauty of Colmar. Especially Petite Venise, which has to be one of the most photographed places on Earth. Imagine yourself stepping onto a flower-laden bridge and looking down the blue-green canal running between picturesque timbered buildings. The scene is awe-inspiring. However, it is ruined a little by how busy the town has become. Like Riquewihr, I would suggest going early in the morning or late in the day. Another option would be to make Colmar your base as it’s ideally located between all of the villages above. Then you could wander its charming streets any time it looks like the crowds have gone.
What do you think? Will you be adding Alsace to your future travels. Please let me know if you have any questions about the region in the comments below. Here are a few helpful tips and links to help get you started planning your trip.
What is the best way to get around? My vote would be to rent a car. If you’re coming from America, Canada, Europe, etc… you’ll be driving on your usual side of the road, and I would rank the route as quite easy and we didn’t struggle to find parking. There are bus tours from places like Colmar and Strasbourg. Or, better yet, you can cycle the full wine route if you rent a bike. That’s a future adventure for us.
Where should I fly into? We flew into Basel, Switzerland, and it was a quick drive up a main road to get to Alsace. The bonus is that you can explore Basel for a few hours and add an extra country to your visited list.
Is Basel worth a full day of my trip? If you’ve never been to Switzerland, I would say yes. However, you should plan to go back and visit Bern or Lucerne which I greatly prefer to Basel.
What’s the weather like? We found the weather in September to be perfect. It’s summer dress and jean jacket sort of temperatures. It would be a little hotter in summer. We had almost no rain.
When is the best time to go? There are several wine festivals and events here throughout the year. Depending on your preference, I would say to go for one or these or do what we did and go the week before so it’s not so expensive. Christmas markets in this area are world-renowned, so worth considering as well.
Where should my base be? I cannot recommend the house we stayed in enough. However, the village there is tiny (though with a great bakery). If you want to be more in the center of things, then Colmar or Strasbourg would be perfect.
