How to Plan Your Alsace Wine Route Itinerary. For the best experience, plan to spend at least 3 days on the Alsace wine route. This gives you enough time to day trip to the towns, dine on the Alsatian food, go on wine tastings, and truly experience this region. During our visit, we typically visited four towns per day.
From April to June, spring in Alsace is beautiful. Nature is reborn, the villages are blooming, the vines are green again and it is not too hot. An ideal time to come to Alsace because you can enjoy all the activities that the region offers.
Alsace has an efficient motorway system. The A35 motorway crosses Alsace from north to south, a distance that can be driven in under 2 hours. The small roads are the best way to discover picturesque villages, the Alsace Wine Route or the Peak Route.
If you are staying in Colmar as a home base and want to explore other towns in the Alsace region, I would recommend 3 – 5 days. If you are staying somewhere else in the Alsace region and just want to do a quick trip to Colmar, France, you could totally do it as a day trip. Just know that it will be a little bit rushed.
Strasbourg: The Don'ts of Visiting Strasbourg, France
Is it better to visit Colmar or Strasbourg?
If you're the kind of person who enjoys fully covering a place, wandering around its most famous streets and ticking off a list of all of the top attractions, then you'll want to head to Colmar as opposed to Strasbourg.
You want to try some of the wonderful local restaurants at night. You an easily spend 2 full days in Strasbourg, a full day in Colmar and 1 or 2 in the wine vilages. We stayed in Strasbourg and did the whole hting by car (very small area) to have access to greater choice of restaurants.
Alsace can be discovered without a car by using soft transport, which is less polluting and allows you to take full advantage of the scenery as it passes by! No more traffic jams and no more searching for a car park…
Alsace is also a year-round destination. In the spring and summer, you can enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, cycling, or boating on the Rhine River. In the fall, there are festivals, colorful foliage, and crisp weather. Then, in the winter, there are the infamous Christmas markets.
For the best experience, plan to spend at least 3 days on the Alsace wine route. This gives you enough time to day trip to the towns, dine on the Alsatian food, go on wine tastings, and truly experience this region. During our visit, we typically visited four towns per day.
I'd recommend spending at least 2 days in Strasbourg, and then if you have more time, check out the rest of Alsace. It's a beautiful wine-growing region with lots of charming little towns and villages, a vast national park, and spectacular natural landscapes.
The wine region of Alsace is unique in France because of the combination of grapes grown there. Specialising in German grape varieties like Gewurztraminer and Riesling, the Alsace wine region produces largely white wines such as Riesling, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc.
With one day in Colmar, you have just enough time to explore the scenic streets, dine on Alsatian food, go wine tasting, and even explore a museum or two.
By train. Running through the heart of the region, the Alsace Wine Route is easily accessible from Strasbourg, Colmar and Mulhouse. Thanks to a dense railway network, you can easily get to some of the loveliest places on the Wine Route: From Strasbourg > Molsheim, Rosheim, Obernai and Barr (Strasbourg-Sélestat line)
Colmar is an enchanting small town in the Alsace region of France. It's known for its colorful medieval architecture and canal-lined town center. With its rich cultural heritage set in a storybook atmosphere, it's no wonder why Colmar is so special.
With its well-preserved medieval old town and stunning blend of German and French architectural styles, Colmar is a must-visit destination for those wanting to explore a picture-perfect Atlassian town.
However, many visitors rely on rental cars to get around, which can be costly and stressful, especially for those who are not accustomed to driving on French roads. But fear not, because there are plenty of alternative ways to experience the beauty and history of the Loire Valley without a car.
Granted you won't need a car to visit the city itself, but if Strasbourg is part of your road trip through the east of France or you want to explore nearby towns, renting a car is the best option.
East: Out to Reims, Nancy and Metz. West: Anger, Saumur, Chinon and other Loire spots. West: Nantes, La Rochelle and Cognac. Southwest: Poitiers, Angouleme and Bordeaux.
Colmar is much smaller than Strasbourg - and I recommend that you stay in the latter. Several good hotels, a bunch of restaurants and several interesting things to do on top of the cathedral and the petite France boat ride. We did Colmar as a day trip and that was enough to cover what we wanted.
As the capital of France's Alsace region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and home to the European Parliament, there's plenty to see and do in Strasbourg. With two days you can cover a lot, including the city's historic heart, its top sights, the nearby wine region, and, in December, the legendary Christmas markets.
Colmar, France may not have well-known museums or famous cathedrals, but it's one of the most picture-perfect fairytale towns in Europe. The mix of German and French culture/cuisine, famous wines, twisting water canals, and half-timbered houses make this a memorable place to visit and a photographer's delight.
