How to Tour the Villages of Alsace, France

Alsace is a unique region of eastern France, displaying both German and French traits. It’s a fun region to visit and explore for wine tasting, exploring charming villages with half-timbered houses, and delicious food.

How: It may be easiest to visit the villages of Alsace by renting a car, or having a driver for some of the time. While the train can get you to larger cities like Strasbourg, or towns like Colmar, the smaller towns you’ll want to visit in Alsace aren’t accessible by train.

Recommended Towns:

We spent three nights in the French region of Alsace.  Other than a brief stop in Strasbourg, I had never visited this area of France.  I was certain there would cute areas to explore, but beyond that wasn’t too sure what to expect.  In the end, it was an area that completely charmed us.

View of Ribeauvillé

Note

• apparently in France, it is imperative that men wear a speedo-type suit, that is to say nothing resembling board short or trunks of any kind (at least at this spa).  So, since women were able to wear a one-piece or two-piece suit without any limitations or rule, I began relaxing in the warm waters of the pool, letting the jets sooth me. But a bit later, my husband came down from the room in his usual trunks, he was approached by the deceptively friendly-looking spa attendants who informed him that his attire was unacceptable and he could not enter the pool dressed in such as way.  They informed him he could purchase attire that would allow him to use the facilities to relax.  But we decided to forego the experience for the time being.

Fortunately, we did not choose this location solely for the spa.  The town has much to recommend it.  Ribeauvillé is a charming town, even teeming with tourists. Upon arrival, we picked up a few pamphlets at the information center, didn’t need pamphlets to be immediately struck by the colorful half-timbered buildings – or colombages in French – all around.

Beautiful half-timbered homes throughout Alsace.

View of Ribeauvillé

Wines

As you can see in the above image, there are also vineyards surrounding the villages of Alsace. The predominant wine produced here is Riesling, there are others but that’s what we found the most. We weren’t fans of this white at the start, expecting a sweeter version, but after a few tastings we were converted. The wine we tasted is crisp and dry You can follow the Route de Vins, a wine route that goes through a number of towns with tasting rooms.

If you don’t have a car, you could also opt for a tour from Colmar or Strasbourg that can take you for a few hours of tasting. You can find a tour here.

Tasting rooms along the wine route are well-marked and easily to find. Servers are proud to explain their wines and provide you with different samples.

You can begin or end you tour of Alsace in Colmar. It has a charming historic center with half-timbered houses with shops and cafes abounding. Its nickname is “Little Venice” or Petite Venice, because of a number of canals running through the city. and You can take a boat through the canals as well.

Foods

You can sample a number of the typical foods of Alsace. They might look familiar, but the names are slightly different. Like the tarte flambeé or pretzel.

I hope you enjoy visiting the charming villages of Alsace. They have much offer in terms of wine, food, castles and other sights.

For tours and other tips visit the travel resources page.