Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin, Grand Est · France
Half-timbered villages, a cathedral that was the tallest building in the world for 227 years, and a wine route that tastes more German than French.
Alsace sits between the Vosges mountains and the Rhine, and it has spent most of its history being fought over. It was French from 1681, German from 1871, French again in 1918, German again in 1940 and French once more in 1945 — four changes of nationality in the lifetime of a single person. The result is a region that is bicultural in a way nowhere else in France is.
You see it immediately. The villages are half-timbered with steep tiled roofs and window boxes, which is a German building tradition. The food is choucroute, pretzels and smoked pork. The wines are Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris, bottled in tall green flutes and labelled by grape variety rather than by place, which is the German convention. And all of it is signed, administered and spoken in French.
Strasbourg is the region's capital and one of the two seats of the European Parliament, which is a fitting job for a city that spent centuries as the disputed ground between the two countries now sitting in it. Its old town, the Grande Île, is a UNESCO site, and the cathedral is one of the great buildings of European Gothic. Beyond the city, a 170 km wine route threads through some of the prettiest villages in France.
Why visit
Alsace offers a version of France that surprises people who think they know the country — different architecture, different food, different wine, and a distinct history that is legible everywhere you look.
Built in pink Vosges sandstone, finished in 1439 and the tallest building in the world until 1874. Victor Hugo called it a 'gigantic and delicate marvel'. Its astronomical clock, rebuilt in 1843, still runs a daily procession of figures at 12:30.
One hundred and seventy kilometres from Marlenheim to Thann, through vineyards on the Vosges foothills and a string of villages — Riquewihr, Eguisheim, Kaysersberg, Ribeauvillé — that regularly top lists of the most beautiful in France.
Strasbourg's Christkindelsmärik dates from 1570, making it the oldest in France and among the oldest anywhere. From late November the whole city centre becomes a market, and the smaller towns along the wine route run their own, often better, versions.
Alsatian whites are among the best in France and remain undervalued abroad. The food — choucroute garnie, tarte flambée, baeckeoffe — is unlike anything else in the country, and the region has an unusually high concentration of Michelin stars.
Alsace has one of the densest cycle networks in France, with over 2,500 km of marked routes including a dedicated wine-route path along the vineyards and the flat EuroVelo 15 along the Rhine.
Main attractions
Strasbourg fills two days comfortably. The wine route needs a car or a bike and is the reason to stay longer.
Pink sandstone Gothic, with an asymmetric single spire — the second was never built — that reached 142 metres and held the record for the world's tallest building for 227 years. The west facade is a dense screen of sculpture, and 332 steps lead to a viewing platform.
Tip The astronomical clock's figure procession runs once daily at 12:30 with paid entry; the clock itself can be seen free at other times.
The old tanners' and millers' quarter on the Grande Île, where the Ill river splits into channels crossed by covered bridges. Steeply pitched half-timbered houses with open lofts — used for drying hides — lean over the water, and it is the most photographed part of the city.
Tip Go early. By 11:00 in summer the main bridges are shoulder to shoulder. The Barrage Vauban terrace above gives the best overview.
The whole island city centre is UNESCO-listed: the cathedral square, the Palais Rohan, the Place Kléber, and a maze of streets that reward wandering more than a checklist. It is compact enough to cross in twenty minutes.
Tip The Neustadt, the German imperial quarter built after 1871 just east of the island, was added to the UNESCO listing in 2017 and is almost always empty of visitors.
A walled village of painted half-timbered houses surrounded on all sides by vineyards, which survived both world wars intact. Nearby Eguisheim, Kaysersberg, Ribeauvillé and Hunawihr are variations on the same theme, each with its own cellars.
Tip Riquewihr is the busiest. Eguisheim, with its concentric ring streets, is nearly as pretty and considerably calmer.
The wine route's largest town, with a canal district inevitably nicknamed Little Venice and the Unterlinden Museum, which holds the Isenheim Altarpiece — one of the most powerful paintings of the northern Renaissance.
Tip The Isenheim Altarpiece alone justifies the trip. Allow an hour for it and skip the boat trips if pressed for time.
A castle on a Vosges ridge at 757 metres, ruined for centuries and rebuilt with considerable imagination by Kaiser Wilhelm II between 1900 and 1908. Whether it is authentic is debatable; the view over the Rhine plain to the Black Forest is not.
Tip On a clear day you can see the Alps. The road up is narrow and the car park fills by mid-morning in summer.
From the Friday before Advent to Christmas Eve, Strasbourg runs around a dozen separate markets across the city centre, with a giant tree on the Place Kléber. Colmar, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg and Eguisheim run smaller and in many ways nicer versions.
Tip Weekdays are far more pleasant than weekends, when day-trippers arrive from Germany and Switzerland in large numbers.
The mountain ridge road built as a military supply route in the First World War, running along the crest above the vineyards with wide views and access to walking trails, high lakes and battlefield sites.
Tip Closed by snow from roughly November to April. The Hartmannswillerkopf battlefield near the southern end is sobering and rarely visited.
Things to do
One city, one wine route, one mountain range — and in December, an entirely separate reason to come.
One hundred and seventy kilometres of vineyard road through the villages, with cellars every few hundred metres. A dedicated cycle path shadows much of it, which is the better way to do it if you intend to taste.
Tip The central section between Ribeauvillé and Colmar has the highest concentration of good villages if you only have a day.
Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat and Sylvaner, plus Crémant d'Alsace. Most producers offer free or token-fee tastings without appointment, which is rarer in France than you might think.
Tip Alsatian labels name the grape rather than the vineyard. Ask for 'sec' if you want dry — Gewürztraminer in particular is often off-dry.
A winstub is Alsace's version of a bistro — wood-panelled, informal and serving regional food with local wine. Tarte flambée arrives on a board and is eaten with your hands, and orders traditionally keep coming until you say stop.
Tip Many winstubs serve tarte flambée only in the evening. Lunch is more likely to be choucroute or baeckeoffe.
Covered boats run from behind the Palais Rohan around the Grande Île, through the locks at Petite France and out past the European institutions. About 70 minutes and the best way to understand how the city is built on water.
Tip Evening departures in summer run when the buildings are floodlit and are noticeably nicer.
332 steps to a platform at 66 metres, with the Rhine plain, the Vosges and — on a clear day — the Black Forest in Germany laid out below.
Tip There is no lift, and the staircase is a narrow spiral. Go early in summer when it is cooler and quieter.
Mulled wine, bredele biscuits, mannele bread-men and the smell of hot cinnamon almonds. The Strasbourg markets are the biggest, but the village markets along the wine route are smaller, older-feeling and much less crowded.
Tip Go midweek and stay overnight in a village. Weekend day-tripping into Strasbourg in December is the least pleasant version of this.
Local food
Alsatian cooking is French technique applied to German ingredients: pork, cabbage, potatoes, freshwater fish and a great deal of white wine, both in the pan and in the glass.
Fermented cabbage slowly cooked in Riesling with juniper, served under an arrangement of smoked pork, sausages, bacon and boiled potatoes. It is the definitive Alsatian dish and portions are formidable.
Where to try it Winstubs throughout the region. Traditionally a lunch dish, and one large enough to make dinner unnecessary.
Known locally as flammekueche: a very thin bread base spread with fromage blanc and cream, scattered with onion and bacon, and baked in a wood oven for a couple of minutes. Served on a wooden board, eaten with the fingers.
Where to try it Village winstubs in the evening. Order more than you think you need — they are thin and go quickly.
Three meats — beef, pork and lamb — marinated overnight in white wine and baked slowly with potatoes and onions in a sealed earthenware pot. The name means 'baker's oven'; it was traditionally left at the bakery on washing day.
Where to try it Traditional restaurants, usually needing to be ordered in advance because of the cooking time.
Bretzels are everywhere, salted and often split and filled. In late November and December, mannele — small brioche men — appear in every bakery for the feast of Saint Nicholas.
Where to try it Any Alsatian bakery. The pretzels here are softer and breadier than the hard German kind.
A washed-rind cheese from the Vosges valleys with an aroma that arrives well before the plate does and a surprisingly mild taste. Traditionally eaten with cumin seeds and a glass of Gewürztraminer.
Where to try it Markets and cheese shops throughout the region. Farm-made versions from the Vosges are the ones to look for.
Riesling for dry and mineral, Gewürztraminer for aromatic and often off-dry, Pinot Gris for weight, Muscat for floral. Crémant d'Alsace is France's largest producer of sparkling wine outside Champagne and is excellent value.
Where to try it Cellars along the wine route, most of which pour without appointment for a token fee or nothing at all.
Accommodation
Strasbourg and Colmar are the two practical bases, an hour apart by train. The wine villages are lovely to stay in but need a car and have limited options.
Transport
Strasbourg is under two hours from Paris by TGV and sits on the German border, which makes it one of the best-connected cities in eastern France.
Strasbourg is one of the most cycle-friendly cities in France and has an excellent tram network. The wine route is the part that needs a car or a bike.
When to go
Alsace has a continental climate — colder winters and warmer summers than most of France — and three distinct good seasons. Which one to choose depends entirely on whether you want vineyards or Christmas markets.
Green vineyards, window boxes in full flower — the villages take this seriously — and mild weather in the high teens and low twenties. Quiet compared with summer and December, and the best time for cycling the wine route.
Warm, often 25–30°C, with long evenings and village festivals most weekends. Riquewihr and Colmar get crowded in the middle of the day, but the region absorbs visitors better than most.
The grape harvest runs from September into October and the vineyards turn gold and red. Warm days, cool nights, wine festivals in the villages, and fewer visitors than summer. Arguably the best month of the year here is October.
A completely different reason to come. Strasbourg's market dates from 1570 and the whole city centre is given over to it. Cold, often below freezing, crowded at weekends, and hotel prices roughly double — but atmospheric.
Worth planning around: January to March is the region's low point: cold, grey, vineyards bare, the Route des Crêtes closed by snow and many village businesses shut after the Christmas rush. The markets end on 24 December and the villages empty overnight.
Itinerary
Two days in the city and two on the wine route, moving base to Colmar halfway. Works by train and bike, or with a car for the second half.
The cathedral, the island and the water.
The German imperial quarter and the European institutions, both largely visitor-free.
The Isenheim Altarpiece, then the prettiest villages in France.
Height, views and a change from vineyards.
Travel tips
Alsace-specific notes, several of which relate to timing.
FAQ
French, and has been continuously since 1945 — but it changed hands four times between 1681 and 1945, and both cultures are visible everywhere. The architecture, food and wine traditions are Germanic; the language, administration and daily life are French. The regional dialect, Alsatian, is a Germanic language still spoken by some older residents.
Three to five. Two days covers Strasbourg properly — the cathedral, Petite France, the Neustadt and a boat trip — and two more give you Colmar and the wine route villages. A fifth day lets you add Haut-Koenigsbourg and the Vosges ridge road without rushing.
By bicycle if you intend to taste — a dedicated cycle path runs alongside the vineyards, the villages are only a few kilometres apart, and it solves the drink-driving problem. Otherwise a car for two days from Colmar, or a minibus tour with a driver. The central stretch between Ribeauvillé and Colmar has the highest concentration of good villages.
From the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent until 24 December — so roughly the last week of November through Christmas Eve. They stop abruptly on the 24th, so arriving between Christmas and New Year means finding the stalls already dismantled. Go midweek if you can; weekends draw large numbers of day-trippers from Germany and Switzerland.
Riquewihr is the most famous — a completely walled village surrounded by vineyards that survived both world wars intact — and consequently the busiest. Eguisheim, built in concentric rings around its centre, is nearly as beautiful and much calmer. Kaysersberg and Ribeauvillé are both excellent and less visited than Riquewihr.
Yes. The cathedral is one of the great buildings of European Gothic, Petite France is beautiful at any time of year, and the UNESCO-listed Neustadt quarter is almost entirely free of visitors. May, June, September and October all give you better weather, half the prices and a fraction of the December crowds.
Aromatic whites, almost exclusively. Riesling is the flagship — dry, mineral and long-lived. Gewürztraminer is intensely aromatic and often off-dry, Pinot Gris has weight and texture, and Muscat is floral and light. Crémant d'Alsace is France's largest sparkling wine production outside Champagne and offers excellent value. Unusually for France, labels name the grape rather than the place.
Keep exploring
Places that pair well with Alsace, whether you have a few spare days or are building a longer route.
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Don't miss The Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and Sainte-Chapelle — three of Europe's great collections within one Métro ride of each other.
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A valley town beneath a 4,808-metre summit, where glaciers reach almost to the treeline and a network of lifts puts high-alpine terrain within reach of anyone.
Don't miss The Aiguille du Midi: a rock spire with a viewing terrace at 3,842 m, reached by the highest vertical-ascent cable car in the world.
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France's royal playground for two centuries: Renaissance châteaux, formal gardens and crisp white wine strung along 170 miles of the country's longest river, an hour from Paris.
Don't miss Chenonceau, arched on five spans across the River Cher — the most beautiful building in France by most reckonings.
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Don't miss The Normandy American Cemetery above Omaha Beach — 9,388 graves in white marble, looking down on the sand.
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