The most beautiful villages in Alsace. Travel companions, are you preparing that getaway to Alsace for Christmas? Or are you thinking about including it in your next trip to Europe?
Indice:
►Where are Alsace and its villages?
Let’s locate ourselves on the map, Alsace is a region in northeastern France on the border with Germany. The historically predominant language of much of Alsace has been Alsatian , this territory has been disputed between France and several German states over the course of more than 300 years, mainly from the Thirty Years ‘ War to the Second World War, something that we will notice in its constructions, currently forming part, as we said, of France.
►When to visit Alsace?
A magical time to visit Alsace is undoubtedly the Christmas season, when there are lots of markets in the towns, but if you go in spring, the spectacle will be provided by flowers in the streets and storks on the roofs, so either way it sounds spectacular.
Here we will see a tour of some of its towns, all instagrammable but most importantly, enjoyable.
We start in Strasbourg
Our tour will begin by showing them from north to south, starting in Strasbourg, a city to which we will dedicate a complete post for everything you have to do there, and ending in Colmar, a city that also has its own post, both with the corresponding hotel options chosen by us.
►What to see in Colmar and where we stay
Molsheim
We travel 26 kilometers from Strasbourg to reach Molsheim, the first of the Alsace villages that we will visit.
Surrounded by pretty half-timbered houses, the Town Hall Square is dominated by the Metzig, a former butcher’s shop whose magnificent 16th-century Renaissance building is listed as a Historic Monument. The centre of the square is dominated by the elegant fountain of the Vosges stoneware Lions (1609).
The Jesuit church, after Strasbourg Cathedral, is one of the largest churches in Alsace, and shows the importance of the city’s religious past.
Molsheim is the birthplace of Bugatti, the luxury car brand founded in 1909 by Ettore Bugatti.
Obernai
We continue our journey towards Obernai, just 12 kilometres away. Throughout the journey we will travel along beautiful routes that run between vineyards and villages that seem to be scattered along the way.
Obernai is undoubtedly one of the prettiest villages in Alsace. Its most notable features include the Fountain of Saint Odile, in honour of the patron saint of Alsace, along with its pretty town hall and the bell tower of the Virgin Mary. It is a good place to stop and begin a walk through the village.
We will see the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul passing through the beautiful well of the six cubes.
The Alsace Village and Wine Route is the oldest tourist route in France created in 1953, stretching over 170 kilometres and crossing up to 73 municipalities where you can enjoy picturesque wine-growing villages and exceptional landscapes. White wine is the star.
►Rent a car for the tour
Perhaps the best way to get to know Alsace is by car, and I think even better by camper, but to visit many of these towns, as I said, a little bit of freedom makes the journey easier.
We rented a car in Paris and would return it on our return to Paris after an extensive tour of France. It is always or almost always more convenient in terms of rental cost to pick up and return it at the same point, since changing the car usually means an extra charge.
We always rent a car, we just don’t use it in big cities, that’s why we choose to do them at the beginning or at the end, but our trips through towns and roads are always by car, this time we rented it in Discovercars.
Mittelbergheim
We will do only 12 kilometers more and Mittelbergheim welcomes us with that authenticity that you feel in some places, nothing is sometimes as dazzling as seeing a simple and beautiful village with people going about their daily activities.
This village and the previous one are included in the Alsace wine route. You have ready-made tours that take you to tour them if they are not with a car or if you want to go more relaxed.
We continue our journey, but we only do 2 and a half kilometres and arrive in Andlau
Andlau
Andlau, with the charm of its streets, its square and its town hall, is a commune that produces Alsatian wines and is located on the already mentioned Alsace Wine Route. It is home to 3 appellations of origin Grands Crus classés of wine of the Riesling variety .
Blienschwiller
We are separated from Blienschiller by about 8 kilometres that we will do through countless beautiful villages.
Blienschwiller is a small wine-growing village nestled between the Rhine plain and the Vosges forests.
In the heart of the old village you will find high-quality restaurants, hotels and private accommodation.
Very close to here is the castle of Haut Koenigsbourg, another visit you can do in this area.
Bergheim
The Porte Haute is the great emblem that you have to see in Bergheim, but as we always say, walk, walk and you will discover corners.
Bergheim has just over two thousand inhabitants, and is located about 16 kilometres north of Colmar and 55 kilometres south of Strasbourg.
The village of Ribeauvillé is less than four kilometres away, and that is where we are heading now, one of the famous villages of Alsace.
►Be connected during the tour
During this route we need to be connected, since we always had the map through waze, which we like a lot, or Google maps. For all these searches, apart from wanting to be connected to the networks, we obviously need to have an internet connection, in our case we used data sim again, it is actually an eSim.
If there is something that travelers need, it is to be in touch and not have a huge bill for roaming. During the entire trip I used the Holafly eSim with unlimited data, and it gave me very good results. You can buy them on the website in advance of your trip, activate them on your mobile easily using a QR code, and so you have everything ready when you arrive at your destination, super convenient! Here is the link with a discount for followers of Europa Acompañada! Holafly discount code, EUROPAACOMPAÑADA5
Ribeauvillé
Now we go to the most famous villages in Alsace, starting with Ribeauville.
Ribeauvillé is also known, apart from its beauty, for its medieval market that is held during the second and third weekends of December.
The Grand Rue runs through the town and is where the shops and restaurants are concentrated. As always, you will discover what there is to see on foot, because the simplest of corners will amaze you with its colours and charm.
►How to park
When you arrive in these towns, if you go by car, there are paid parking areas where you will find machines to get the corresponding ticket. They also have free parking areas, a blue zone, the time is generally limited to 1 hour and you must mark your arrival time with a blue circle “disque de controle / stationnement” that you can get at the tourist information centers.
Along the route on the roofs of several houses and bell towers, if you go in spring like us, there will be nests with storks. The stork is the symbol of Alsace and you will see all kinds of souvenirs with them, it is a symbol of good omen.
The distance to riquewirh will be only approximately 6 kilometers.
►Travelling to France with travel insurance
For this tour of France, which not only took us to this part of Alsace but to many other areas, which we will see in future posts, we went, as always, with travel insurance. If there is something that should not be missing when putting together a tour, it is the reservation of travel insurance, we use Iati.
If there is one thing you cannot forget, it is to travel with travel insurance. We are never free from something happening to us on our trip, from losing our luggage to a health problem, for all this we must be proactive and take out insurance that covers any setback.
Iati insurance
Riquewihr
Riquewihr, due to its beauty and tourist attraction, is one of the most beautiful villages in France.
Shall we walk it together?
It is a fortified city surrounded by vineyards. Colourful, half-timbered houses surrounded by flowers dominate the landscape.
Its nickname “the pearl of the vineyards” describes it perfectly.
We are welcomed by the town hall and as we pass through it we will discover fountains, cobbled streets.
From the end of November and throughout December, Riquewihr hosts its Christmas market. The monuments are illuminated, the streets come alive and stallholders invite you to discover local crafts. Hot chocolate and biscuits also accompany the festivities.
The tower of Dolder catches our attention, built in 1291 and is located at the end of the Rue du General de Gaulle. You can visit its interior, where the Historical Museum is located of the town, which shows weapons of the time. If you are interested in visiting museums and entering castles, you have an Alsace pass that includes several visits. ►Alsace Tourist Pass
We will leave Riquewirh and go to Kaysesberg 10 kilometers away.
Kaysersberg
Another of the most beautiful villages in Alsace and France. Walking through its streets transports us back in time, and the beauty of the buildings leaves us ecstatic.
We are welcomed by the Constantin fountain and the Church of the Holy Croix.
Alsace, as we said, was disputed between Germany and France for many years, and we can see all of this in the type of buildings we see, in some of the names of the towns, and in their food.
►Where to stay in Alsace?
We are not talking about staying yet, in our case we were staying in both Strasbourg and Colmar, but any of these villages that we see seem to be an excellent option to enjoy and use as a starting point to tour the area.
And also the advantage of seeing them early in the morning or in the late afternoon with few people, is one of the advantages of staying in these places.
►Our accommodation in Strasbourg
We leave this town and go to Turckheim just 9 kilometers away
Turckheim
Upon arriving in Turckheim we were able to park very easily outside almost at the entrance to the Place de la Republiqué for free and cross the Porte de France to change eras and transport ourselves through these streets full of colour and flowers.
This village is very close to Colmar, about 6 kilometres away, so if you are staying in Colmar, coming here by car will take you a few minutes and you will be able to enjoy this display of beauty. You can also come by train or bus from Colmar.
The Place Turenne with the seventeenth-century fountain with the Virgin and Child welcomes us in this beautiful village, behind it is the tourist office.
The town hall has a very particular charm, and it goes without saying the Santa Ana Church, but as in all the previous towns, walking aimlessly and discovering is the tip for the tour.
At Christmas time it is also decorated with the typical markets.
We will head towards the last one that we will see in this video Eguisheim, we will do about 8 kilometers.
Eguisheim
We arrived at the last town and personally my favorite. As we said, we leave Colmar for other posts, I think he deserves it.
They have a paid parking lot at the entrance of the village where you can leave the car and start the walk. Although it also has free parking.
It is obviously included in the list of the most beautiful villages in France and I think the images speak for themselves.
We start at the fountain, the Fontana de Saint Leon built in 1834, and then go to the most photographed house in Eguisheim.
We will continue this journey through narrow streets that seem to lead nowhere, between little houses that seem to come from a fairy tale. The layout of the streets of Eguisheim is circular, which gives the streets a very special charm.
I recommend watching the video, because everything is very detailed, both the route and the towns, so you don’t miss any of the charm of these beautiful Alsatian towns.
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►Map of Alsace villages and video
►At the bottom of the page you have access to download the map in pdf
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NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links
