Alsace: Strasbourg, Colmar and the Wine Route

Arrive in Strasbourg

Paris Gare de l'Est by TGV, or Strasbourg Airport, to your hotel in Strasbourg

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Strasbourg
• En train

Soir

Early in the evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing and an easy first walk: along the quays, past the timber-framed Maison Kammerzell and out into the cathedral square as the lights come on. Then we sit down together in a winstub, the small wood-panelled wine taverns of Strasbourg, to choucroute or tarte flambée and a glass of Alsace Riesling; tell us about any diet and there is always a vegetarian dish.

Compris

• Reserved TGV seat from Paris Gare de l'Est, or pick-up at Strasbourg-Entzheim Airport (SXB)
• Welcome briefing and evening walk with your guide
• Welcome dinner in a Strasbourg winstub

The cathedral, Petite France and the Ill

A day on foot in Strasbourg

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Strasbourg
• En bateau

Matin

Late morning is the Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame next door, with the original facade statues.

Après-midi

The nave closes to sightseeing around midday, and at about 12:30 we go back in with timed tickets for the show of the astronomical clock, when the apostles file past Christ. After lunch on your own we walk to Petite France, the old tanners' and millers' quarter, and look down on the Ponts Couverts from the Vauban Dam terrace. In the late afternoon a Batorama boat takes us around the Grande Île.

Soir

The evening is free.

Compris

• Strasbourg Cathedral at opening with your guide
• Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame
• The astronomical clock's 12:30 show (timed ticket included)
• Petite France, the Ponts Couverts and the Vauban Dam terrace
• Batorama boat trip on the Ill around the Grande Île

Over the Rhine to the Black Forest

Strasbourg to Gengenbach and Triberg in Germany, and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Strasbourg
• Environ 3 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we cross the Rhine at Kehl into Germany and drive about 45 minutes up the Kinzig valley to Gengenbach, a small walled town of half-timbered houses at the edge of the Black Forest, quiet in the morning before the shops fill. Your guide walks you through the gates, the market square and up to the vineyards above the town. From there the road climbs through forest and farm valleys to Triberg, about an hour on.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal in town, with Black Forest cake to finish. In the afternoon we walk the path beside the Triberg waterfalls, where the Gutach drops about 160 m in seven cascades through the fir trees; it is a steady climb, and you can turn back at any viewpoint.

Soir

We drive back to Strasbourg by late afternoon, about an hour and a half, which leaves the evening free on the Grande Île.

Compris

• Gengenbach old town walk with your guide
• Sit-down lunch in Triberg
• Triberg waterfalls entry and walk

Down the Route des Vins to Colmar

Strasbourg to Haut-Koenigsbourg, then Ribeauvillé, Hunawihr, Riquewihr and Colmar

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Colmar
• Environ 2 h de route

Après-midi

Then down onto the Route des Vins to Ribeauvillé, below its three ruined castles, for a walk along the Grand'Rue and a sit-down lunch. In the early afternoon we stop in Hunawihr, where a fortified church stands in the vines, then walk or ride the short way to Riquewihr, reaching it after about 4 pm, when the day-trip coaches start to leave. We walk its main street inside the walls to the Dolder gate tower. Colmar is fifteen minutes on, where we stay two nights.

Compris

• Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle entry at opening, with your guide
• Ribeauvillé walk and a sit-down lunch
• Hunawihr and its fortified church
• Riquewihr in the late afternoon

Colmar, the Unterlinden and Eguisheim

Colmar on foot, then Eguisheim and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
• Nuit : Colmar
• Environ 30 min de route

Après-midi

Lunch is your choice in Colmar. In the afternoon we drive ten minutes to Eguisheim, a village built in rings of streets around its castle, and walk them slowly before a tasting at a family domaine: Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and a Crémant d'Alsace, with the winemaker or the family explaining the grand cru slopes above the village.

Soir

We finish with a farewell dinner in Colmar.

Compris

• Musée Unterlinden at opening, with the Isenheim Altarpiece
• Colmar old town and the Petite Venise with your guide
• Eguisheim walk
• Wine tasting at a family domaine in or near Eguisheim
• Farewell dinner in Colmar

Kaysersberg and back to Strasbourg

Colmar to Kaysersberg, then Strasbourg station or Strasbourg Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

A last morning in the vineyards. We drive about fifteen minutes west to Kaysersberg, in the valley mouth below a ruined castle, and walk across its fortified bridge over the Weiss and along the main street of painted houses while it is still quiet. Albert Schweitzer was born here in 1875, and the house is marked in the town. Then we take the road back north to Strasbourg, about an hour and a quarter, so about an hour and a half of driving in all, and your guide sees you to Strasbourg station for your TGV seat to Paris, or to Strasbourg-Entzheim Airport, by about 1 pm. If you are flying home from Paris, book a flight after about 6 pm at Charles de Gaulle, allowing for the train into Paris and across the city. If you would rather stay on in Strasbourg or fly from Basel-Mulhouse EuroAirport, tell us when you book and we will plan your drop-off accordingly.

Compris

• Kaysersberg walk with your guide
• Drop-off at Strasbourg station or Strasbourg-Entzheim Airport (SXB)
• Reserved TGV seat to Paris Gare de l'Est for guests flying from Paris