 | Special Destinations: Alsace 
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Location and Geography
Alsace sits on the long strip of land on the easternmost edge of France butting up against Germany along the Rhine River. Consisting of 2 departments: Bas-Rhin (lower Rhine) in the north and Haut-Rhin (upper Rhine) in the south, it lies nestled between the Alpine foothills to the south and the Vosges mountains to the west and north. The most important cities in Alsace are Strasbourg (pop. 370,000) in the north, Colmar (pop. 82,000) in the middle and Mulhouse (pop. 220,000) in the south, across the border from Basel, Switzerland.
The mountains of northern Alsace contain the largest continuous stretch of forest in Central Europe made up of the Haguenau forest and Pfälzer Wald. The rich soil of the Vosges foothills produces the region’s famous wines as well as fruits and grains.
Plenty of snow in the winter: downhill and cross-country skiing in the Vosges; spring, summer and fall trails for hiking and walking. Springtime fruit trees and daffodils in bloom. In the summertime, the villages across the region have a competition to determine which is the most flowerful village; enter any village and be overwhelmed by the plethora of geraniums growing in windowboxes on every building on every story. Weather is hot and humid on the plain during the summer and cool in the mountain meadows; autumn’s splendid colors in the vineyards are matched by the crowds of tourists that arrive for the wine harvests and festivals.
Because of its location, Alsace has been a hotly contested area changing hands many times over the centuries between invaders from the east and west, and later bouncing back and forth between France and Germany. The official language changed over the past few centuries between French and German while the Alsatian dialect was suppressed. The separatism engendered by this constant change was somewhat in decline after World War II’s battles destroyed much of Alsace. With the French government firmly committed to rebuilding the region and thereby cementing the loyalty and patriotism of the Alsatian populace it was easier to push through the teaching of French curricula in Alsatian schools. The push for Alsatian cultural independence has revived but without much progress.
Alsace has many faces. Commonplace images here are storks nesting on housetops, decaying castles moldering above verdant vineyards, picture-perfect little villages out of fairy tales, the Route du fromage above the Münster valley where the redolent but delicious Münster cheese is made, and of course the Route du vin, the wine route which meanders along the foothills of the Vosges. If you're lucky, you may visit Alsace during one of its festivals and see the traditional Alsatian costumes including the Schluppkapp, the ornate ribbon headgear worn by women and girls.
The houses in the villages are picturesque half-timbered buildings built close to each other, if not touching, and decorated with a variety of carvings and inlay work around doors and windows. Many of the houses go back to the 16th century. A good number of the hotels and B&B’s are in buildings hundreds of years old.
If you look at the rooftops you will see wire platforms on which storks build their nests. The best view is usually out the window of your hotel room where you can get a bird’s-eye view of these beautiful and revered birds. In the charming and off-the-beaten-track town of Rouffach they even have a stork reserve which you can visit.
The wine route is actually made up of two parts: the official and very popular (and therefore more touristy especially during the summer) southern route and the still unspoiled northern Route du Vin between Wissembourg and Soultz-sous-Forêts. Look for the local syndicat d’initiatives for wine tasting and purchases. You can sign up at the local syndicat or at Colmar’s Maison du vin d’Alsace (House of Alsatian wine) for specific winery tours in the area.
For more photos and reports of things we have seen, check out the Alsace page of our 1997 itinerary.
However Alsace is not just quaint villages and vineyards. At the northern end is the 2000 year old city of Strasbourg at the historical crossroads of Europe. The magnificent cathedral, the breweries, the Château des Rohan, Musée de l’Oeuvre Notre-Dame and other museums, and the excellent restaurants offer enough entertainment for a complete vacation. Of special interest is the astronomical clock in the south arm of the transept of the cathedral. Tourists gather just after noon to get tickets from a little window in the outside wall of the church. At 12:30 the mechanical clock, whose works were made by a Strasbourg clockmaker named Schwilgué, starts its daily show: figures including Christ and the twelve apostles, Roman gods representing days of the week, and angels as the four ages of human life move, bow and twirl.
South of Strasbourg is the charming town of Colmar. This "capital of Alsatian wine" has excellent wines and restaurants, beautiful old churches and squares, and a section of the old town called "la Petite Venise" (little Venice) because of its canals. Colmar bustles with economic vigor but also has many corners where life is slow and delicious. The Musée d’Unterlinden in Colmar contains one of the masterpieces of religious art, the Isenheim Altarpiece created by Matthias Grünewald between 1512 and 1516.
At the southern end of Alsace lies Mulhouse, the second largest city in Alsace and an important industrial area producing textiles, ceramics, and chemicals. With many of its historical buildings bombed to smithereens during the two world wars the feel of the city is distinctly different from the quaint castle-village-vineyard feel of the rest of rural Alsace.
Mulhouse does however have a wealth of wonderful museums representing the unique talents of the people in Mulhouse. Places to see include the Musée Historique depicting local history, the Musée National de l’Automobile with its many priceless autos, the Museum of Printed Fabrics, the railway museum Musée Français du Chemin de Fer, the Maison de la Céramique, and the Textile and Wallpaper Museum. Just outside of Mulhouse is the Éco-Musée which is a collection of half-timbered houses from all over Alsace.
The key to enjoying the richness of Alsace is to find an easy base of operations. The hustle and bustle of traffic in Strasbourg and Mulhouse, and Colmar’s medieval narrow streets make driving a chore. Two possibilities are staying in town for a few days, exploring the wonders on foot, or staying outside of town in a small village and making day trips into town. The former allows the traveler to savor the town life including its traffic and nightlife, the latter gives one a haven of peace and quiet at the end of the day.
Staying in a village allows one to vary one’s trip by exploring villages one day, going into town the next, and traipsing around the mountain valleys the next. An excellent base is the village of Ribeauvillé, located halfway between Strasbourg and Mulhouse, just north of Colmar. Here you can access the large towns, the mountains, and other villages. To be sure, one village is more picturesque than another and, based on the season, the area can be overrun by tourists in buses or schoolchildren in buses. You may want to stay in one of the yet smaller villages. You can’t go wrong in this area. We stayed at a wonderful small hotel in Ribeauvillé called Les Vosges and recommend it heartily.
For other recommendations, please see our Great Places to Stay page on France.
One of the most enjoyable pastimes in Alsace is drinking wine and eating
local specialties. Many of these are world famous, such as foie gras (goose
liver) and quiche Lorraine. Some other local delicacies are tarte à l’oignon
(rather like an onion pizza), choucroute garnie à l’alsacienne (fresh
sauerkraut with various kinds of meat and sausages), and Kougelhopf (a yeast
dough cake with raisins, similar to the Italian panettone). Find out more from
the Alsatian Gourmet section of Strasbourg.com.
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