Tourists and Alsace public transport are a real combination, but require preparation, since the system is intended for residents and does not focus on foreign tourists. In addition, Alsace is divided by two large transport associations with their own rules and tariffs, and traveling across the zone border is quite unprofitable. But let’s start with the good stuff: how to save money with Alsace welcome cards.
Alsace
Selestat and around: Koenigsbourg Castle, Monkey Mountain, Cigoland
Selestat is not as popular as Colmar and does not seem to be trying to improve this situation, although there are a number of top Alsatian attractions nearby. Koenigsbourg Castle, a park with free-roaming monkeys and a bird of prey show are on a mountain near the city. There’s also an amusement park near the highway, and Alsace vine route through beautiful half-timbered small towns. Let’s also add Strasbourg, which has good transport accessibility, and we get an almost ideal base for exploring Alsace.
Alsace Wine Route. 1. Ribeauville, Riquewihr
In this part of the story about Alsace, we will look at Ribeauville and Riquewihr.
The Alsace Wine Route has been around for over 70 years and is (deservedly) extremely popular. The question of choice inevitably arises – which city to visit? In the topic, I chose the very best cities and villages from a cultural point of view (the most beautiful).
Strasbourg (Strassburg). What to see
Strasbourg (Strassburg in German) is a city for a short visit for a couple of days or for christmas market in Advent. It is not very suitable for a base in Alsace: it takes quite a long time to get to any interesting point – either to the north or to the south. True, there are many hotels in the city, and this makes it very likely that this is where you will stay.
A significant part of the old city is on the UNESCO list, including the most famous landmark – Strasbourg Cathedral.
What to see in Alsace. Alsace attractions from Selestat to Colmar
We continue to explore Alsace attractions. In the previous part, we got from the north to Selestat. Now let’s go further south. Here the number of attractions and picturesque towns increases. Endless vineyards stretch along the hills, and in the half-timbered old villages you will find no less endless vinotheques.
What to see in Alsace. 1. Northern Alsace
What to see in Alsace? Half-timbered towns, cultural attractions, wine routes, castles. Nature is represented by the Rhine and the Vosges. But for hiking the Black Forest mountains seem to me more beautiful than the Vosges. It is worth hiking through the local hills in autumn, when the vineyards become colorful.
In this part we explore Northern Alsace from Germany to Selestat.