When you visit Alsace, of course you have the two major cities of Strasbourg and Colmar, but then there are so many small villages too. There are half-timbered houses and flowers in every village and you soon get all dizzy. Where was that nice ice-cream parlour or which winery had a shop in which village? Here we try to help you find your way around some of these villages along the Route des Vins. Which ones should you really visit and which ones can you skip? The rating is in 𓅡, of course, because this bird is found just about everywhere in Alsace and is also a bit of fun. 🙂 The stork is also the unofficial "patron saint" of Alsace and a stork's nest on the roof is said to protect the house from fire.
If you are interested in the wineries we visited and the wines we tasted, then click through to the next post about our wine experiences which you will find here.
Obernai
Obernai is the slightly larger village in the group with around 12,000 inhabitants. So there's a bit more pulse here than in the other villages. In this context, pulse means something more than a resting pulse, as the whole of Alsace is an area for enjoying life at a slow pace. Between 12 noon and 2 pm, most things are closed and at other times life goes on at a pleasant pace.
Obernai has plenty of good restaurants, many of them Michelin-starred, so you'll really have the chance to eat well here. If you want to cook your own food instead, we recommend a visit to the large market held every Thursday morning. This is truly a market with a long history as it is documented as far back as the 7th century.
Rating: 𓅡𓅡𓅡𓅡
Andlau
Here you probably have Alsace's wine mecca as there are no less than three Grand Cru areas. Otherwise, it is one of the most sleepy villages in the area. We were here on a Sunday when most things are closed, but with only just over 1000 inhabitants, it is difficult to have so much going on. There are not many tourists in Andlau so you avoid both tourist shops and tour trains which can be nice, here it feels more like France for real. Maybe this is where you should move in the autumn of your life, to the central retirement home with the wooden dragon on the outside. Are they trying to say something to the old people? 🙂
For wine tasting, take a stroll to Rémy Gresser for a tasting of the farm's excellent wines.
A visit to Andlau is recommended for those interested in wine, but for those who want to tour, there are villages with more speed. If you are travelling through, there is a good campsite in Andlau, read more on our other blog Barely steering speed.
Rating: 𓅡𓅡𓅡
Bergheim
This is perhaps the 'prettiest' and most luxurious village. Like so many other villages around Alsace, it has the epithet of Villes et Villages Fleuris because of its floral splendour. The town is well-preserved, starting with the large medieval gate and then opening up into a stunningly beautiful and flowery village. There are not many tourists here either, but more good restaurants and good winemakers. I would like to take this opportunity to recommend the Animus restaurant where we had an incredibly good lunch. On the wine front, we recommend a visit to Marcel Deiss et fils. Read more here about how we "accidentally" stumbled into a real professional test.
Rating: 𓅡𓅡𓅡𓅡𓅡
Ribeauvillé
When we get to Ribeauvillé, the oldest town in Alsace, we can really start talking about tourist resorts. But not only in a negative way. This is a really beautiful and well-preserved village that is well worth a visit, but perhaps outside the high season when the village's population of just under 5,000 can double when the tourist buses pour in. The village is surrounded by three castles that can be reached from the village for those in good shape. Otherwise, it's fine to just stroll around the village and eat goodies, there are more pastry shops here than you can count and nougat in every bush.
As you may have noticed, this is the most photo-friendly village. There is so much to see and admire. If you want to drink wine, there are also a number of producers worth a visit. Trimbach is the most famous, so you'll need to book in advance, while you can drop in spontaneously at Jean Sipp, for example.
Rating: 𓅡𓅡𓅡𓅡
Riquewihr
Riquewihr is best described as Ribeauvillé on a smaller scale, a little sweeter and a little more compact. However, it is one of France's biggest tourist magnets and during the wine harvest it is estimated that up to 50,000 people visit the small village. Riquewihr is best experienced by strolling along the main street with its row upon row of half-timbered houses, and popping into the shops and wine houses along the street. These include Dopff au Moulin and Hugel, famous from the Systembolaget shelves. For a less picturesque experience, you can always visit the Tour de Voleurs (Thieves' Tower), an old prison building from the 16th century.
Rating: 𓅡𓅡𓅡𓅡
Eguisheim
Equisheim is the village that stands out most of all the villages we visited in Alsace. All other villages are built around a long main street with small alleys in both directions. Eguisheim, on the other hand, is surrounded by a wall where the main street goes around the town in a circle and in the centre is the large square with the church and town hall. This is one of the most beautiful villages in Alsace, both because of its small size, which makes it crowded and cosy, but also because of its floral splendour.
We were only in the village during the day, but in the evenings it is possible to join 'le veilleur de nuit', the night watchman, on an evening walk through the village. Wearing a cape and a tricorne hat, he leads visitors, lantern in hand, through the alleys of Eguisheim, telling legends and stories of the past. It sounds exciting and it would be great to see the village at night with all the lights on.
Rating𓅡𓅡𓅡𓅡
Wettolsheim
Wettolsheim is the smallest village we visited. We ended up here when we were looking for a pitch at a vineyard. We then found Jean-Louis Schoepfer who has wine production in the middle of the village. A stork extra just for the fantastic wine tasting we got with him. It is otherwise a sweet and cosy little village with a few restaurants and a bakery. From here it is walking distance to Eguisheim with only a few kilometres walk along the vineyards.
The village's greatest curiosity is a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes, where the Virgin Mary is said to have once appeared to a peasant girl and where the grotto has since become a place of pilgrimage for Catholics worldwide. The replica in Wettolsheim was built by a former bishop at the beginning of the 20th century as a kind of vague tribute to his parental home, which burned down on the same site. The replica is also apparently the site of religious ceremonies and pilgrimage visits.
Rating𓅡𓅡𓅡
So which village should you go to?
Well, how to summarise this. All villages have been highly rated but Andlau and Wettolsheim are perhaps more for the wine enthusiasts. We appreciated all the villages very much, although Bergheim and Egisheim were our favourites. Then there are a whole bunch of other villages along the Route des Vins that we did not have time for this trip but which we definitely want to visit, including Mittelbergheim and Kaisersberg. Off the wine route, but in Alsace, are also both Strasbourg and Mulhouse which would be interesting to see. Just to start planning the next trip to Alsace.
If you want to see more pictures of the villages, check out these films below.
