The very best of

What not
to miss
in a nutshell
 Natural ALSACE

© Max Coquard - Best Jobers - Visit Alsace

Nature reserves, the “Ballon” mountains,

parks and gardens, the famous Wine
Route…

Take a trip to the Regional Nature Park of the

Ballons des Vosges, one of the largest parks
in France, and explore the Regional Nature
Park of the NorthernVosges listed as a “World
© Max Coquard - Best Jobers - Visit Alsace

Biosphere Reserve” by UNESCO.

Between the River Ill and the Rhine,
the region offers you a rich array of
flora and fauna. Come to the Petite
Camargue in Alsace, in the Sauer Delta
or Rhinau island with its profusion of
liana vines, extensive birdlife and trees with
their roots steeped in water at the very heart
of Nature.
 Urban ALSACE
Authentic ALSACE
Every city in Alsace has its own
special charm – and teems with life
day and night. Trendy bars, concert
halls, internationally renowned caba-
rets and casinos are among the list of
venues to enjoy to the full!
Strasbourg, the capital of Europe, Colmar,
the capital of Alsace wine and Mulhouse
with its broad choice of museums will
surprise you at every turn.
Topping the list of the myriad traditional
towns making up all the charm of Alsace © ADT - INFRA - Groupe Folklorique D’Kochloeffel

are, from North to South, Wissembourg,

Haguenau, Rosheim, Obernai, Sélestat,
Kaysersberg, Turckheim and Munster,
once allied with Colmar and Mulhouse to
form the historical Décapole, together with
Saverne and Altkirch and many others.

THE ALSATIAN COSTUME is part

and parcel of the traditional festivities
found in an astonishing variety of forms,
including the “Streisselhochzeit” (wedding
with bouquets) in Seebach in July or
the “Frankenthal bride and groom” in
Stosswihr in August.

ALSACE POTTERY is renowned for its

excellence and is inseparable from the
region’s cultural heritage. The potters’
villages of Betschdorf and Soufflenheim are
the guardians of this extremely precious,
well-preserved know-how.
© Matt Long, Landlopers - URV - ADT

ALSACE ECOMUSEUM
In Ungersheim, you can immerse yourself
in the peaceful life of bygone times. This
heritage museum is a rebuilt village with
half-timbered houses offering a variety of
events all year round.
 Fun ALSACE
Festive ALSACE
© Erwan - Auberge du Blancrupt - ADT

© INFRA - GAP Berstett - ADT

LEISURE PARKS, CASINOS, CABARETS
Not far from Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, don’t
miss out on an amusing stroll through a
vast forest in the midst of 200 macaques
and experience the fascinating show at the
Eagle Park.
In Hunawihr, you can discover the living
world of butterflies, storks and otters.
Further south, book your flight for the Petit
Prince Park in Ungersheim.
There are plenty of other venues to choose
from, all dedicated to fun and entertainment.
Try your luck at the casinos in Niederbronn-
les-Bains and Ribeauvillé and enjoy the
cabaret acts at Royal Palace in Kirrwiller and
Paradis des Sources in Soultzmatt.
Alsace has a rich heritage woven from
countless influences throughout its history.
The resulting traditions mark out a year-
round calendar of festivities and sheer magic.
Christmas in Alsace is famous worldwide.
As well as the Christmas markets, including
the Strasbourg market founded in 1570,
exhibitions and concerts abound in every town
and village. And at Easter, spring is heralded in
with fun- packed egg hunts!
During the summer, it’s time for the “messti”
or popular fete days. And as summer gives
way to autumn, lively grape harvest festivals
are celebrated along the Wine Route..

Christmas in Alsace :
www.christmas.alsace
© Nis&For - ART GE
© F. Fessler - ADT
 Active
HIKING
Alsace and the Vosges Mountains offer 20,000
km of signposted footpaths marked out by
enthusiasts from the Club Vosgien. Whether
ALSACE you hike along the emblematic GR© 53-5
for several days or go for a day’s ramble with
family and friends, you will find right trail for
you. You can also leave the beaten track of
popular walks and wind your way along more
secret pathways - of which there are no less
© INFRA - ADT

than 1000!
Find out more:
CYCLING AND MOUNTAIN www.massif-des-vosges.com
BIKING TRAILS

© INFRA - ADT - MDV

At the crossroads of EuroVelo routes 5, 6 and
15, not to mention almost 2,500 km of cycle
paths and tarmacked, sign-posted green
trails, Alsace offers a perfect network to
criss-cross the region from North to South
and from the Vosges mountains to the Rhine. WINTER ACTIVITIES
The most experienced mountain The Vosges Mountains offer a broad
bikers can take the TMV across the spectrum of activities such as cross-country
Vosges Mountains, a 420 km signposted and downhill skiing, snow-shoe rambles and
trail linking Wissembourg up dog sled rides.
to Thann! Find out more:
Road bikes, mountain bikes and electrically www.massif-des-vosges.com
powered bikes can be hired at a number of
tourist sites. So pedal away uphill, down dale
and across the plain!
© Thomas Devard - MDV

Find out more:

www.cyclinginalsace.com
© Richard Bord - Illprod - Bosch - ADT

ALSACE ON HORSEBACK
Discover the forests and vineyards, flora and
fauna on horseback, by pony trekking or in
a horse-drawn carriage - there are so many
ways to enjoy horse-riding in Alsace!
RIVER TOURISM
A particularly pleasant way of discovering Find out more:
Alsace is via the rivers and canals in live-in www.alsaceacheval.com
boats (operating certificate not required),
cruise ships or pleasure craft. GOLF
As you glide down the Rhine or the Saar, Golf enthusiasts and beginners will always
Marne to Rhine or Rhône to Rhine canals, find a golf course to welcome them.
you can mix sailing with bike rides along the Find out more:
tow paths. www.golfsinalsace.com
 Well-being Epicurean ALSACE ALSACE

© F. Clément - ADT

GASTRONOMY AND TRADITIONS

Alsace invites you to discover its traditional
gastronomy: foie gras, choucroute,
flammekueche, baeckeoffe, kougelhopf,
munster… Not forgetting wine, beer, eau de
vie and liqueurs. 1001 flavours to accompany
© C. Meyer - ART GE

your wining & dining experience in the setting

of a starred restaurant, bierstub, winstub or a
farmhouse inn.
Find out more:
In need of relaxation, well-being and fitness?
www.abc-gastronomie.alsace
Why not treat yourself to a week or weekend
break in the hotels and spa resorts in Alsace!
Swimming pools, saunas, hot baths and
massages for a little personal TLC and total
relaxation! Discover the many beautiful spa
© T. Vuano - ADT

venues throughout the region.

THE ALSACE WINE ROUTE

The 170 km long Wine Route winds through
the foothills of the Vosges Mountains from
Thann in the South to Marlenheim in the
North, not forgetting Cleebourg vineyard.
© Le Parc Hôtel Obernai - ART GE

Running parallel to the Vineyards Cycle Trail, it

opens up onto panoramic vistas and takes you
through picturesque, famous winegrowing
villages.

Find out more:

www.wineroute.alsace
 Cultural
ALSACE
© Culturespaces - S. Lloyd
MUSEUMS
Museums, museums everywhere: industrial
and technical museums (Automobile
Museum - Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse,
Oil Museum in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn…),
historical and archaeological museums (La
Villa in Dehlingen, Gallo-Roman Museum
in Biesheim…), the fine arts (Unterlinden
Museum in Colmar, Palais des Rohan in
Strasbourg), decorative arts and popular
traditions (Lalique Museum in Wingen-sur-
Moder, Alsace EcoMuseum in Ungersheim),
science and natural history museums
(Oberlin Museum in Waldersbach, Vivarium du
Moulin in Lautenbach-Zell) and the Humanist
Library in Sélestat and Albert Schweitzer
Museum in Kaysersberg.
© B. Bour - ADT
© Birgé - ART GE
CONTEMPORARY ART
Several sites dedicated to modern-day art forms
add a little zest to the cultural landscape in the
Rhine basin.
RELIGIOUS HERITAGE
Romanesque, gothic and baroque - the
region’s religious heritage is witness to a
rich historical past where Catholicism,
Protestantism and Judaism lived side-by-
side. Some examples: the Romanesque Route,
Strasbourg Cathedral, Ebersmunster Abbey,
the Haute-Alsace Dominican Monastery
in Guebwiller, Mont Sainte-Odile Convent
in Ottrott, the Ingwiller synagogue - not
forgetting the 176 organs listed as historical
monuments.
COMMEMMORATIVE TOURISM
Several sites and landscapes stand witness to
the region’s troubled past.
In Woerth, you can stride across the
battlefields of the Franco-Prussian War. In
Mutzig, you can visit the largest fortress of the
German Empire.
You can relive the hellish experience of the
Great War at Hartmannswillerkopf (National
Monument) and discover the underground
network of the Maginot Line to the North of
Alsace built in the 1930s.
And don’t miss the European Centre of
Deported Resistance Members, Struthof
Concentration Camp at Natzwiller, and the
Alsace-Moselle Memorial in Schirmeck.
Find out more:
www.histoire-alsace.com
CASTLES
Fleckenstein, Haut-Barr, Haut Koenigsbourg,
Hohlandsbourg, Kaysersberg, Ferrette – so
many castles making Alsace the ideal land for
intrepid knights!
Many of them may be in ruins today, but
their silhouettes stand proud over the plain
of Alsace and continue to fascinate ramblers
and visitors alike.
Find out more:
www.alsaceterredechateaux.com
© F. Zvardon - ADT

Practical INFORMATION Strasbourg

Colmar

Mulhouse

Photo credit (cover page) : Max Coquard - Best Jobers – Visit Alsace – Graphics : Citeasen - October 2019 - Printed on PEFC-certified paper.
Getting to and around Alsace
By car
Major motorways for easy access:
- A4 from Paris via Reims and Metz
and Luxembourg,
- A36 from Dijon to Mulhouse
via Belfort and Besançon,
- A35 from Switzerland,
- A36, A98, A5 from Germany.
By plane
Alsace has 2 international airports:
- EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
- Strasbourg - Entzheim Airport

Accommodation You will also find us on :

Find the accommodation you’re looking for on the website
www.visit.alsace together with special packages and offers.
Publisher : #VisitAlsace
Head office
1 rue Camille Schlumberger - BP 60337
F-68006 Colmar Cedex
Tél + 33 (0)3 89 20 10 68
info@adt.alsace
www.alsace-destination-tourisme.com