Travel to the Alsace Region of France – Episode 697

Hear about travel to the Alsace Region of France as the Amateur Traveler talks to Brighde Reed from worldvegantravel.com about this lovely wine region.

Brighde says, “One of the reasons I think France is so appealing is that each of the regions are so different. Alsace is particularly interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, it is a cultural exception to France. It has had a huge influence from Germany. Alsace has been part of Germany and part of France and has flip-flopped many times over the past hundred years.  It has a huge amount of German influence in terms of architecture and in terms of some of the cultural aspects. It even has its own dialect.”

We start in the city of Strasbourg. This is a beautiful city on the German border. These days it is easy to get to Strasbourg via the TGV from Paris. It is a very international city as the European Parliament is located in Strasbourg. The cathedral is the second tallest in France. 

The old core of the city “Le Petit France” is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It has beautiful cobbled streets, canals and half-timbered houses. At Christmas time it has a Christmas market like many of the towns and cities in the Alsace. Brighde recommends some of the museums in the city (like the Palais Rohan) as well as the boat ride on the canals. 

Colmar is an hour from Strasbourg by car. Brighde says it is like a smaller version of Strasbourg with canals and half-timbered houses. The Unterlinden Museum is one of the best art museums outside of Paris. Colmar also has the Bartholdi Museum dedicated to the creator of the Statue of Liberty. 

Brighde recommends the Alsace Wine Route (The Rue de Vin) which is 170 kilometers long. It has a lot of vineyards, as well as ruined castles and a number of villages on the list of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. Eguisheim and Kaysersberg are particularly lovely villages. Eguisheim was voted the favorite village of the French people. There is also the restored hilltop castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle which is worth a visit.

While you are in Alsace, don’t forget to look up as many buildings have stork nests on top of them. Storks migrate to here in the summer to raise their young. The nests can weigh up to 500 kg.

Brighde also recommends crossing the Rhine to the cities of Baden-Baden or Karlsruhe or to the Black Forest. Or take a side trip into Switzerland to Basel which is also close by.

The area of Alsace is special for wine lovers but there are many things to love for non-wine drinkers as well.

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Show Notes

Alsace
Alsace.com – The attractiveness of Alsace website
Franco-Prussian War
World Vegan Travel – Luxury Vegan Group Tours | World Vegan Travel
Strasbourg
Strasbourg Cathedral
Grande Île, Strasbourg
Palais Rohan, Strasbourg
Colmar
Musée Unterlinden
Unterlinden Museum
Bartholdi Museum – Colmar | Visit Alsace
Musée Bartholdi
La Maison des Têtes Colmar | 5-star luxury hotel Alsace
Alsace Wine Route
Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
The Three Castles of Eguisheim
Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle – Orschwiller
Mount Sainte-Odile – Ottrott
Eguisheim
Kaysersberg
Westweg trail
Baden-Baden
The Alternative Wolf and Bear Park | Blackforest Tourism
Karlsruhe
Travel to Baden-Württemberg in Germany – Episode 559
Basel
Travel to Basel, Switzerland – Episode 506
World Vegan Travel France trips

Community

This was the last Amateur Traveler to support the AAC format, but the MP3 version now has pictures and links.

On Travel to Asheville, North Carolina – Episode 696

Jeff Ohlfs writs:

Just want to suggest one addition to the Asheville area, the Cradle of Forestry in the US site.  This is where the science of Forestry started in America with the first school of Forestry.  The site is also a Vanderbilt legacy.  https://cradleofforestry.com/about/ and https://www.blueridgeheritage.com/destinations/cradle-of-forestry/ or https://www.romanticasheville.com/forest.htm.

Amateur Traveler trip in September 2020 to Turkey
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Amateur Traveler trip to Turkey in September 2020