Alsace
Your stay in Alsace: wine-tasting, gourmet rest stops and offbeat discoveries
From half-timbered houses to perched castles, hillside vineyards and gourmet tables, Alsace shows a profile with a thousand and one tourist attractions...
Travelling the Alsatian Wine Trail…
As a region renowned for its wine-growing terroir, Alsace invites you to a wine-tasting stay to discover its seven major grape varieties, which are:
- Gewurztraminer, a mellow wine with an intense aroma, served as an aperitif, or with a strong cheese or a dessert.
- Sylvaner, a light, thirst-quenching white wine that blends perfectly with a seafood platter.
- Riesling, a dry, gastronomic white wine to serve with white meat, seafood and sauerkraut.
- Pinot Blanc, a delicate wine that will fit with any fare.
- Pinot Noir, a red or rosé wine (the only one in Alsace) with a fruity aroma to be enjoyed with red meat or charcuterie.
- Tokay Pinot Gris, a wine with highly aromatic flavours. Ideal for festive meals where it is served with foie gras.
- Muscat, a wine with a highly developed aroma. It is popular as an aperitif.
You will discover those Alsatian grape varieties as you travel the Wine Trail that stretches 170km from Marlenheil to the north to Thann in the south. The trail crosses about a hundred towns and villages, where the vineyards are but one of the many charms.
Whenever tasting a wine labelled "vendanges tardives" (late harvest) or "sélection de grains nobles" (premium grape selection), you will feel marvellously comforted, for the entire duration of your stay in Alsace!
Your stay in the heart of Alsatian heritage
Take the time to tour the features of the Alsatian heritage lining the Wine Trail! The ideal would be to plan a stay that includes short stopovers to explore the 13th-century fortifications encircling the lovely village of Wangen, to visit Rosheim and Andlau, to use a rest stop in Obernai to climb up to Mount Sainte-Odile Abbey, to imagine Jean Renoir shooting "La Grande Illusion" (Grand Illusion) in High-Koenigsbourg Castle, to visit the stork reintroduction centre and study otter reproduction in Hunawihr, and in Colmar, to tour the Unterlinden Museum and that of Bartholdi, the famous sculptor to whom the French owe the Lion of Belfort, and Americans the Statue of Liberty...
Romanesque art enthusiasts will appreciate the circuit that goes from Wissembourg in the Northern Vosges to Feldbach in the Sundgau Region. It provides an opportunity to visit over 120 sites in 19 stages: churches, castles and abbeys, dating from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.
Terracotta amateurs can admire pottery in Bertschdorf and ceramics in Soufflenheim.
In Strasbourg, you may contemplate the cathedral, admiring its famous astronomical clock, its Silbermann pipe organ and the Tapestries picturing the Life of Virgin Mary. As you pass through Mulhouse, visit the science museums devoted to the automobile, the railroad, ceramics, electricity and wallpaper.
And if you feel like some sport, why not enjoy a hike along the footpaths laid out by the Club Vosgien, to simultaneously overlook a host of lakes and crests, the Donon and Lichtenberg mountains, the Lauter and the Ried.
Alsace, a region appreciated for its gastronomic specialties
Take a well-deserved break in a basic winstub or a more elegant venue to taste Alsatian culinary specialties. While sauerkraut is a must during your stay in Alsace, you will also like Baeckeoffe or “Monday’s dish”; Rhine fish chowder; Flammeküche with its great taste of sour cream, onion and bacon; Kougelhopf with its well-raised dough... not to forget the foie gras, unique in its smoothness, and the infinite variety in charcuteries.
Gourmets and lovers of Vosges trout and fried Sundgau carp should make it all the way to Altkirch and Winkel to satisfy their gourmet palate.
Alsace, a festive region
Every season, Alsace has fun: there’s the Messti and the Kilbe popular fests, wine and harvest festivals; in winter, there’s the magical ambience of the Christmas markets, held on all the town squares, adorned with lit-up fir trees. What could be more natural in a region which made the Xmas tree tradition popular as early as the 16th century?
Thinking of visiting Alsace for an upcoming vacation? Book your Logis hotel restaurant in Alsace and enjoy the many activities provided by your hosts to relax you and enhance your experience with the specialties of an exceptional terroir!
Discover the tourist attractions of the regions of France in our tourist guide. Are you a fine gourmet? Let yourself fall under the spell of regional cuisine prepared by our great Logis Chefs and enjoy our theme stays in one of our Logis hotel restaurants in France and Europe.