Have you chosen Alsace as your holiday destination? Congratulations on selecting the North-East of France, and welcome to Alsace! If you stay in the region for a few weeks, here’s my list of the 10 must-see places in Alsace.
Choosing the right place to stay
Alsace is not a very large region. You can cross it in less than half a day. The distance between Wissembourg in the north and Basel in the south is 200 km.
A word of advice: if you want to visit the 10 must-see places in Alsace and stay in one place during your stay, choose a central location. Strasbourg is easy to get to, and there are plenty of things to discover in the surrounding area (Mont Saint-Odile, Obernai, Vosges du Nord, etc). If you want to explore the wine and Vosges crest routes, opt for the Colmar regions.
The 10 must-see Places in Alsace
Please note that this list of 10 must-see sites in Alsace does not include individual museums and monuments. These may be included in the list below. The list includes some top-rated sites; visitor numbers can be high depending on the time of year. It’s best to avoid weekends (mainly sunny ones) if possible!
1. The Grande Île of Strasbourg
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, this is a must-see in Alsace and throughout France!
What is the Grande Île?
It’s the historic centre of Strasbourg, located on an island. The surrounding river is called… the Ill [ill]! This river flows into the Rhine to the north of the city.
The Grande Île is home to some of the region’s most famous monuments and sites: Notre-Dame de Strasbourg cathedral, Petite France, the Ponts Couverts (covered bridges), the Palais Rohan, the Maison Kammerzell… You’ll need at least a day to tour the island and wander its most beautiful streets!
Strasbourg Tourist Office website
2. The Alsatian Venice of Colmar
Although much smaller than Strasbourg, the head city of the Haut-Rhin département has an outstanding architectural heritage.
The birthplace of Bartholdi (you know, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty?), Colmar boasts some magnificent Renaissance half-timbered houses.
Along the Rue des Marchands are many picturesque houses with exposed beams, including the famous Maison Pfister (1537). Colmar has many religious buildings that are well worth a visit: the collegiate church of Saint-Martin, the Protestant temple of Saint-Matthieu and the former Dominican church.
The Unterlinden Museum is also well worth a visit for its Issenheim Altarpiece, painted around 1500-1515 by Grünewald.
But the icing on the cake is the Little Venice district. Echoing Strasbourg’s Petite France, Colmar’s Petite Venise owes its charm to the Lauch River, which flows peacefully through the town.
Colmar is ideally situated for discovering the heart of the Alsace vineyards and most of the 10 must-see places in Alsace.
To the east of Colmar: Neuf-Brisach!
Colmar lies around a region with a rich architectural heritage. There is, of course, the Wine Route and its pretty villages (see below).
To the east, towards Germany, there’s also Neuf-Brisach. This former stronghold was built by Vauban in 1697. It is a town created from scratch, surrounded by an octagonal enclosure typical of the architecture developed by Louis XIV’s military architect.
Neuf-Brisach is now a member of the network of major Vauban sites. As a result, the commune of Haut-Rhin is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Pays Rhin Brisach Tourist Office website
3. The heart of the Wine Route
If I hadn’t combined several of the villages on the Alsace Wine Route, the list of the 10 must-see places in Alsace would have left no room for other destinations! Which goes to show how unmissable this part of the Wine Route is.
When friends ask me for sightseeing tips, I always send them on this picturesque route. I know they’ll be charmed by the beauty of the villages nestling in the vineyards.
The Alsace Wine Route is 170 km long and links the towns of Thann in the south to Marlenheim in the north.
My recommended section runs from Gueberschwihr to Dambach-la-Ville, around 60km. My favourite villages (and there are many!) are, from south to north, Gueberschwihr, Eguisheim, Turckheim, Niedermorschwihr, Ammerschwihr, Kaysersberg, Kientzheim, Beblenheim, Zellenberg, Riquewihr, Hunawihr, Ribeauvillé, Bergheim, Saint-Hippolyte, Kintzheim, Châtenois, Scherwiller and Dambach-la-Ville.
If you want to discover this (small) part of the Wine Route, you’ll need much more than a day. A week would be the minimum, so staying close to Colmar is a good idea.
4. Haut-Kœnigsbourg Castle
It stands proudly at the top of a sub-Vosgesian hill at an altitude of 757m. Like a sentinel, the castle has dominated the Alsace plain since the Middle Ages.
Haut-Kœnigsbourg is an emblematic fortified castle in Alsace and one of the grandest in France. Between 1901 and 1908, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered the castle’s restoration. This enabled him to assert his authority in the annexed region. The castle you are about to see had been in ruins and derelict for several centuries when the Kaiser commissioned Berlin architect Bodo Ebhardt to rebuild it.
You can reach the castle by car from Kintzheim on the D159. If you’re feeling fit, you can tackle the castle on foot from Saint-Hippolyte! On average, you’ll need to walk for two hours to reach Haut-Kœnigsbourg (longer options are available for hikes of 3 or 4 hours).
The official Haut-Kœnigsbourg castle website
5. Route des Crêtes of the Vosges
Another unmissable tourist route. But unlike the cities, it’s best to travel the Route des Crêtes in the Vosges under clear skies… or risk missing out on the breathtaking panoramas.
The Route des Crêtes is part Alsatian, part Lorraine. The reason is simple: as its name suggests, it was built along the ridge line on the border between the two regions. Plotted during the First World War by the French General Staff, it winds through forests and mountain meadows (les Hautes-Chaumes).
The Route des Crêtes is 80km long, stretching from Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines in the north to Thann in the south.
It crosses several passes of regional renown: Col du Bonhomme, Col du Calvaire, Col de la Schlucht and Col Amic (Tour de France fans will recognise the place!)
The tourist route also serves two of the massif’s most emblematic peaks: the Hohneck (1,362 m) and the Grand-Ballon, the highest point in the Vosges (1,424 m). Sublime panoramic views open up over the Vosges and its valleys, the Alsace plain, the Lorraine plateau, the Black Forest, the Jura and the Alps on a clear day (from the Tyrol to Mont Blanc).
Just before the descent to Cernay, the route passes the Vieil Armand (or Hartmannswillerskopf), a place of remembrance of the First World War and a national necropolis.
6. The historic town of Obernai
According to my sources, Obernai is the second most visited town in the Bas-Rhin department after Strasbourg. And that’s not a surprise when you discover it for the first time. Obernai is a pearl of the Alsace vineyards, with its rich Renaissance timber-framed houses and preserved ramparts.
With its enchanting Christmas market, Obernai is also a favourite during the Christmas season. To get a general view of the town, you must go (on foot or by car) to the ADEIF monument (Rue de la Paix, above the cemetery).
The small town of 10,000 inhabitants is only about 30 kilometres from Strasbourg. Obernai is a good base to explore the surrounding area: Mont Saint-Odile, Molsheim, Rosheim and the Champ du Feu summit.
Obernai Tourist Office website
7. Mont Sainte-Odile
Not far from Obernai lies a sacred site at the top of a hill. Mont Sainte-Odile is the site of the Hohenbourg Abbey, founded by the patron saint of Alsace. Perched at an altitude of 760 m (like Haut-Kœnigsbourg), the convent attracts many pilgrims. An estimated 1.3 million visitors come here every year.
The view from the summit stretches across the Alsace plain as far as Strasbourg and the Black Forest. A word of advice: to avoid backlighting and take full advantage of the panorama, it’s best to visit in the late afternoon!
But Mont Sainte-Odile is also a curious site: the pagan wall. This fortified enclosure, believed to date back to a few centuries BC, remains an archaeological enigma. It’s the most mystical place on my list of 10 not-to-be-missed places in Alsace.
Mont Sainte-Odile Tourism Office website
8. Wissembourg and the Northern Vosges
The Northern Vosges differ from the Hautes-Vosges because their average altitude is much lower. Its highest peak is the Grand Wintersberg at 581m. In fact, there is no distinction between the Vosges du Nord and the neighbouring Pfalz (or Palatinate) in Germany.
Unlike the crests of the Vosges or the Rhine, the border here is not natural. But it has left its mark on toponymy: in France, we speak of “Vosges du Nord” and on the German side “Pfalz”. In addition, Alsace and Lorraine share the Vosges du Nord.
The part we are interested in here is the area around Wissembourg. There are several ruined pink sandstone castles (Fleckenstein, Vieux Windstein), some pretty little towns and villages (Wissembourg, Seebach, Hunspach), not to mention forests of pine and beech as far as the eye can see.
Pays de Wissembourg Tourist Office website
9. The historic town of Sélestat
Halfway between Colmar and Strasbourg, Sélestat (population 17,000) boasts an enviable architectural and cultural heritage! The richness of Sélestat is mainly due to the Renaissance. The town’s most beautiful houses are richly decorated, and the humanist library is said to be one of the richest in the world…
Sélestat’s old town is typically Alsatian. It features half-timbered houses, a belfry and two remarkable churches.
The first is the Gothic-style church of Saint-Georges, built between the 13th and 15th centuries.
The second, the church of Sainte-Foy, is a small jewel of Romanesque art dating from the 12th century, with its three towers.
In addition, Sélestat has preserved its picturesque tanners’ quarter as in Strasbourg and Colmar. Not far from Sélestat is the splendid baroque church of Ebersmunster.
Sélestat-Haut-Kœnigsbourg Tourist Office website
10. The rural countryside of the Sundgau
The Sundgau is often overlooked by visitors to Alsace, who prefer the Wine Route, Colmar or Strasbourg. Here is one of the must-see sites in Alsace, where you can be sure of not being disturbed by the hordes of tourists.
The Sundgau is an Alsatian region in a triangle between Mulhouse, Belfort and Basel. Unlike the plain of Alsace, it has hills and even mountains, as its southern boundary lies in the Jura mountains. This part of the region is known as the “Alsatian Jura”.
What can you discover in the Sundgau? A rural landscape of fields, meadows and forests dotted with ponds. There are just under a hundred villages, all of which still boast beautifully maintained half-timbered houses.
After a short visit to Altkirch, its capital, head for Hirtzbach (a charming village with half-timbered houses), then Ferrette. The former capital of the Counts of Ferrette is built on a remarkable site dominated by the ruins of its two castles.
Sundgau – Sud Alsace Tourist Office website
Do you have any suggestions for places you’d like to see? Please write it all down in the comments space below!