Alsace Tour, Alsace Tours

Treat yourself to our tour of Alsace, one of France's most unique regions, with its own distinct history and culture, partly due to its position next to bordering Germany and Switzerland. From its history, cuisine, wine, architecture, and even its floral decoration, Alsace is different from the rest of France, yet is still quintessentially French. Few other regions of the country can match Alsace's constellation of Michelin stars (30). This Alsace tour is designed to let you sample its uniqueness with the help of your personal bilingual guide.

Your tour of Alsace begins with a little over two-hour high speed train

ride to Strasbourg, where, we will check into the Hotel Beaucour, elegantly installed in two beautiful 18th century Alsatian houses. Then we start your Alsace tour in earnest with a walking tour of the Old Town and its charming 13-16th century houses, skirted around the city's unique Gothic and pink Notre Dame Cathedral. We will be on hand to watch the complex astronomical clock display at 12:30 inside the cathedral. After lunch, we will visit the Rohan Palace and the Grand Appartements at the Decorative Arts Museum, and later we will take a stroll through the La Petite France quarter. You might consider dinner that evening at Au Crocodile, a landmark of authentic Alsatian cuisine.

The second day of your tour of Alsace begins with a drive in an upscale vehicle to the Alsatian wine capital, Colmar,

where you will check into the gracious Hotel Les Tetes, set in a beautiful 17th century residence. The morning will be spent visiting the Unterlinden (under the lime trees) Museum, where Matthias Grünewald's Issenheim Altarpiece is not to be missed. After lunch we will stroll through the Old Town, stopping to admire the Koifhus and Maison Pfister, and continue on to the Little Venice quarter. You may wish to also visit the Bartholdi Museum, set in the home of the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty.

For an unforgettable dining experience, allow us to organize dinner on the second night of your tour of Alsace at the sublime 3-star Auberge de l'Ill, a 20' drive away in Illhaeusern. Several of our clients have characterized it as the most wonderful restaurant in the world. We are not fans of hyperbole, but they just might be right.

The last day of your tour of Alsace begins with

a drive to the charming near-by village of Kaysersberg, delightfully nestled in a fold of the Vosges mountains. Home of Alfred Schweitzer and storied vineyards, there may not be a more beautiful village in all of Alsace---unless you are a partisan of Riquewihr, a few minutes away, and our next stop. Both are typical Alsatian wine villages in the heart of the Riesling region. Visiting them is a step back into the 16th century, since when their appearances have not changed.

In the afternoon we will drive to and visit the ancient Haut-Koenigsburg Castle, with its panoramic views of the Alsace countryside and the Black Forest in the distance. We then drive on to Obernai, the last stop in our tour of Alsace wine villages. Your tour of Alsace finishes with a drive back to Strasbourg, where we will catch an early evening high speed train back to Paris.