Must-see attractions in Alsace

  • View of Strasbourg Cathedral from ground. Alsace; Shutterstock ID 543791347; Your name (First / Last): Daniel Fahey; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Cathédrale Notre-Dame Strasbourg POI

    Cathédrale Notre-Dame

    Strasbourg

    Nothing prepares you for your first glimpse of Strasbourg's Cathédrale Notre-Dame, completed in all its Gothic grandeur in 1439. The lace-fine facade…

  • Palais Rohan

    Strasbourg

    Hailed as a ‘Versailles in miniature’, this opulent 18th-century residence is loaded with treasures. The basement Musée Archéologique takes you from the…

  • Grande Île

    Strasbourg

    History seeps through the twisting lanes and cafe-rimmed plazas of Grande Île, Strasbourg's Unesco World Heritage–listed island bordered by the River Ill…

  • Musée d’Unterlinden

    Colmar

    Gathered around a Gothic-style Dominican cloister, this revamped museum hides a prized medieval stone statue collection, late-15th-century prints by…

  • Cave de Ribeauvillé

    Alsace

    France’s oldest winegrowers’ cooperative, which brings together 40 vintners, was founded in 1895. The huge, contemporary building contains a viniculture…

  • France, Alsace, Strasbourg, Petite-France, View of restaurants, taverns and framed houses

    Petite France

    Strasbourg

    Criss-crossed by narrow lanes, canals and locks, Petite France is where artisans plied their trades in the Middle Ages. The half-timbered houses,…

  • Old colorful half-timbered houses in the quatrer Petite Venise (Little Venice) in Colmar, France.; Shutterstock ID 748217683; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
748217683

    Petite Venise

    Colmar

    If you see just one thing in Colmar, make it the Little Venice quarter. Canal connection aside, it doesn’t resemble Venice in the slightest, but it's…

  • View from the wall of the Haut-Koenigsbourg castle ( Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg ) over the Alsatian panorama and vineyards up to the Black Forest; Shutterstock ID 1780073546; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
1780073546

    Château du Haut Kœnigsbourg

    Alsace

    On its fairy-tale perch above vineyards and hills, the turreted red-sandstone Château du Haut Kœnigsbourg is worth a detour for the wraparound panorama…

  • Vieille Ville

    Alsace

    Along the main street that threads through the old town, keep an eye out for the 17th-century Pfifferhüs, which once housed the town’s fife-playing…

  • Old trench of the first world war on the Ballon d'Alsace in France.

    Ballon d’Alsace

    Alsace

    Three régions (Alsace, Franche-Comté and Lorraine) converge at the rounded 1247m-high summit of Ballon d’Alsace. The mountain is a scenic base for…

  • Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame in Strasbourg, France.

    Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame

    Strasbourg

    Occupying a cluster of sublime 14th- and 16th-century buildings, this museum harbours one of Europe’s premier collections of Romanesque, Gothic and…

  • The Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, MAMCS.

    Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain

    Strasbourg

    This striking glass-and-steel cube showcases an outstanding fine-art, graphic-art and photography collection. Besides modern and contemporary works of the…

  • Traditional blacksmith in an old alsatian house in the Ecomuseum Alsace.

    Ecomusée d’Alsace

    Alsace

    Ecomusée d’Alsace is a fascinating excursion into Alsatian country life and time-honoured crafts. Smiths, cartwrights, potters and coopers do their thing…

  • Grande Mosquee de Strasbourg.

    Grande Mosquée de Strasbourg

    Strasbourg

    Designed by Italian architect Paolo Portoghesi and opened in September 2012, France's biggest mosque (accommodating 1500 worshippers) sits on a bend in…

  • Barrage Vauban.

    Barrage Vauban

    Strasbourg

    A triumph of 17th-century engineering, the Barrage Vauban bears the architectural imprint of the leading French military engineer of the age – Sébastien…

  • Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi Museum in Colmar, Alsace, France.

    Musée Bartholdi

    Colmar

    In the house where Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was born in 1834, this museum pays homage to the sculptor who captured the spirit of a nation with his…

  • The Market square in the old center of Obernai, France.

    Place du Marché

    Alsace

    Life spirals around this market square, put to use each Thursday morning, where you’ll find the 16th-century hôtel de ville (town-hall building)…

  • White herons in Naturoparc.

    NaturOparC

    Alsace

    Set amid the vines, this delightful centre is home base for 200 free-flying storks; visit in spring and you're guaranteed to see hatchlings. Cormorants,…

  • Cyclist on the central cobblestone pavement road of Bergheim, France.

    Medieval Centre

    Alsace

    A stroll through the cobbled streets of the well-preserved medieval centre takes in the early Gothic church; the wall-mounted sundial, dating from 1711;…

  • Musée Lalique

    Alsace

    A stunning, romantic tribute to French art-nouveau designer René Lalique, the Musée Lalique harbours a collection assembling exquisite gem-encrusted and…

  • Place de la République

    Strasbourg

    Many of Strasbourg’s grandest public buildings, constructed when the city was ruled by the German Reich, huddle northeast of the Grande Île area in the so…

  • Bibliothèque Humaniste

    Alsace

    Founded in 1452, this library’s stellar collection features a 7th-century book of Merovingian liturgy, a copy of Cosmographiae Introductio (printed in…

  • Musée de l’Impression sur Étoffes

    Alsace

    Once known as the ‘French Manchester’, Mulhouse is fittingly home to this peerless collection of six million textile samples – from brilliant cashmeres…

  • Musée du Papier Peint

    Alsace

    More stimulating than it sounds, this is a treasure trove of wallpaper (some of the scenic stuff is as detailed as an oil painting) and the machines used…

  • Église des Dominicains

    Colmar

    Lit by late-medieval stained glass, this desanctified Gothic church shelters the celebrated triptych La Vierge au Buisson de Roses (The Virgin in the Rose…

  • Église St-Georges

    Alsace

    One of Alsace’s most striking churches, this Gothic giant, built from weighty red sandstone and sporting a colourful mosaic-tile roof, is illuminated by…

  • Natzweiler-Struthof

    Alsace

    About 25km west of Obernai, off the D130, stands Natzweiler-Struthof, the only Nazi concentration camp on French territory. Today the sombre remains of…

  • Jardin des Deux Rives

    Strasbourg

    An expression of flourishing Franco-German friendship, Strasbourg and its German neighbour Kehl have turned former customs posts and military…

  • Musée Historique

    Strasbourg

    Trace Strasbourg’s history from its beginnings as a Roman military camp called Argentoratum at this engaging museum, housed in a 16th-century…

  • Parc de l’Orangerie

    Strasbourg

    Across from the Council of Europe's Palais de l’Europe, 2km northeast of Grande Île, this flowery park, designed in the 17th century by Le Nôtre, of…

  • Cave des Hospices de Strasbourg

    Strasbourg

    Founded in 1395, this brick-vaulted wine cellar nestles deep in the bowels of Strasbourg’s hospital. A hospice back in the days when wine was considered a…

  • Château Musée Vodou

    Strasbourg

    Housed in a striking 19th-century water tower, this one-of-a-kind museum apparently showcases the world's largest private collection of West African…

  • Cité de l’Automobile

    Alsace

    An ode to the automobile, this striking glass-and-steel museum showcases 400 rare and classic motors, from old-timers such as the Bugatti Royale to…

  • Illwald

    Alsace

    On the southeastern fringes of Sélestat, this nature reserve is a mix of deciduous forest and wetlands. It attracts plenty of wildlife, including…

  • Musée Tomi Ungerer

    Strasbourg

    A tribute to one of Strasbourg’s most famous sons – award-winning illustrator and cartoonist Tomi Ungerer – this museum, just northeast of Grande Île, is…

  • Musée Alsacien

    Strasbourg

    Spread across three typical houses from the 1500s and 1600s, with creaky floors and beautifully restored wood-panelled interiors, this museum dips into…

  • Le Vaisseau

    Strasbourg

    Science is never boring at this interactive science and technology museum, 2.5km southeast of central Strasbourg. There are plenty of hands-on activities…

  • Jardins des Papillons

    Alsace

    Stroll among exotic free-flying butterflies at these pretty gardens, situated around 500m east of Hunawihr. A walk among the wildflowers here reveals not…

  • Musée Vauban

    Alsace

    A Unesco World Heritage Site since 2008, the citadel of Neuf-Brisach has remarkably well-preserved fortifications. The Musée Vauban, below the porte de…

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