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Alsace & Lorraine

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Champagne, Reims. Montagne de Reims. Hills covered with vineyards. France

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Overview

Alsace is a cultural one-off. With its Germanic dialect and French sense of fashion, love of foie gras and choucroute (sauerkraut), fine wine and beer, this region often leaves you wondering quite where you are. Where are you? Why, in the land of living fairy tales, of course, where vineyards fade into watercolour distance, hilltop castles send spirits soaring higher than the region’s emblematic storks and half-timbered villages garlanded with geraniums look fresh-minted for a Disney film set.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • 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…

  • gothic cathedral Saint Étienne against sky in french city Metz; Shutterstock ID 2220886635; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI 2220886635

    Cathédrale St-Étienne

    Metz

    The lacy golden spires of this Gothic cathedral crown Metz’ skyline. Exquisitely lit by kaleidoscopic curtains of 13th- to 20th-century stained glass, the…

  • Musée des Beaux-Arts

    Musée des Beaux-Arts

    Nancy

    Lodged in a regal 18th-century edifice, Nancy's standout gallery occupies art lovers for hours. A wrought-iron staircase curls gracefully up to the 2nd…

  • The fountain of Neptune in the Rococo style and the gilded wrought iron portico in the north-west corner of the place Stanislas in Nancy, France.

    Place Stanislas

    Nancy

    Nancy’s crowning glory is this grand neoclassical square and Unesco World Heritage Site. Designed by Emmanuel Héré in the 1750s, it was named after the…

  • METZ, 10 September 2017 - Entrance Georges Pompidou museum building at the early morning in Metz, France; Shutterstock ID 714439267; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI 714439267

    Centre Pompidou-Metz

    Metz

    Designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, with a curved roof resembling a space-age Chinese hat, the architecturally innovative Centre Pompidou-Metz is…

  • Palais Rohan

    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

    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

    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…

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Best Things to Do

Off the mainstream tourist radar, the French region of Lorraine spans historic cities and picturesque countryside. Here are the best things to do.

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