Must-see attractions in Alsace

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…

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

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…

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

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

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

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

Head away from the crowds and into the serene Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges, 3000 sq km of pristine greenery in the western Vosges. In…

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

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

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

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

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…

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)…

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,…

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;…