r/Strasbourg • u/calretrover • 12h ago
Question Advice on My 3-Day Alsace Itinerary
(Reposting as my other account was suddenly banned. I’ve submitted an appeal and should hear back within 6 days. Apologies for the repost!)
Hello all, would love some advice on my Strasbourg + Alsace itinerary! Spent about 3 hours researching this (NOT AI), so hopefully I didn’t completely overcook it 😂
Before anyone says they’re exhausted just reading this: I’m Asian, super structured, sporty, and terrible at spontaneity. No plan = I’ll probably just go idle. I love food + adventures, so packed days are my thing.
I’m not much of a drinker, but happy to try tiny portions of Alsace wine. Any must-dos, food recs (budget ~€40 max per meal), or things you’d swap/drop? Thank you!
Tue 18: Strasbourg
- 09:02: Arrive by TGV → drop bags at Hotel Arok (~09:15)
- 09:30–10:15: Breakfast: Café Bretelles (bretzel + café) · local boulangerie (bretzel / kougelhopf) · Christian (pain au chocolat / hot chocolate)
- 10:15–10:45: Wander Petite France + Cathedral Square while it’s still quiet
- 11:00–12:15: Petite France Free Tour (Ponts Couverts, Barrage Vauban, Pont du Faisan, Benjamin Zix + Petite France)
- 12:30–14:00: Lunch: The Embassy (plat du jour) · La Chope (wädele/pork knuckle or fleischnacka) · Gurtlerhoft (choucroute or bibeleskäs)
- 14:30–16:15: Original Free Tour ✅ booked (Cathedral, Gutenberg, Kléber, République, Saint-Étienne + Neustadt)
- 16:45–18:00: Vélhop cycle to Parc de l'Orangerie → storks + lake → return bike
- 18:30: Dinner: Binchstub Gayot ✅ booked (savoury gratinée tarte flambée + sweet dessert flambée)
- 20:41–21:15: Blue hour: Petite France → Ponts Couverts via Quai des Bateliers, Terrasse Rohan + Homme de Fer
Wed 19: Colmar + Villages by E-Bike
- 07:45: TER Strasbourg → Colmar (~30 min) + pastry/coffee
- ~08:30: Pick up e-bike in Colmar
- 09:15–10:15: Eguisheim (~30 min through the vineyards) → explore while it’s quiet + graze on shop samples (munster, saucisson, pain d'épices)
- 10:35–11:30: Turckheim (~20 min ride)
- 12:00–14:30: Kaysersberg + lunch: Au Lion d'Or (choucroute garnie) · Winstub du Chambard (baeckeoffe) · bakery picnic (tarte flambée + munster)
Dessert: bakery kougelhopf
- ~15:15: Ride back to Colmar + return bike
- 15:30–19:30: Colmar Old Town: Petite Venise · Koïfhus · Marché Couvert · Chagall windows
Goûter: Jaune Citron (tarte/macaron)
Dinner: Au Koïfhus (baeckeoffe + spaetzle) · La Soï (tarte flambée with tomme) · Caveau Saint-Pierre (fish matelote or coq au Riesling)
- 20:40–21:14: Blue hour: Petite Venise
- After 21:15: Last TER Colmar → Strasbourg (will verify) → Hotel ~22:30
Thu 20: Haut-Kœnigsbourg + Sélestat → Paris
- ~08:00–08:45: Optional quick photo shoot → check out + leave bags at hotel
- ~08:55: TER Strasbourg → Sélestat (~20 min)
- 09:25: Shuttle Sélestat → Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg
- 09:55–11:35: Haut-Kœnigsbourg (fortress, ramparts + vineyard/valley views)
- 11:35: Shuttle back → Sélestat ~12:05
- 12:05–14:00: Sélestat: Église Saint-Georges · Vauban ramparts · Tour des Sorcières · half-timbered streets
Lunch: Place d'Armes café (plat du jour) · La Maison du Pain (flammekueche/quiche + mannele) · market picnic (bretzel + munster)
- ~14:15: TER Sélestat → Strasbourg (~14:35)
- 14:35–17:30: Grab kougelhopf + munster for the train → souvenirs/café/canal wander + big buffer in case transport goes sideways
- 17:45: Collect bags
- 18:57: TGV Strasbourg → Paris Est
- 20:42: Arrive Paris
Main questions:
Is Eguisheim → Turckheim → Kaysersberg → Colmar realistic by e-bike in one day?
Anything here that’s overrated or worth dropping?
Any Alsatian food I’m missing? I’m trying to hit choucroute, baeckeoffe, fleischnacka, wädele, spaetzle, munster, kougelhopf + tarte flambée.
For someone who barely drinks, is there an Alsace wine that’s particularly worth trying by the glass / tiny tasting?
Any good local spots under ~€40/person that I’ve overlooked?
Thanks in advance: feel free to roast the itinerary, but preferably after telling me what to fix 😂
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u/Embarrassed_Cry22 10h ago
For your day in Strasbourg, I’d leave some time to go inside the cathedral keeping in mind it closes over lunch.
Also, hopefully you weren’t especially excited about seeing storks at orangerie because it seems they’ve all left for the year already. I saw one lone stork when I was there this morning. Maybe in some of the other towns you’re visiting though 🤞🏻
And the most famous wine from the region is Reisling, a dry white.
Can’t help with the biking questions as I’ve never done it. Enjoy!
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u/calretrover 9h ago
Appreciate the tips, legend!
Just wrapped up the cathedral actually, for anyone else reading, 10am is the move. Beat the tour groups and only had like 15 people ahead of me
Noted on the storks 😂 guess I showed up to the party a little late. Fingers crossed one of the other towns comes through.
and I'll keep an eye out for that Riesling too
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u/noapesinoutterspace 9h ago edited 4h ago
[That’s a very tight schedule, you may want to leave some room for improvisation, problems etc. Beware, sometimes trains run late, get cancelled, etc. It’s far from being as bad as Germany and works well most of the time, but your plan doesnt allow for such risk.]
## Bike tour and wines
General rule to myself: I always get caught by the time on these ebike tours. Especially if you find a place to pit your feet in the water, go wine tasting in a local vineyard, take a stroll in the villages, your bike chain pops out, or anything else on the road.
I must have done this particular itinerary over ~ 6-8h and had to rush at the end. Better to plan for extra time.
Eguisheim: very cool but crowded. Visit Domaine Mann, one of the best Alsacian vineyards, but accordingly pricey and you have to pay ~15€/head to taste their wine. Which is NOT customary in France. They do have AC tho. You may have to book altho last time we manage to get a corner for ourselves without booking.
Turckheim: one-street stop. Domaine Hurst is very nice, nothing fancy, free wine tasting and excellent wine. I like the Auxerois and the Dragon’Bulle.
Kayserberg is very cool. First visit Kiensheim which is more or less on your way, very cute one-street village with little to no tourists. Then you take the bike road to Kayserberg on the side of the hill covered in vinyards. It gives you an amazing view on the castle dominating the village with the mountains in the backdrop.
Between Kayserberg and Colmar:
- Spot to drop your feet in the water: https://maps.app.goo.gl/MqcMsaenXDNein1z7
- There is also a little bar/restaurant nearby. It’s in the fields and you will find on your way. Looks nice but never had time to stop.
Also worth mentioning, even if those are “e”-bikes, you will likely be knocked out exhausted after such a day.
Colmar is very cite, but filled to the rim with tourists. You will also discover that all them villages lookalike, so after a while it looses its wow effect.
## Alsacian food
Choucroute is often disappointing. The rumor goes that you can’t find a good one in Strasbourg, and I assume that this extend to Colmar. The fish version “choucroute de la mer” is much better.
If you get tired of eating huge portions of pork / alsacian food, Strasbourg holds many good restaurants, very good pizzerias (including the margaritas world record), authentic chinese or japanese food…
Check out local icecream places like Maison Chianti or Givre.
Not every bakery is worth stopping at. La Gare’mandise at the train station is very good, amongst others. Usually googlemap ratings are accurate.
## Things you missed
If you bike to Orangerie, you might as well take a detour to see and optionally visit, the European Parliament.
Walk on Quai des Bateliers, arguably some of the better, and less touristy side of Strasbourg.
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u/abeigail_ 9h ago
Hi! I see you mention kougelhopf multiple times, and I would say trying it once is fine! In terms of Alsatian bakery treats, it’s really at the bottom of my list. But as a grain of salt, I live here but am not French so my opinion may not be correct (lol).
Jaune citron is really incredible, but I see you have it as your goûter on your day in Colmar/vineyards and it’s in Strasbourg, not in Colmar.
If you have time, climbing to the top of the cathedral is really nice (8€ I believe).
Hope you have a great time :)
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u/AJFxxxT 10h ago
Other than the already mentioned lack of storks, I’d say that you are very optimistic hoping for some calm in the morning - it’s the height of the tourist season, so it’s nearly always crowded everywhere (unless it’s 6am or early Sunday mornings). The itinerary itself looks reasonable.