Alsace Guided Tour

Traveling by bicycle through the Alsace Route du Vin is like riding through a postcard: vineyards rise up the hillsides to meet the forests of the Vosges mountains; the ruins of proud castles of the Middle Ages are perched high on hilltops surveying the towns below; quaint villages surrounded by venerable ramparts abound. Inside the villages you are treated to flower decked streets, hospitable inns, baroque wrought-iron signs, historic half-timbered houses, Roman churches and fountains generously bequeathed by the Renaissance. More villages of Alsace have won awards as the "most flowered cities of France" and many have been awarded the appellation as a Plus Beaux Villages.

While cycling in Alsace, you can lose yourself in medieval cities far from the crowds, meet the winegrowers, taste their wines, and enjoy the spectacular panoramic views from the Vosges ridge tops overlooking the gently sloped wine region below.

Your custom Alsace tour can be concentrated in the easier rolling hills of the Route du Vin, where each successive village tries to outdo the other in quaintness. For those desiring a little more challenge, there is incredible cycling up into the Vosges mountains, with spectacular views and a peek at working towns where logging has been the traditional industry. Other sights in the Vosges include an ancient monestery and a concentration camp from WWII.

The plains to the east provide easy cycling through farmland and unveil many historical reminders of the travails of the earlier part of this century. The Maginot Line, a system of defense developed to protect the continent from further advances by the Germans after WW I, travels for 200 km in Alsace alone. You can choose to spend one day cycling to Freiburg, Germany for a taste of a different culture.

Alsace tours can include visits to these principle villages from Strasbourg to Colmar: Obernai, Barr, Itterswiller, Dambach-la-Ville, Scherwiller, Ribeauvillé, Riquewhir, Turckheim, and more. Visits can include private winery tours (including a gourmet picnic served in the courtyard of one of Dambach-la-Ville's most important wineries), or a guided tour of the renovated Haute Koenigsbourg, one of the most visited chateaux in all of France.

Alsace boasts some of the finest accommodations and restaurants in France, and is also one of the most gastronomic regions of France, where you will be astonished by culinary genius married perfectly with the local famous wines.

You may also consider combining your custom tour to Alsace to include a few days in the Champagne region.

Contact us today for more information on this fascinating, verdant region! info@vivatravels.com