Saturday was a chance to explore the local area a bit. First I should say something about our accommodation. We try to stay in self contained apartments as much as possible as we find it better value and gives us more flexibility for multi-day stays. With the internet it’s amazing what amazing places you can find. In the little wine village of Beblenheim we found renovated apartment in an old vineyard home built in 1733! Our hosts were lovely and even welcomed us with a bottle of local wine. What more do you need.
Anyway, Saturday we drove into Colmar, the major city in the area. Despite other interesting buildings and a cathedral, Colmar is chiefly known for the area called ‘Petite Venise’ or Little Venice. Not really like Venice but an area of traditional timber frame homes built along the river Lauch. With the pastel colors of the buildings, the many bridges and the abundance of flowers, it makes for a delightful area to wander around and soak up the atmosphere. With the beautiful weather add a little boat ride on the river for a different view and you have the makings of a great day.
The area around Colmar in the heart of the Alsatian wine region abounds with picturesque little villages. One of the best and most popular is Riquewihr. It’s a chocolate box little village reminiscent of Rothenburg in Germany with its city walls, towers and beautifully restored timber frame buildings all painted in various hues. Much like Rothenburg Riquewihr has embraced the tourist trade as you can see from the pictures. Plenty of shops to check out but just fun to walk around and explore.
Sunday it was off to our next stop in one of my favorite villages in France, Noyers-sur-Serein. But more of that in my next post.
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