Alsace, France: Region Map, Villages, Food and Things to Do

Alsace has no entry rules of its own. It is part of France, so the Schengen rules apply, and whether you need a visa for a short trip depends on your passport: some nationalities can visit without one, while others must apply before they travel.

Either way, the same entry covers a hop across the Rhine to Freiburg or Kehl and down to Basel, because Germany and Switzerland are in the Schengen area as well. Our France visa guide  explains how to check your case, and our eSIM guide  covers mobile data.

The quickest way in is through Basel. EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL), at the southern end of the region just outside the city, is the closest large airport, and it is where we landed.

• From the airport: Use the French-side exit of the terminal for the bus to Saint-Louis station, then take a TER regional train north towards Colmar or Strasbourg (euroairport.com).
• Getting around by rail: the quickest Basel-Colmar service needs 37 minutes, Colmar-Strasbourg roughly thirty, and Obernai has its own stop on the Strasbourg route (Omio, October 2026). Check Strasbourg to Colmar train times  Ad
• Long-haul arrivals: weigh up a connecting flight into Basel against landing in Paris and riding the TGV from Gare de l'Est to Strasbourg.
• For the villages: Riquewihr, Kaysersberg and Haut-Koenigsbourg have no station. From Colmar there are infrequent Fluo buses, a weekend shuttle in the Christmas season, or a hire car; we did the villages on a tour.

• Late November and December: Christmas market season, and when we went. Rooms in the villages go first: in a Booking search on 15 October 2026, more than 98 per cent of places in Riquewihr and Kaysersberg were already taken for the second Saturday of December.
• January to March: The markets close and the towns go quiet. It is a good time for the cathedral and museums, and mid-January room prices in Strasbourg came out at roughly a quarter of December's (Booking, 15 October 2026).
• Spring and summer: Window boxes fill with flowers and the hiking season opens on the Vosges slopes. July and August bring the school-holiday crowds.

Alsace is a narrow plain in the far northeast of France, squeezed between the Vosges mountains to the west and the Rhine to the east. Germany lies across the river, and at the southern tip the French, German and Swiss borders meet at Basel. Strasbourg and Basel are only about 140 km apart, so you can drive the length of the region in around two hours.

The region has two departments: Bas-Rhin in the north, centred on Strasbourg, and Haut-Rhin in the south, home to Colmar and Mulhouse. The German-looking village names are a legacy of a border that moved back and forth; in history books, Alsace and Lorraine (Alsace-Lorraine) refers to the land Germany annexed in 1871 and gave back in 1918.

If you are unsure how to pronounce Alsace, the French say it roughly as "al-ZASS". Country basics such as the time zone and currency are in our France travel guide .

Alsace cooking sits between the French and German kitchens, with plenty of dough and cabbage.

• Tarte flambée (flammekueche): Thin dough with cream and onion; the classic version adds bacon. We had two kinds in Colmar, and cheese or vegetable versions are easy to find.
• Pretzels: Knotted bread topped with sesame and poppy seeds; ours came from a stall in Riquewihr.
• Choucroute: Sauerkraut, usually served with pork and sausages; ask what comes with it before you order.
• Kougelhopf and bredele: A yeasted cake baked in a ring mould, and the small biscuits sold by the box at Christmas.

There is no single Alsace Christmas market: each town and village sets up its own, usually opening in the final week of November. We visited five of them in December 2023. Dates, hours and squares are in separate guides:

• Strasbourg: The largest market in the region, spread over eight locations around the city. Strasbourg Christmas market 2026 
• Colmar: Six separate markets scattered through the old town. Colmar Christmas market 2026 
• Villages: The Riquewihr, Kaysersberg and Obernai markets are covered in each village guide. Kaysersberg opens only from Friday to Sunday (kaysersberg.com, 15 October 2026), so plan your village day around it.

Alsace side by side with the other markets on our channel: the best Christmas markets in Europe . See Strasbourg Christmas market tours  Ad

We did not spend a night in Strasbourg or Colmar, so this section is about choosing an area rather than a hotel. The short rule: base yourself in a city if you travel by train, and consider a village if you have a car.

• Strasbourg: The widest choice of rooms; first-timers usually pick the cathedral area or Petite France. Area by area in where to stay in Strasbourg . See Grande Île and Petite France hotels  Ad
• Colmar: The closest city to the villages; Little Venice, the old town and the station area are compared in where to stay in Colmar .
• Villages: Riquewihr and Kaysersberg have few rooms and fill first in December. Without a car, Obernai is easier, with direct trains to Strasbourg.

All Alsace bases, plus Paris, are weighed up in where to stay in France . See hotels in Alsace  Ad

Each point on the map has its own guide with our video, transport and details. Our short notes:

• Strasbourg: The largest city in the region; the old town fits on an island between two arms of the Ill. Ours was a final-day visit by car, with the cathedral, Kléber square and Petite France covered on foot. Things to do in Strasbourg 
• Colmar: The main town of southern Alsace, best known for the canal-side Little Venice quarter. We arrived in the evening after the villages and walked the streets again under the Christmas lights. Things to do in Colmar 
• Obernai: A small town on the Strasbourg line, built around its Market Square; we stopped there in daylight on our way north. Things to do in Obernai 
• Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle: A medieval castle on a Vosges hillside high above the plain, easy to combine with a day in the villages.
• Riquewihr: A walled village you can loop on foot in a morning; we came here on a tour. Things to do in Riquewihr 
• Kaysersberg: The Weiss stream runs through the middle and a ruined castle sits on the hill above; it was our next stop after Riquewihr. Things to do in Kaysersberg 

If you skip an organised tour and travel on your own, two cities and one village day are enough for a first visit: Strasbourg and Colmar by train, plus a Friday, Saturday or Sunday for the villages. We are preparing day-by-day route pages from our Christmas videos; until then, each guide says how long to spend there.