The 3 Best Day Trips from Colmar in Alsace, France

Alsace, France. The land of crisp, dry rieslings and rich tarte flambees. Houses that look like a Beauty and the Beast fantasy come to life. Cobblestone streets and influencers galore, all trying to get their perfect shot of Belle’s alleged “provincial life.” A culture that, while on the surface seems like a conflicting mix of German and French, is actually one that embraces the inconsistent customs, especially after centuries of wars and border repositioning have shifted this region between the two countries.

Kayserberg Castle View

We decided to begin our European summer in the picturesque town of Colmar, France. One of the reasons we love to slow travel is that, while we completely immerse ourselves in a particular town for an extended period of time, it also allows us to explore an entire region at our own toddler-driven pace. One major tip we have for everyone who wants to slow travel: always ask for a deal from an Airbnb owner if you are staying more than a few days. The worst they can say is no and we get a cheaper price around 90% of the time. Having negotiated a lower price with our Airbnb owner that was under our budget for the trip, we had extra funds to rent bikes for most of our time in Colmar as well as do an overnight stay in one of the nearby towns, Kayserberg.

Route du Vin Alsace

After securing our bikes (Kevin’s of course having the toddler seat on back), we set off to explore the small villages of Alsace. Here are our 3 favorite day trip towns to visit from Colmar:

Kayserberg France Vineyards

Kayserberg

Kayserberg was the farthest town that we biked to from Colmar, clocking in at around 45 minutes. Knowing that ahead of time, we decided to make this our overnight spot and rented a hotel room in town at the Hotel les Ramparts.

Alsace Vineyards

The ride to Kayserberg was the only one of our three day trip rides that was almost entirely on a bike path. And, since it was Alsace, that bike path was primarily through beautiful vineyards. As it turned out, the day we were riding there also happened to be the last day of a triathlon that had its finish line on a wooded path halfway through the journey. Maeve enjoyed passing the bikers and runners, and the families and friends cheering on the sidelines for the participants made us feel like we had our own cheerleading squad for part of the long ride. 

Since the day we were riding there was quite warm, we stopped a little over halfway in the small, quaint village of Kientzheim at Domaine Paul Blanck, a local winery. The owner, who I don’t think gets many families stopping by without appointments for tastings, seemed pleased to show us to the cellar and give us a long and thorough tasting. He even had an entire coloring/craft area set up for kids, and a baguette and cheese, so Maeve was perfectly content. 

After the tasting, we rode the very short way to Kayserberg, coming in on a gorgeous path slightly above the town. We ate lunch at a casual restaurant named Le Caveau du Pressoir where we shared some fondue and salad. After lunch, we checked into our hotel and took a rest before heading back to town to explore. Our first stop was the Chateau de Kayserberg, the ruined castle above the village with impressive views of the surrounding Vosges Mountains. The walk to the top was fairly easy and Maeve enjoyed wandering around the castle. After our walk back down, we followed Rick Steves’ walk through town and visited the Church of the Holy Cross. We tried to get a drink at Le Chambard hotel with the idea of toasting to Anthony Bourdain (that was the hotel where he died), but it was closed for a private event. For dinner, we had made a reservation at Flamme and co, which puts a modern spin on the region’s favorite dish, tarte flambee. I got a Mediterranean version and Kevin got an Italian one, but unfortunately neither made sense to us. Both of ours were overwhelmingly dressed with every herb known to man and it was hard to find the tarte flambee under the ginormous, yet somehow flavorless, salad on top. We both started sneaking bites of Maeve’s original. Would not recommend. 

Kayserberg Restaurants

Kayserberg France Castle

Kayserberg France Trip

Day Trips from Colmar France

Tarte Flambee Alsace

With the triathlon over, the ride back to Colmar the next morning was much more peaceful, if less motivating. We stopped for lunch at Restaurant Waldeslust, primarily because it had a large playground on the property with swings, slides and two trampolines. This is one of my favorite things about Europe - restaurants where parents can enjoy a good meal while the children have a ball playing. 

Eguisheim

Eguisheim was the first village we visited by bike - we used it as a test run as it was only about a 25 minute drive from our Airbnb in Colmar. Eguisheim has two major highlights. 

1. The fountain that inspired the one in Beauty and the Beast. There’s a debate among Alsatians whether the fountain was inspired by the one in Eguisheim or Colmar. Having seen both, I believe the honor belongs to Eguisheim. 

Beauty and the Beast Fountain

2. The storks. All over Alsace, storks have set up camp in nests on the top of the region’s many cathedrals. They migrate every year from Africa and usually head to the exact same nest every spring. With the storks comes the interesting Alsatian folklore - legend has it that a stork nesting on your house will bring good luck. 

The ride to Alsace takes you down a major street before you are able to turn onto a smaller country road. While in Eguisheim, we took a walk around the circular town, visited a great winery called Domaine Joseph Gruss and had a lovely lunch of coq au Riesling (when in Rome…). 

Coq au Riesling

Turckheim

Turckheim was the third day trip we took during the time we had rented bikes. Slightly smaller than Eguisheim or Kayserberg, Turckheim offers all of the charm of Alsace without the crowds. This was probably the hardest ride of the three, mostly because it started to lightly rain and there was construction the whole way. That being said, Turckheim itself was lovely. We had one of the best meals we had in France there, and yes, it was a burger at Restaurant l’Abreuvoir right past the town’s main gates. If you are planning to take a day trip here from Colmar, I would recommend going either in the morning or afternoon as most of the shops were closed midday when we were there. 

Turckheim, France

Alsace, France Buildings