What not to miss in a nutshell

The very best of

Nature reserves, the “Ballon” mountains, parks and gardens, the famous Wine Route…

Take a trip to the Regional Nature Park of the Ballons des Vosges, one of the largest parks in France, and explore the Regional Nature Park of the Northern Vosges listed as a “World Biosphere Reserve” by UNESCO.Between the River Ill and the Rhine, the region offers you a rich array of flora and fauna. Come to the Petite Camargue in Alsace, in the Sauer Delta or Rhinau island with its profusion of liana vines, extensive birdlife and trees with their roots steeped in water at the very heart of Nature.©

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ALSACENatural

Every city in Alsace has its own special charm – and teems with life day and night. Trendy bars, concert halls, internationally renowned caba-rets and casinos are among the list of venues to enjoy to the full!Strasbourg, the capital of Europe, Colmar, the capital of Alsace wine and Mulhouse with its broad choice of museums will surprise you at every turn.Topping the list of the myriad traditional towns making up all the charm of Alsace are, from North to South, Wissembourg, Haguenau, Rosheim, Obernai, Sélestat, Kaysersberg, Turckheim and Munster, once allied with Colmar and Mulhouse to form the historical Décapole, together with Saverne and Altkirch and many others.

THE ALSATIAN COSTUME is part and parcel of the traditional festivities found in an astonishing variety of forms, including the “Streisselhochzeit” (wedding with bouquets) in Seebach in July or the “Frankenthal bride and groom” in Stosswihr in August.

ALSACE POTTERY is renowned for its excellence and is inseparable from the region’s cultural heritage. The potters’ villages of Betschdorf and Soufflenheim are the guardians of this extremely precious, well-preserved know-how.

ALSACE ECOMUSEUM In Ungersheim, you can immerse yourself in the peaceful life of bygone times. This heritage museum is a rebuilt village with half-timbered houses offering a variety of events all year round.©

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ALSACEAuthentic

LEISURE PARKS, CASINOS, CABARETS Not far from Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, don’t miss out on an amusing stroll through a vast forest in the midst of 200 macaques and experience the fascinating show at the Eagle Park.

In Hunawihr, you can discover the living world of butterflies, storks and otters. Further south, book your flight for the Petit Prince Park in Ungersheim.

There are plenty of other venues to choose from, all dedicated to fun and entertainment. Try your luck at the casinos in Niederbronn-les-Bains and Ribeauvillé and enjoy the cabaret acts at Royal Palace in Kirrwiller and Paradis des Sources in Soultzmatt.

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Alsace has a rich heritage woven from countless influences throughout its history. The resulting traditions mark out a year-round calendar of festivities and sheer magic. Christmas in Alsace is famous worldwide. As well as the Christmas markets, including the Strasbourg market founded in 1570, exhibitions and concerts abound in every town and village. And at Easter, spring is heralded in with fun- packed egg hunts!During the summer, it’s time for the “messti” or popular fete days. And as summer gives way to autumn, lively grape harvest festivals are celebrated along the Wine Route..

Christmas in Alsace :www.christmas.alsace

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CYCLING AND MOUNTAIN BIKING TRAILS At the crossroads of EuroVelo routes 5, 6 and 15, not to mention almost 2,500 km of cycle paths and tarmacked, sign-posted green trails, Alsace offers a perfect network to criss-cross the region from North to South and from the Vosges mountains to the Rhine.The most experienced mountain bikers can take the TMV across the Vosges Mountains, a 420 km signposted trail linking Wissembourg up to Thann!Road bikes, mountain bikes and electrically powered bikes can be hired at a number of tourist sites. So pedal away uphill, down dale and across the plain!

Find out more: www.cyclinginalsace.com

RIVER TOURISM A particularly pleasant way of discovering Alsace is via the rivers and canals in live-in boats (operating certificate not required), cruise ships or pleasure craft. As you glide down the Rhine or the Saar, Marne to Rhine or Rhône to Rhine canals, you can mix sailing with bike rides along the tow paths.

HIKING Alsace and the Vosges Mountains offer 20,000 km of signposted footpaths marked out by enthusiasts from the Club Vosgien. Whether you hike along the emblematic GR© 53-5 for several days or go for a day’s ramble with family and friends, you will find right trail for you. You can also leave the beaten track of popular walks and wind your way along more secret pathways - of which there are no less than 1000!

Find out more: www.massif-des-vosges.com

WINTER ACTIVITIES The Vosges Mountains offer a broad spectrum of activities such as cross-country and downhill skiing, snow-shoe rambles and dog sled rides.

Find out more: www.massif-des-vosges.com

ALSACE ON HORSEBACK Discover the forests and vineyards, flora and fauna on horseback, by pony trekking or in a horse-drawn carriage - there are so many ways to enjoy horse-riding in Alsace!

Find out more: www.alsaceacheval.com

GOLF Golf enthusiasts and beginners will always find a golf course to welcome them.

Find out more: www.golfsinalsace.com

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ALSACEActive

In need of relaxation, well-being and fitness? Why not treat yourself to a week or weekend break in the hotels and spa resorts in Alsace! Swimming pools, saunas, hot baths and massages for a little personal TLC and total relaxation! Discover the many beautiful spa venues throughout the region.

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GASTRONOMY AND TRADITIONS Alsace invites you to discover its traditional gastronomy: foie gras, choucroute, flammekueche, baeckeoffe, kougelhopf, munster… Not forgetting wine, beer, eau de vie and liqueurs. 1001 flavours to accompany your wining & dining experience in the setting of a starred restaurant, bierstub, winstub or a farmhouse inn.

Find out more:www.abc-gastronomie.alsace

THE ALSACE WINE ROUTE The 170 km long Wine Route winds through the foothills of the Vosges Mountains from Thann in the South to Marlenheim in the North, not forgetting Cleebourg vineyard. Running parallel to the Vineyards Cycle Trail, it opens up onto panoramic vistas and takes you through picturesque, famous winegrowing villages.

Find out more: www.wineroute.alsace

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ALSACEWell-being

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MUSEUMS Museums, museums everywhere: industrial and technical museums (Automobile Museum - Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse, Oil Museum in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn…), historical and archaeological museums (La Villa in Dehlingen, Gallo-Roman Museum in Biesheim…), the fine arts (Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, Palais des Rohan in Strasbourg), decorative arts and popular traditions (Lalique Museum in Wingen-sur-Moder, Alsace EcoMuseum in Ungersheim), science and natural history museums (Oberlin Museum in Waldersbach, Vivarium du Moulin in Lautenbach-Zell) and the Humanist Library in Sélestat and Albert Schweitzer Museum in Kaysersberg.

CONTEMPORARY ART Several sites dedicated to modern-day art forms add a little zest to the cultural landscape in the Rhine basin.

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RELIGIOUS HERITAGE Romanesque, gothic and baroque - the region’s religious heritage is witness to a rich historical past where Catholicism, Protestantism and Judaism lived side-by-side. Some examples: the Romanesque Route, Strasbourg Cathedral, Ebersmunster Abbey, the Haute-Alsace Dominican Monastery in Guebwiller, Mont Sainte-Odile Convent in Ottrott, the Ingwiller synagogue - not forgetting the 176 organs listed as historical monuments.

COMMEMMORATIVE TOURISMSeveral sites and landscapes stand witness to the region’s troubled past.In Woerth, you can stride across the battlefields of the Franco-Prussian War. In Mutzig, you can visit the largest fortress of the German Empire.You can relive the hellish experience of the Great War at Hartmannswillerkopf (National Monument) and discover the underground network of the Maginot Line to the North of Alsace built in the 1930s.And don’t miss the European Centre of Deported Resistance Members, Struthof Concentration Camp at Natzwiller, and the Alsace-Moselle Memorial in Schirmeck.

Find out more:www.histoire-alsace.com

CASTLES Fleckenstein, Haut-Barr, Haut Koenigsbourg, Hohlandsbourg, Kaysersberg, Ferrette – so many castles making Alsace the ideal land for intrepid knights!Many of them may be in ruins today, but their silhouettes stand proud over the plain of Alsace and continue to fascinate ramblers and visitors alike.

Find out more:www.alsaceterredechateaux.com

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INFORMATIONPracticalGetting to and around Alsace

By carMajor motorways for easy access: - A4 from Paris via Reims and Metz

and Luxembourg,- A36 from Dijon to Mulhouse

via Belfort and Besançon,- A35 from Switzerland,- A36, A98, A5 from Germany.

By planeAlsace has 2 international airports: - EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg- Strasbourg - Entzheim Airport

Strasbourg

Colmar

Mulhouse

AccommodationFind the accommodation you’re looking for on the website

www.visit.alsace together with special packages and offers.

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Publisher :

Head office1 rue Camille Schlumberger - BP 60337 F-68006 Colmar CedexTél + 33 (0)3 89 20 10 68info@adt.alsacewww.alsace-destination-tourisme.com

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# VisitAlsace