These were the villages that I had looked at pictures of for months leading up to our trip. They were how I pictured France to look like when I thought about it (thanks to watching Beauty and the Beast on repeat as a child), and I felt like I was in an absolute dream. It was one of those experiences where you have to stop yourself as an adult from skipping because you are so happy to avoid the weird looks. Northeast France had a German influence mixed in, and we truly loved the food, architecture, culture, and people. Add it to your list.
COLMAR: We stayed about a block from Old Town, which mostly has streets where cars are not allowed. It was very fun for us to let go of the worry of cars. We started our stay here by roaming the streets and walking into every store that we wanted to. I still cannot get over the smell in their chocolate stores.
We took the boat tour in Little Venice, a fan favorite.
The sculptor of the Statue of Liberty was in Colmar! He gave it to the United States as a sign of friendship and to celebrate independence.
I will not admit how many pictures I took in Colmar. It was fabulous—the most charming, clean, and picturesque little town.
Please go here if you ever get the chance.
Eguisheim! We took an Uber here, and it was only a 15-minute drive. The first picture in this post today was also from this village.
We basically had this village to ourselves, besides the shop owners. It is a quiet place (one of the rules is that you must be quiet here). We walked around and bought cheeses, salami, macaroons, and cheesecake.
We sat on the benches around this fountain and watched the massive storks in their nests. They flew over us, and after this experience, I now have a strong fascination with birds.
We also were so in love with the outdoor library with benches.
I am pretty sure I took a picture of everything I saw here, and I will scroll through them when I need a pick-me-up.
There are bus tours during the summer months where they take you to each village along the Alsace wine route and you stay for 90 minutes in each village (there are many) before going to the next. Try that for us if you get a chance, and let me know what you think.
*Riquewihr: This was about a 20-minute drive away from Eguisheim. This is the village that Beauty and the Beast was created after. As we walked around, I kept expecting people to pop out of their windows and say, ‘Bonjour,’ like they do in the movie.
And then a woman DID, and I couldn’t believe it.
Skye in front of a sky blue wall.
This village also included WWII history on the walls in different areas, which we read with the kids.
And the food in each area was perfect.
My tips for these villages:
*Make sure your phone is basically empty before you go so that you have enough storage to take 10,000 videos and photos of what you see.
*These are places that you are allowed to go in with even the highest of expectations because it will still exceed your expectations.
*Each village had a great tourism center where they spoke English and were so helpful at guiding us around and offering us maps.
*No matter what, bring your running shoes. A morning run to explore different neighborhoods and end at a boulangerie should be a requirement. I need to move into this house with my family.
*Duck if you go on the boat ride in Colmar’s Little Venice.
*Eat every pretzel that you come across.
*The same goes for waffles. Also, if you want to eat dinner at the highly rated restaurants, make a reservation beforehand. We just stuck to eating all day long, sharing everything we wanted to try, and we weren’t even hungry enough for a sit-down meal in the evenings.
*Knox’s favorite food in these villages was the waffles, Skye’s was the macarons, Brooke’s was the cheese, Beck’s was the crepes, and Andrew’s was the cheese pretzels. Mine was the coconut macaroons and cheeses.
*Skye set a new record for macarons eaten within 36 hours.
*Our Uber drivers told us that these areas are packed in December for the Christmas Markets (which I will see someday), but I think you need to come in the Spring; it is stunning. We missed the Easter markets by a day, but there were Easter decorations everywhere, and we would have loved to see the markets.
*Eat pie for breakfast. It’s fruit. “It is delicious. It’s good for me. It’s a perfect way to start the day.” (name the quote)
*Stay HERE in Colmar. We booked a few days in advance (we planned a lot of our trip but also did things last second according to how we felt) and somehow found the best Airbnb we’ve ever stayed at. They offered to pick us up and drop us off at the train station (which we did, and it was so sweet and the best way to get to know them). The apartment was beautiful, and she even had freshly baked treats for us when we arrived. They also had a dryer and an ice machine!
There are so many villages in this area that you could visit; we had to stop ourselves from thinking about all of the ones we missed! I will be back here again one day to see them all. We were only in the area for 40ish hours but I would add another two days if I could have!
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Airbnb or hotel? Which do we prefer? Any favorites you have stayed at over the years?
Plan every detail before a trip or go with the flow?
What was the best part of your weekend?
Sweet or savory for breakfast… you can only choose one for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
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