This region is a very special one, and a real adventure to visit all the lovely cobbled villages, sipping a little wine, enjoying art that is still as vibrant as the day it was painted, tasting Alsatian cuisine.
The region of Alsace along the German border is in the northwestern part of the country. Alsace is France with a German accent, historically the Germans though the mountains were the logical border, and the French though the Rhine River was.
This region has many castles that will remind you that Alsace has been a long- fought over crossroads. Visitor here can enjoy a rich blending of two great societies, French and German, Catholic and Protestant.
Visitor delight in the region’s distinctive cuisine and supreme wines. Centuries of successful wine production have built prosperous and colorful villages.
Alsatian towns like Eguisheim are historic mosaics, with flower- bedecked fountains, and characteristic wineries colored in with half- timbered pastels.
Alsace is made up of just two departments, the Lower Rhine, or Bas Rhine, capital Strasbourg, and the Upper Rhine, or Haut Rhin , capital Colmar. The biggest city in the Haut Rhine department is however Mulhouse.
Strasbourg’s Christmas market, the Christkindlmarik is reputedly the oldest and biggest traditional Christmas market in Europe. It has been going since 1570, and runs throughout the month of December. With the growing international success of the Christmas Market, other Christmas markets have developed in the other towns across the regions, notably Colmar, and in many of the traditional villages in Alsace such as Riquewihr.
Alsace is famous for its beer for example, Kronenbourg or Meteor, its sauerkraut, and several other local specialties such as Alsace Flammekueche, a traditional dish that is not unlike a pizza without tomatoes, but covered with cheese, cream, mushrooms and local ham. Another local specialty is Alsatian gingerbread.
It is a great region, to visit any time of the years, especially during the winter vacation. I hope you will have a great time.
