1 - Strasbourg – Sélestat – Colmar – Mulhouse – Saint-Louis - Basel (CH) - by train
At 200 kph discover Strasbourg, the capital of Europe, with its picturesque streets and alleys, Colmar, the capital of Alsace wines and Mulhouse, famous for its technical museums. On the same line, slower trains take you to stroll round the Grand Ried plain in Erstein and Benfeld, Sélestat redolent in humanist history or the Wine Route at Ribeauvillé and Rouffach.
2 - Strasbourg - Lauterbourg - Woerth (D) - by train
Dotted along this rail link are the great locks and fish ladder in Gambsheim, Sessenheim where Goethe used to stay, Rhineland forests and nature reserves such as Munchhausen, and Lauterbourg with the remains of fortifications by Vauban.
3A - Strasbourg – Haguenau – Wissembourg – Neustadt/Weinstrasse (D) - by train
Heading along the northernmost rail link, you arrive at the gateway to the Palatinate. Two beautiful old towns, Haguenau and Wissembourg, once Free Towns under the Holy Roman Empire, can be visited along the way. Running parallel to the German border, constructions along the Maginot Line alternate with particularly well preserved traditional villages such as Hunspach and Seebach.
3B - Haguenau – Seltz - by bus Réseau 67 n° 330
At the heart of Haguenau Forest, one of the largest woodlands in France, clay is mined to make the pottery cookware of Alsace in Betschdorf and Soufflenheim. In Soufflenheim, the famous kougelhopf cake moulds are fired together with baeckeoffe roasters which you can discover in the village's pottery workshops and shops.
3C - Wissembourg – Fleckenstein - by bus Réseau 67 n° 317
From the charming town of Wissembourg, this seasonal line takes you on a discovery tour of two sites near Lembach: Four à Chaux fort, one of the largest constructions along the Maginot Line with 4 km of underground passages and 6 combat blocks, and the imposing Fleckenstein Castle, half-carved into the rock face in the 12th to 15th century, with its fun trail called "the Castle of challenges" and an area called "P’tit Fleck" where you can find out about the forest and sandstone.
4A - Strasbourg - Haguenau – Niederbronn-les-Bains - by train
At the heart of a region known for its iron forges, renowned spa resort Niederbronn-les-Bains was already on the map in Roman times. This key centre for rambling located at the hub of the Regional Nature Park of the Northern Vosges, is home to the only casino in Northern Alsace and an archaeology museum.
4B - Haguenau – Woerth - by bus Réseau 67 n° 310
At the foot of the crest line of the Northern Vosges, the end of the Franco-Prussian War was played out at Woerth, the line's terminus, where the museum of the Battle of 6th August 1870 retraces this historical episode. On your way there, the distinctive church of Walbourg stands out in the tree-covered hills, together with the spa centre and attractions park Didi’land at Morsbronn-les-Bains.
5A - Strasbourg – Sarreguemines - Saarbrücken (D) - by train
From Obermodern, the line runs along the Moder to Wingen-sur-Moder, which has long been specialised in the manufacture of glass and crystal. In spring 2011, a museum devoted to Lalique will open its doors on the former glass-making site of Hochberg. Continuing along the Eichel and then the Saar, the train takes us to Sarreguemines, a town renowned for its earthenware.
5B - Haguenau – Obermodern – Saverne - by bus TER
A distillery and artisan brewery have put Uberach on the map. Further on are two original museums, the museum of popular imagery in Pfaffenhoffen, and the Judaic-Alsatian museum in Bouxwiller.
5C - Sarreguemines – Sarre-Union - by train
Against a green setting, this rail link runs alongside and criss-crosses the meanders of the Saar and its canal to reach the metropolis of North-west Alsace.
6A - Strasbourg – Saverne - Sarrebourg - by train
This rail link to Lorraine drops in at the charming town of Saverne. Set against the Vosges mountains, it boasts a number of buildings and monuments including the famous Rohan Château on the banks of the Marne-Rhine canal. Not to be missed are the rose garden, botanical garden and museums, not forgetting Haut-Barr castle and the former Chappe telegraph tower just a stone's throw away on foot.
6B - Saverne – La Petite Pierre - by bus Réseau 67 n° 403
A former fortified shelter at Dossenheim-sur-Zinsel and Romanesque abbey church at Neuwiller-les-Saverne are along the way to La Petite Pierre, at the heart of the Regional Nature Park of the Northern Vosges. Built on a rocky outcrop surrounding the 13th-14th century castle, this tourist resort was once fortified by Vauban.
6B - Saverne – Sarre-Union - by bus Réseau 67 n° 410
Beyond the Saverne Pass lies Phalsbourg, a town fortified by Vauban in 1680, birthplace of the popular novelist Emile ERCKMANN and site of his meeting and partnership with Alexandre CHATRIAN. Further along the Lorraine plateau in Berg the uncanny spire of Kirchberg pierces the skies and finally, the charming town of Sarre-Union welcomes you.
7 - Strasbourg (gare routière) – Wasselonne - by bus Réseau 67 n°230 - Wangenbourg-Engenthal - by bus Réseau 67 n°232
A winding route through the fertile land of the countryside surrounding Strasbourg takes you through the narrow pass of Kronthal, where the stones were quarried to build Strasbourg Cathedral, up to Wangenbourg-Engenthal. This mountain resort surrounded by peaks close to 1 000 m in altitude is a much-loved hiking centre.
8A - Strasbourg – Schirmeck - Saales – St-Dié-des-Vosges - by train
Crossing the Wine Route at Molsheim, this railway line runs off to the West via the green Bruche Valley. Between the snow-capped heights of the Champ du Feu and the mythical peak of the Donon, it takes you to the Schirmeck and Natzwiller Memorial, crosses over the imposing Fouday viaduct standing proud over the river Bruche, before running down the slopes to Lorraine at Saâles, a small town renowned for its mountain farm market.
8B - Schirmeck (gare)– Mémorial de l’Alsace-Moselle - Donon – Struthof - by bus Réseau 67 n° 253
From the spring to the autumn, this line links up three important sites in the Bruche Valley: Donon mountain, well known for its Gallo-Roman temple which was also a theatre of war in 1914-18, the Alsace-Moselle Memorial dedicated to the troubled history of this territory from 1870 to recent times, and finally the site of the former concentration camp Natzweiler, which sealed the fate of 22,000 deportees.
8C - Schirmeck (gare) – St-Blaise-la-Roche (gare) – Champ du Feu - by bus Réseau 67 n° 252
It goes to the Champ du Feu skiing domain and enables visitors to profit from the resort's many activities. You can combine Ecology with Economy with the Pass'Haute Bruche and the Snow Shuttle!
9A - Strasbourg - Sélestat (via Molsheim) - by train TER
Bruderthal, Zotzenberg, Winzenberg, Frankstein…. Against the background drop of quaint-sounding hills where the vintage vines grow, this single-track line goes to the most prestigious locations along the Wine Route. All in all, 12 stations are dotted along the line, each one an invitation to discover Mediaeval towns, vineyards and wine cellars on which the reputation of Alsace is built.
9B - Strasbourg (gare routière) - Obernai – Mont Ste-Odile – Champ du Feu - by bus Réseau 67 n°257
After the vast fields of cabbages, come the picturesque villages along the Wine Route followed by Mont Sainte-Odile convent and then the Champ du Feu, the highest point in the area. Many cultural stops are dotted along the way with countless sign-posted rambling trails.
9C - Barr – Andlau - Le Hohwald - by bus Réseau 67 n°541
Past the pretty village of Andlau with its majestic abbey church, this line takes you to the mountain resort of Hohwald, then climbs up to Kreuzweg Pass. Nearby, a myriad activities are on offer: visits to farmhouse-inns, mountain bike trails, a day at the Alsace high wire Adventure Park, rambles (Andlau spring, Ungersberg, Champ du Feu, Mont Sainte-Odile etc.).
10 - Strasbourg (gare routière) – Erstein - Krafft – Rust (D) - by bus Réseau 67 n°271
Starting from the bus station at Les Halles in Strasbourg, spend a magnificent day at Europa Park, the world's n°1 seasonal leisure park.
11A - Sélestat (gare Sncf) – Haut-Koenigsbourg - by bus Réseau 67 n°500
From Sélestat, a classified tourist town rich in cultural heritage, the shuttle stops off at the 3 animal and leisure parks at Kintzheim - the Stork Park, Eagle Mountain and Monkey Mountain, and then on to the famous Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, one of the most visited monuments in France where the great movie classic "La Grande Illusion" directed by Jean Renoir was filmed.
11B - Sélestat (gare Sncf) – Villé - by bus Réseau 67 n° 510
That's the slogan of this destination which offers a broad array of rambles and one of the most developed networks of mountain bike trails in the region.
11C - Sélestat – Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines – Saint-Dié - by bus TER
Lying in the heart of a green valley, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, as suggested by its name, is famous for its silver mines, but also for its know-how in textiles. This is witnessed by the mines, which are open to visitors, and great events such as the fabric festival, European patchwork crossroads and the mineral exchange mart.
11D - Sélestat – Rhinau – Rust (D) - by bus Réseau 67 n° 530
Arms of the Rhine, floodable alluvial lands and a remarkable flora and fauna are the key features of the Grand Ried, which you can explore via a number of well-kept trails. Across the Rhine, the terminus of the line takes you to the world's n°1 seasonal leisure park.
11E - Sélestat – Marckolsheim - Sasbach (D) - by bus Réseau 67 n° 520
Zigzagging across the Ried plain and over the Rhine, this trip across the border ends up at the foot of the volcanic mountains of Kaiserstuhl.
11F - Sélestat – Ribeauvillé - by bus TER
Thanks to this bus link with the local TER 200 train, you can discover the flower-decked town of Ribeauvillé, nestling below 3 magnificent castles dating from the Middle Ages. Saint-Ulrich is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating castle complexes in Upper Alsace, since it once overlooked the strategic trade route linking the plain of Alsace to the high valley of Lièpvrette. Experience the Mediaeval atmosphere and join in with the pipers at the Minstrels' Festival!
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