From Colmar I decide to go on a tour of the villages that surround it, following the so-called wine route, though haunted by the bad weather. These villages, scattered among the vineyards a few kilometers of each other, are one nicer than the other and much better equipped to receive motorhomers compared to the capital.
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In this area, apart from tourism, everything revolves around wine. From here in fact comes about 20% of the entire French production of white wines. Alsace counts 53 DOC wines including the famous Crémant d’Alsace, a direct competitor of Champagne and Italian Spumante. Among the most common grape varieties there are Pinot Blanc, Gris and Noir, Riesling, Sylvaner and Gewurztraminer. At each corner on the city a manufacturer’s canteen offers the opportunity to taste its wines and of course to buy at bargain prices.
In the photo below a store in Colmar that offers a large selection of various Alsacian labels, while below on the left you can see the tasting space of Robert Karcher, one of the few manufacturers still remaining based in the city center.
Eguisheim
We begin the tour of the villages on the wine route visiting first Eguisheim, which by the way is the birthplace of Pope Leo IX. It is located less than seven kilometers from Colmar and we easily find a parking near the historical city center. Pity the weather starts to get bad.
Browsing a shop window in the village I discovered that Alsace doesn’t produces only famous wines…
Below: The parking [48.04170,7.30987] for a fee (€ 2 per day from 9 to 19 and free) is also suitable for campervans although not very flat. Aside, the free parking along the road where we stopped for visiting the town.
Kaysersberg
We travel 13 kilometers to the north, but the weather is so bad that we decide not to visit the village and to stop only at the camper stop [48.13606,7.26191], rather crowded, to drain and load (free services). For those who want to stay the cost is € 7 per day, with a maximum stay of seven days. Too bad we missed out the fortress, maybe next time.
Riquewihr
Off again to Riquewihr under a light rain, hoping that in the meantime the weather will change, but the distance is too short, and after less than a quarter of an hour we arrive at the village. We sneak into the first parking lot that we find [48.16589,7.30464], to decide what to do. As we studied the options we realize that the parking is reserved for the visitors of the Dopff Au Moulin domain… ok, why not, let’s go visit 😉
Above the various rooms for the wine tasting.
Under a small wine museum.
Inside one of the sheds we were lucky enough to see an art exhibition by Horèa an artist from Strasbourg with a very interesting work. I especially liked the idea of customized packages of Cremant wine: you celebrate, you enjoy the wine and the you keep the box as memory!
Special day! In an inner courtyard of the farmhouse, a small feast gave the opportunity to visitors to enjoy Alsatian dishes, suitable for both cannibals carnivores and vegetarians. Below the famous Alsatian pizza.
In Riquewihr there is pay parking for motorhomes max. 7 meters [48.16614,7.30196]. It costs 4€ from 18 to 9 and 3€for every 4 hours during the day.
Ribeauville
Meanwhile the weather has improved a bit, we decide to move to Ribeauville before it gets dark and stop there for the night. We cover the four kilometers that separate it from Riquewhir and arriving we we see that here too they are preparing for a celebration. We park near the center and go for a walk into town to enjoy a bit of the cheerful atmosphere.
For the night we find a big parking [48.19690,7.33313] less than a kilometer from the village square. A little sloping, poorly lit, but it turned out quiet and a perfect choice, despite the alarming signs.
Before we leave in the morning, out of curiosity we went to take a look at the official camper stop [48.19232,7.32884], although closest to the center and very reasonably priced, it seemed a bit crowded and less peaceful. It costs € 4.50 for 24 hours and services are free.
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