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Alsace, France- Trip Itinerary
Day 1-We will meet you in the afternoon at the Colmar train station and take you to Kaysersberg. You'll have time to relax and take a walk around the town and up to the chateau before our evening meal.
Day 2-What a great way to start. Walk right out from the Hotel Les Remparts down through the cobblestone streets and up into the vineyards and forest. Christine Keller at Les Remparts has given us a delightful assortment for lunch including smoked trout.  We'll stop at a park as we pass through one of the wine villages and put the goodies on a bench, then go through buffet style. Fun. We'll continue to Niedermorschwihr to the Hotel De L'Ange (one of my favorites). There's a neat garden area in the back where I'm sure David will enjoy an "arrival beer". Across the street is the family-owned Justin Boxler Winery. Spend some time relaxing or join us for a tour of the winery. As always, gourmet dining is in store for the evening.
Day 3-Today we work our way into the Vosges Mountains. There's a pastry shop along the way (We try to hit all of these). This day is a mixture of forested hillsides and small towns ending in Labaroche and the Hotel La Rochette.
 Day 4-This is a shorter day of hiking through gentle forests to the mountain town of Orbey and the Hotel Bois Le Sire. Be sure you've got your swimsuit. There's a great sauna.
Day 5-This is option day. For those that want to work up a good sweat, we'll be leaving right after breakfast to hike up to the top of the col. The rest will go by taxi and meet us later in the morning. At the top we'll join the GR5, the Grand Randanee 5, a 1600-mile long-distance trail that goes from Holland to Nice. Our walk will give us grand views of the surrounding area before we head back to the col and down to Lapoutroie for the night.
Day 6-Today we walk back to Kaysersberg. It's time to celebrate.
Airports- We suggest you fly to one of the following airports. You'll be taking the train from the airport to Colmar, France, where we'll meet you and take you to Kaysersberg.
- Basel-Mulhouse- This is the closest airport to Colmar. It is smaller and serves both Basel, Switzerland and Mulhouse, France. You'll need to take a bus from the airport to the train station.
- Zurich, Switzerland- This is probably the easiest airport to travel from and is good if you want to tag on a few days in Switzerland. The train ride is about 2 and 1/2 hours to Colmar depending on schedule.
- Frankfurt, Germany- Frankfurt is convenient if your plans include any place in Germany or Strausbroug, France.
Extra Days- Most people will want to add a few extra days to their trip which is why we've kept the hiking trip to 6 nights. I highly recommend spending more time in Alsace in the wine towns of Kaysersberg, Riquewihr or Ribeauville. These cobblestone villages provide plenty of Christmas shopping with fine linens, wines and gingerbread. The nearby vineyards provide great walking. Alsace is also conveniently located to following areas.
- Germany's Black Forest- This beautiful area of Germany lies to the east and can be accessed within a half day's travel.
- Strausbourg and Colmar- For city lovers, both of these cities offer much in French culture and are easily accessed by train.
- Switzerland- The Swiss alps lie to the southeast of Alsace offering many options for mountain or city adventures.
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