Colmar - Route des Vins d'Alsace Strasbourg - Easter 2023

Sunshine was our companion on the way to Colmar.

We first drive the A8 and from there onto the A81. At the Sundhausen exit, we take the B27 and past Donaueschingen onto the B31.
It now goes to the Ravenna Gorge and on to Freibug.
From Freiburg we went on the A5 to the Bad Krozingen motorway junction, over the Rhine bridge, past Vogelgrun to France and on the D415 to Colmar.

Parking with camper:

A) "Neuf-Brisach car park" France
(Neuf-Brisach car park in Googlemaps
input)

B) "Parking Bus", Neuf-Brisach, France
(Parking Bus - Neuf-Brisach in
enter google maps)

Interesting star-shaped fortifications worth seeing built by
Louis XIV in 1699.

Located on the Ill, the campsite in Colmar "Camping de I'll" is only 2 km
from the city center and can be reached on foot in 1/2 hour.
The proximity to Colmar is certainly an advantage of this campsite.
The sanitary facilities are no longer the newest, but are clean and well maintained.

Like most campsites in France, this campsite is also very cheap at €16.50 without electricity for 2 people per night for a large mobile home pitch.

The staff is extremely friendly.

Recommendation:
Reservations are essential during the holiday season.
At Easter this campsite was fully booked and we experienced that a few campers were sent away.
Luckily we had reserved.

Our conclusion:
We would go back anytime with prior reservation.

The campsite is open from the end of March to the beginning of January of the following year.
The Christmas market in picturesque Colmar would certainly be worth a trip during Advent.

Attention: The entrance barrier to the campsite is open from 12.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m
closed!!

City tour of Colmar:
With the "petit train blanc colmar"
(small white tourist train) you can explore the old town of Colmar in a relatively short time, comfortably, in a playful and original way.
The little white train features
60 places and runs daily in the period from
01 April to 15 November from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at the Tourist Office or directly from the train driver for €6/adult. be bought.
There are individual headphones with simultaneous translation into 12 languages.
The tour of the old town takes about 35-40 minutes.

We had good weather for the first 2 days and were able to thoroughly enjoy Colmar and the "Route de vins Alsace".

Depending on the time of year, the nights were still quite cool at +5°C.
With the parking heater, however, that was no problem at all.

Address/designation of a mobile home parking space:

"Area sosta comunale Mairi"
(close to the outskirts)

Most beautiful place in Alsace, if not in France.
Historic city center with many half-timbered houses along the city wall.

Parking options with a mobile home:

A) "Rue Rotland car park" (5 places)
67140 Mittelbergheim
(Og search term in Googlemaps
input)
Good location - close to the town center!

B) "Parking de la Gare"
67140 Mittelbergheim
(Og search term in Googlemaps
input)
Not such a good location as further from
town center away!

The picturesque Mittelbergheim (655 inhabitants) is one of the most beautiful
villages in France.
It is also known for the very good culinary offer.

The monastery of St. Odilienberg is located near the towns of Obernai and Barr at an altitude of 763m.
There is a great panoramic view of Kaysersberg and the Vosges from there.

There is a parking lot for cars, buses and mobile homes on the way on the D426, at the very top of the Odilienberg monastery.
The rest (200m) is easy to walk.

The best way to navigate is with Google Maps
"Odilienberg car park" - In Ottrott

(D226 - 67530 Ottrott)
A visit to the old monastery is definitely worth it. The panorama from this 763m high monastery mountain is gigantic. You have a good view of the Vosges and even as far as Kaysersberg.

Address of the free parking space:
Avenue Clemenceau 40, 67560 Rosheim
(Sufficient for 10 WoMo's)

In Rosheim there are some ancient buildings worth seeing.

The campsite is very big.
We found that, given the size, there were relatively few showers and toilets.
But the sanitary facilities were very clean.
The staff was also very friendly.

Campsite opening hours: 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m

In France, campsites are generally very cheap.
We paid €22 for a large, spacious pitch including electricity and
2 people/per night.
Fresh water, gray and black water disposal included in the price.

Our conclusion:
Overall, this campsite is recommended and we would go back at any time.

Reservations in advance during the holiday season are also highly recommended for this campsite!

For France and especially for the planned Strasbourg tour with a motorhome, a "Crit Air Badge" has been required since January 1st, 2023.

I have these relatively cheap online at the French Environment Agency for €4.70
ordered and received it in the mail within 18 days.

Here is some useful information about the campsite and Strasbourg:

A bicycle path leads directly past the "Camping de Strasbourg" campsite into the city center of Strasbourg
to the "Grande I'lle".

The city center is within walking distance
1.25 hours and by e-bike in 1/4 hour.

There is a bus stop about 170m from the main entrance of the campsite.
Take the "L1" bus line in the direction of "Lamproie" and get off at the bus stop
"Etoile Bourse".
From there it is 450m to the
Rue de la 1ere Armee, across the Ille bridge
to the cathedral.
The bus line "L1" runs 4 times an hour, so there are no long waiting times (e.g. in bad weather).

You can take the tram (line B) from the "Montagere Verte" stop (600m walk from the campsite) to the city center (stop "Homme de Fere").
To get to the tram stop you have to turn left on the main road (coming from the campsite)!!

The friendly lady at the campsite reception foolishly sent us in the wrong direction (to the right)!!

From the city center - Kleberplatz, you can also easily take the tram within Strasbourg in different directions (e.g. with the E line to the Orangery).

The 3-day pass for unlimited travel in Strasbourg costs €9.30/adult.


You could also take the "L2" bus line, which is a bit more cumbersome.
The L2 bus line goes to Gare Centrum.
(Railroad station)

For better and more reliable navigation with pictorial and verbal directions, I bought the Komoot app for €19.50 (applies worldwide).

I have already tested this Komoot app and it works e.g. B. perfect for hiking and cycling. There are also many already
saved route suggestions (e.g. with Freeontour) for hikes and bicycle tours.

Strasbourg (Grande I'lle) also has a complete walking tour already saved.


For Strasbourg it is recommended to buy the Strasbourg pass, a 7-day pass for €5.
In return, you get discounted admission to Mussen or the boat tour at Batorama.

Address:
Tourist Office in Strasbourg for sale.
Address:
Pl. de la Cathedrale 17, 6700 Strasbourg


It is advisable to buy the "boat ticket" (next to the tourist office) in advance at the "Batorana".
You can also choose the departure time at the same time.
It is advisable to get involved early on at the jetty so that you can get a good one
can "get hold of" a window seat.
The boat tour lasts 1.0 hours.


A total of 320 steps lead to the platform of the cathedral.

Eat in Alsace:
Enormously important is also the "culinary"
At Strasbourg. However, the hearty Alsatian cuisine is not suitable for losing weight!!

Bakery:
Hearty stew with 3 pcs.
marinated meat products, potatoes, long cooked in the oven.

Flammkueche - Flammkuchen
Zewelkueche - onion tart
(Flammkuchen are offered around the Cathedrale)

Choucroute-Alsatian sauerkraut pan

Sauerkraut with 3 kinds of fish
Offered in the Maison Kammerzell (Oldest House in Strasbourg - Next to the Strasbourg Cathedrale).

Carpe frite - Baked carp

Coq Au Riesling Chicken in Riesling sauce

Escargots de Bourgone
Vineyard snails Burgundy Art

Pasta Ravioli and Pasta Gusta

Münsterkäse - With a strong character

This is served with Alsatian beer or Alsatian white wine.

deserts:
Dampfnüdle, crumble cake, Kougelhof,
manele

The "Christian" patisserie on Spießgasse
(next to the Cathedrale) offers the best ice cream and cupcakes.

Good breakfast/brunch is available at
"Madame Julia" between Rive etoile and Grand rue.

The "Maison Lorho" has a huge selection of cheeses and is famous for it.
Lots of locals shop there.
The shop is on Spießgasse.

You should definitely see the orangery.
It is a beautiful park with beautifully landscaped, colorful flower beds.

The orangery can be reached by tram - line E.

Some storks are nesting on the trees in the orangery. In the center of the park there is a small lake.
Many of the storks also spend the winter in Strasbourg because the winters are no longer as cold as a result of climate change.

A 10-minute walk from the Orangery is the European Court of Justice and the European Parliament.

The "Pepite France" is a very old medieval quarter worth seeing, about 10-12 minutes walk from the Cathedrale.
You should definitely see that.

We got up early. The toilet cassette was emptied and cleaned before the morning shower. After a leisurely breakfast, we started our journey home at 8:30 a.m. Before leaving the campsite, we emptied the gray water tank.

With good weather and no traffic jams, we drove the ~350km non-stop home in 3.5 hours.
At lunchtime we could already enjoy a good cup of coffee on our terrace and eat something in the sun before the usual cleaning up work on the camper started.