6 best day trips from Strasbourg

Day trips compared

The day trips

70 km · About 30 minutes by TER train

1.Colmar

Colmar's old town has colourful half-timbered houses along the canals of Little Venice, the Unterlinden Museum with the Isenheim Altarpiece, and a lively Christmas market of its own.

Getting there

TER train from Strasbourg station

Best for

First-timers, Couples, Culture

70 km · About 1 hour by car

2.Alsace Wine Route villages

The Route des Vins winds through vineyards past villages such as Riquewihr, Eguisheim and Kaysersberg, with half-timbered houses, ramparts and family wine cellars offering tastings.

Getting there

Car or organised tour

Best for

Couples, Food lovers

60 km · About 1 hour by car; longer by train and shuttle

3.Haut-Kœnigsbourg Castle

A red-sandstone castle high on the Vosges foothills, restored under Kaiser Wilhelm II in the early 1900s, with furnished rooms and views over the Alsace plain to the Black Forest.

Getting there

Car, or train to Sélestat and seasonal shuttle bus

Best for

Families, Culture

30 km · About 30 minutes by train to Obernai

4.Obernai and Mont Sainte-Odile

Obernai is a walled wine town with a market square of half-timbered houses. Nearby, the hilltop convent of Mont Sainte-Odile, dedicated to Alsace's patron saint, has views over the plain and the ancient Pagan Wall.

Getting there

TER train to Obernai; car for Mont Sainte-Odile

Best for

Quiet stays, Culture

60 km · About 1 hour by car or train

5.Baden-Baden

The German spa town at the edge of the Black Forest has thermal baths such as the Friedrichsbad and Caracalla Therme, the Kurhaus casino and the Lichtentaler Allee park.

Getting there

Car, or train via Offenburg

Best for

Couples, Luxury

85 km · About 1–1.5 hours by train

6.Freiburg im Breisgau

A university city at the foot of the Black Forest with a Gothic minster, little streams called Bächle running through its streets, and a cable car up the Schauinsland mountain nearby.

Getting there

Train via Offenburg

Best for

Culture, Families

Day-trip tips

• Leave early: most trips are more relaxed with a morning departure and a return before dinner.
• CTS buses complement the trams and reach outlying districts such as the Robertsau.
• TER regional trains from the main station reach Colmar, Obernai, Sélestat and other Alsace towns, and TGVs connect with Paris in under two hours.
• For trips over about 150 km, an overnight stay or an organised tour saves a lot of travelling.

Questions travellers ask