Colmar

We combined the walks Castles, Vines & Forests of the Alsace, 2 days in Colmar and A Walk in the Black Forest with Freiburg.  All of the hotels were delightful, the connections and luggage transfers worked beautifully.  As mentioned in other reviews, especially in the Alsace, we recommend making restaurant reservations in advance as these are small, intimate venues. We dined at several restaurants mentioned in previous reviews and enjoyed all of them.  Every meal was excellent, but often much more than we could eat.  The local wines were superb!

All of the walks were interesting and energetic but not exhausting.  The directions and notes were spot on and we were always confident of where we were.  We wish that we had added addtional days in those locations where there was a choice of walks so that we could have taken all of them. 

For us, one day in Colmar was enough, and so we  took the train to Strasbourg for the day.  If possible, schedule your itinerary so that you are in the larger towns on weekdays, as Sunday many of the interesting shops were closed.  In the cities, in addition to the walking notes that Inntravel provided, we downloaded walking tours from the internet for Strasbourg and Freiburg and those offered good information as well.   

Do check your document packet carefully, and if there is anything missing or you have questions, reach out to Inntravel immediately.  This was the first time I found myself frustrated with customer service.  However, I hope this is a passing problem, and I am already looking forward to our next trip with Inntravel.  

A delightful experience which we would thoroughly recommend.  The Inntravel 'package' (interesting walking routes, clear notes and great accommodation) was once again outstanding.  Highlights in Alcase included walking through the vineyards during the grape harvest up to spectacular castles and amazing views.  The Black Forest holiday gave us equally rewarding experiences and contrasting cultures (food, scenery, history etc).

An added bonus is meeting other likeminded Inntravelers and sharing experiences over meals.  (We have developed the habit of taking the Inntravel folder to breakfast as a conversation starter.  Perhaps Inntravel could come up with and supply some other suitable identifying accessory eg pin, scarf, cap etc) 

Another excellent Inntravel holiday. Alsace is full of interest with plenty of local history to delve into as well as great scenery and good footpaths. Signage was generally good but some of the colours and symbols seem to have changed so be careful. We went up through low mist to the three castles at Egusheim on a different path but we found the route onward easily!

We noted previous restaurant recommendations and would endorse L'Autrefois and Auberge Du Brand at Turckheim. We were at Kaysersberg on a Sunday and choice was limited but fortunately we had walked up to St Alexis in heavy rain and had a hearty lunch at the Auberge St Alexis (it is small and soon filled up after we arrived at 1215!). 

We enjoyed Colmar but were left wondering if visiting from Turckheim using train or bus might have worked just as well. The Hotel Bristol is fine but impersonal and a bit noisy being opposite the train station. The free tourist bus starts from just outside and was most useful especially in the rain! Do visit the Bartholdi and the Hansi museums which were both full of interest and local history, we enjoyed these more than the Unterlinden. Restaurants were busy, we just got into Chez Hansi one night but booked the Bistro de Lavandieres and we needed to have done! Can recommend both; Hansi was very friendly with a good atmosphere and local fare, Bistro des Lavandieres offered a good series of daily specials. 

Overall a good holiday, we were there through harvest time and it was fascinating to see the fields still being worked by hand!

Beautiful countryside and varied walks to see castles, endless vineyards and picturesque villages. Always worth trying the local wines in the area itself - how they are going to hand-pick 80% of the grapes this harvest I am not sure. The Alsace villages have their own history, making them interesting. Worth booking in advance (email or by phone) your evening meals in village restaurants when not provided by hotel.  John  

The walking was well paced but the structure of the days with two nights at several hotels meant there were options to either miss a day or to do longer or shorter versions of the walks, which was great. We extended the Turkheim loop up to Auberge Obschel, the Kaysersberg loop to take in Koenigsstuhl and the Bergheim loop to include a (strenuous) walk up to Chateau Haut Koenigsbourg. The top of Koenigsstuhl (where you join the GR5 long distance path for a while) is a carpet of Myrtille and you can forage for the berries. The walk up to Galtz was also a highlight. Of the towns and villages, being in Bergheim for the Fete Nationale and the Bal de Pompiers was excellent. It is definitely worth booking ahead for restaurants as different places have different days when they are closed, so it would have been difficult to find dinner in Turckheim on Sunday and Monday had we not booked ahead, and was difficult in Bergheim when we didn't.

The restaurant recommendations in the itinerary were good with l'Alchemille in Kaysersberg being particularly interesting. L'Autrefois in Turckheim is worth adding. In Colmar we ate at L'Atelier du Peintre which was excellent and at A l'Echevin in the Hotel Le Marechal which has a terrace overlooking the river, which was perfect for Sunday lunch. We'd recommend both for the guide.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walk Castles, Vines & Forests of Alsace with our Colmar add-on

We loved our walking holiday in Alsace. A beautiful and friendly part of France with challenging walks, great views and vistas and fabulous food and wine at the end of each day. Weather was gorgeous, paths were usually well waymarked and the routes thoroughly enjoyable.  The villages and towns are simply beautiful and the landscape stunning. we enjoyed the add on to Colmar and a chance to explore this lovely small city, its streets and fabulous museum too.