Visiting Beauty and the Beast Homeland – Summer Trip to Europe – Part I

We just got back from a trip to Central Europe and it was pretty spectacular! We visited Switzerland, France and Italy (with a quick side trip to Germany) and while all those places were stunning in their own right I think my favorite was Alsace! Alsace is beyond words stunning – I felt like I was on a set of a Disney movie while we were there – was almost expecting Lumier and Cogsworth to appear and sing ‘Be Our Guest’ to us:)

We chose Colmar as a base for our stay in Alsace and it worked out perfectly – it was small enough to be charming and to feel very cozy but large enough to have plenty of restaurants for us to choose from – and if you know me, you know how important restaurants are to me:)

I mean – look at this – does this even look real? – the greenish building on the right is our hotel!

We took a day trip to Strausburg which was similar to Colmar but bigger – and Strausburg Cathedral left all of us all speechless – including our kids! This place is STUNNING and the biggest and grandest cathedral we’ve ever seen – highly recommend.

We also drove the Route des Vins d’Alsace, which was absolutely beautiful – and little villages along the route were definitely worth visiting:

Practical Information

We stayed at  Hôtel Le Maréchal (see below) – it’s located in the Little Venice area and our windows opened up to the canal – it was absolutely perfect and I would stay there again!

Restaurants

Les Fines Gueles in Strausburg – their tarte flambe is SO GOOD!!!

Winstrub Brenner – right in the Little Venice (and steps away from our hotel room) – solid, old school food – really good! You do need reservations to plan accordingly.

Winstrub de la Petite Venice – not as good as Brenner but still pretty solid!

We’ve visited several parts of France over the years but I gotta say that Alsace is my favorite so far so if you are planning a trip to Central Europe that’s a bit off the beaten track – check out Alsace! And check back soon to see photos and details of our stays in Switzerland and Italy!