Alsace Region advice

We go through Alsace frequently, sometimes stop for two or three days but continue on the Italian lakes.It is very much a personal view as to whether their are places to visit on the way but having been doing it for 20 years we tend to get through Northern France fairly quickly as there are many more attractive regions.

The quick way is to go Dover - Calais (tunnel is best but not cheapest).  First night 2 - 3 hours; plenty of choice but we generally stop at Guignicourt - expensive but very convenient for the motorway.  Then Reims - Metz - Strasbourg except that we take a short cut after Metz and turn off the Autoroute to avoid Strasbourg which can get very busy (Saverne, Molsheim, Obernai).  We generally stay at the municipal/ACSI site at Obernai because it is an attractive large town which you can walk to from the site.  You can also get the bus or train into Strasbourg which is well worth a visit.  Have stayed at Equisheim which has the advantage of being right next to a typical Alsace town i.e. twee and full of tourists. Don't like the site but each to his own. Excellent facilities but small and dusty pitches with an absence of greenery which is unusual for the area.

The other way through France is towards Nancy and St Die then either through the tunnel or across the hill to Selestat and meet up with the road from Strasbourg to Colmar and Basel (free motorway). An attractive route but slower.  You could stop at St Die or somewhere on that route.

To save on tolls from Calais turn off into Belgium and Germany (or stay in Luxembourg which is attractive).  Rejoin the AutoRoute near Metz.

Difficult to get to some of the Alsace villages with a motorhome as their are restrictions which is why Equisheim and Obernai are good choices.

Kaysersberg is beautiful, we stayed on the municipal site there which is an easy walk, partly by the river, into the lovely town.  We did see a few aires on our travels although didn't stay on any as they were usually full by the time we rolled up and we like the luxury of a grassy pitch so the dog has space to lay out and sunbathe and also to stay put for 2/3 days. Agree with all the others about the lovely places there are - it's stunning.

We would like to be there for the grape harvest in late September, We tried Burgundy last year on a site overlooking the vines. Wonderful. Only problem was the day we moved on was the day all the vans arrived to start the harvest.

We use the route:  Calais to Reims on motorway, then via Chalons en Champagne, St.Dizier to Nancy and St. Die, down to Selestat (never used the tunnel).  There are nice campsites to stay in the area including:  Trois Chateaux, Eguisheim, Camping Municipal Riquewhir, Pierre de Coubetan, Ribauville, Le Medieval, Turckheim, Val d'Ehn, Obernai etc etc.  When we travelled there in December we stopped at an aire at the Lac de Der near St. Dizier, an interesting area for bird watching.  We looked for the aire at Colmar but had no luck finding it. The area is definitely worth visiting (several times)  Good luck

Another vote for camping medieval in Turckheim good site easy stroll into town by the river. There is also a aire just outside of the camp entrance.