France Driving Adventures #1 - Ribeauville & Colmar

On our journey home, we decided to divert via Ribeauville and Colmar.

Ribeauville is approximately four kilometres from Riquewihr and whilst it is more of a town as opposed to a village, it is just as pretty as Riquewihr and has it’s own unique charm. Sitting high above the town lie the ruins of three fortified castles, which are accessible by hiking path.

It also boasts three Grand Crus, one of which is partly owned by the nuns of the Divine Providence, which I found rather amusing!

After a good look around the town, we drove down to Colmar, through many other gorgeous villages that are on the hit list for our next visit.

Colmar is a much bigger town again and probably not somewhere you would choose to stay; rather somewhere to stop off for some lunch and a look around like we did. As we wandered through from the edge of town into the main hub, it reminded us a lot of York in England, with its old town feel, much like the Shambles and with several very impressive cathedrals.

Look at the detail in the tiling on the roof! The French have been making diamond prints look cool for centuries!

I had done my research and read about part of the town called Petite Venice and as it was a lovely, sunny day, we stopped there for some lunch.  To me, everything about France is just so pretty and this was no exception! You could even have a guided tour around the waterways, very much like in Venice.

We had a wonderful weekend exploring a new part of France, which is now top of the leader board as my favourite country. There is something very romantic and inspiring about this country and I love being immersed in the culture. All of the landscape and scenery we viewed was very reminiscent of the sights you see watching the Tour De France and whilst I have no interest in the cycling, I’m sure I will be watching it this year as it is a truly beautiful country, rich in history, with so many wonders to see. And as far as a return to Alsace is concerned, we are in Strasbourg for Easter next weekend and I can’t wait!

For more information on the Alsace region and the villages we visited, please click here

** Don't be shy, please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear what you think of the blog so far!**