Riquewihr

What makes it special

The Dolder, the gate tower on the main street, holds a small museum on how the walls, walkways, towers and gates defended the town, and on the weapons and the townsmen who manned them. Riquewihr is still enclosed by a double ring of fortification walls, so what the museum explains is all around you. Its rooms follow the town through the centuries when the Württemberg family were its lords.

The Thieves' Tower, a medieval defensive tower, later became one of the town's prisons, and its torture chamber can still be seen. A door leads through from the tower into an old winegrower's house. Its kitchen, bedroom and cellar of winemaking tools show how a grower's family lived.

On the main street, look up at number 14, one of the finest houses in the village. Beyond the walls the vineyards begin, below the Vosges hills.

Visiting

Start at the Dolder, the gate tower at the top of the main street, and work back down from there. Go through the museum rooms, then climb the narrow staircase for the view over the roofs to the plain and the Black Forest. Ask at the Dolder whether a ticket covers the Thieves' Tower and the winegrower's house as well.

Next, cross to the Thieves' Tower and step through into the winegrower's house. Afterwards, leave the main street, a cobbled lane of wine shops and restaurants, and follow the medieval walls, which are far quieter.

Finish in the vineyards. The Grands Crus wine trail starts on Rue de la Piscine, to the left of the Auberge du Schoenenbourg, and leads out into the vines.

Guided or on your own

A small train leaves from in front of the town hall every hour except at 1pm, and runs round the ramparts and through the vineyards. It suits you if you would rather not walk far.

Day tours from Colmar usually pair Riquewihr with other Alsace villages and wine tastings, which helps if you are not driving. For the village itself, the bus and your own walk are enough.

Tips

Come early in the morning or late in the afternoon to walk the main street without the big tour groups. If you can, stay on after sunset, when the day crowds have gone.

On Christmas market weekends, leave the car behind and spare yourself the traffic and parking in the narrow streets. Use the shuttles from Colmar instead, which run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.