The weather was fine, so I walked along the "Route des Vins d'Alsace", which I had wanted to visit at least once 🚶🏼♀️🚶🏼♂️
Where is the wine route in Alsace?
It is a road that connects wine-growing regions on the eastern slopes of the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France.
It stretches about 170 km from Marlenheim, west of Strasbourg, in the north to Thann, west of Mulhouse, in the south.
More than 100 villages and 900 wineries are scattered along the road.
This time, I walked from Ribeauvillé, one of the most popular villages on the Alsace Wine Route, to Riquewihr via Hunawihr, a 4.8 km walk that took about an hour 🚶🏼♀️🚶🏼♂️
The path was flatter and easier to walk than I had expected. On the other hand, hikers who want to walk hard may find it insufficient. However, it was not bad to take a leisurely walk along the Route des Vins d'Alsace while looking at the quiet vineyards and Schwarzwald in the distance.
How to get to Ribeauvillé or Riquewihr by public transport (bus 🚌 train 🚃):
1️⃣ Bus 106 from Colmar 🚌
Line 106 A and B: Colmar - Riquewihr - Ribeauvillé
2️⃣ Bus 109 from Colmar 🚌
Line 109 A and B: Colmar - Ribeauvillé - Saint-Hippolyte
3️⃣ Train (Ter Bus) from Sélestat
TER line: Sélestat - Ribeauvillé
The well-known way is to take a bus from Colmar. If you ask at the tourist information office next to Strasbourg Cathedral, they will give you information on buses via Colmar.
If you ask them " Can we go to Ribeauvillé from Sélestat?", they will check the internet and tell you that there is a train (bus 🚌) from Sélestat too❗️
So I took the bus (train) from Sélestat to Ribeauvillé and walk to Riquewihr from Ribeauvillé.
✅ Strasbourg 🚃 Sélestat 🚌 Ribeauvillé 🚶🏼♀️🚶🏼♂️ Riquewihr
Buses from Sélestat to Ribeauvillé are operated by the train company Ter (SNCF). Therefore, although you will take the bus, you can find the timetable on the website of the train company Ter (SNCF). It depends on the season, but during this season, there were about 8 buses/day.
When you arrive at the bus stop, it is advisable to check the bus schedule for your return trip.
I think there were about five of villages? Passing through typical Alsatian pretty villages, we arrived at Ribeauvillé from Sélestat.
I asked at the tourist information office how to get to Riquewihr on foot and was told to go from "Rue des Boulangers" to "Rue du Vignoble".
They said it would take about an hour to get to Riquewihr. But this "Rue des Boulangers" was hard to find 😆
I got a little lost, but still managed to find the directions to "Rue des Boulangers", which was a relief.
From here, cross a small river, walk toward the mountains, and take a left at the roundabout to reach "Rue du Vignoble".
Once on "Rue du Vignoble", you should not get lost until you reach Riquewihr. If you do get lost, it is probably because you are going around Hunawihr.
Rue du Vignoble Street is paved and easy to walk on, although you need to be careful as bicycles and cars also pass by. You can walk on it with normal sneakers.
Hunawihr, a village halfway between Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr, is now in sight. This village often appears on posters introducing Alsace.
It took me about 40 minutes to reach Hunawihr from the "Rue des Boulangers".
I had been to Hunawihr once 5 years ago (2015.9). At that time, we planned to walk from Hunawihr to Ribeauvillé, but we had to change our plan suddenly due to a sudden downpour of rain ⛈ and ended up spending a relaxing time at a restaurant in Hunawihr. This time it is a revenge for that time 😆
Shortly after passing Hunawihr, I started to climb a bit, but once the climb was over, the village of Riquewihr came into view.
This is my second visit to Riquewihr. It's already been 7 years (2013.8) 😭 I haven't been to Riquewihr since I came here with my friends who moved to Germany from the US.
That time (2013.8), we had dinner at a restaurant in Riquewihr, relaxed, and decided to take a bus back to Colmar, but the bus did not come 😧 We had no choice but to return to Colmar by cab 😆
Riquewihr, the "Pearl of the Vineyard," was again crowded with more tourists than Ribeauvillé.
I would personally recommend Riquewihr over Ribeauvillé as well. Riquewihr is a small village, but it is compact and the whole village is very cute. The view of the village from the nearby vineyards is also very nice.
Plus the big difference is whether the main road is for walking only or not. I wonder if Ribeauvillé has something to do with parking? It is difficult to walk on the main road because cars are allowed on the main road as well in Ribeauvillé. Rather, it is difficult to take pictures 😆
I looked at my watch and it was still past 15:00.
The bus from Riquewihr to Colmar did not leave until 17:00, so I wondered what to do.
It was halfway through the day to eat, and I was not in the mood for a winery tour, so I decided to take the plunge and walk back to Ribeauvillé.
In hindsight, this was a good thing. The short detour allowed me to get to a spot with a great view of Riquewihr.
This is the end of the walk from Ribeauvillé to Riquewihr, a wine route in the Alsace region of France that I had wanted to walk at least once.
It was an easy one-way walk that took about one hour and was quite enjoyable, with views of the vineyards at the foot of the Vosges Mountains and the Schwarzwald in the distance.
How to get to Ribeauvillé or Riquewihr by public transport (bus 🚌 train 🚃):
1️⃣ Bus 106 from Colmar 🚌
Line 106 A and B: Colmar - Riquewihr - Ribeauvillé
2️⃣ Bus 109 from Colmar 🚌
Line 109 A and B: Colmar - Ribeauvillé - Saint-Hippolyte
3️⃣ Train (Ter Bus) from Sélestat
TER line: Sélestat - Ribeauvillé
⚠️ Depending on the season and day of the week, there are also buses going to Sélestat - Ribeauvillé - Riquewihr.
Other buses that may be useful 🚌
The Kut’zig open-top bus：July, August, September From Friday to Sunday and Public Holidays (2020) Hop on and off as often as you like for just 15€ per person. The bus comes through each town and village along the route every 1h30.
This bus runs during the Christmas season and is very convenient (2021.12)
Public Restrooms 🚾
The toilets used are
✅ Bus stop in Ribeauvillé
✅ Riquewihr village
Both were free and clean.
✍🏻 Video of an hour-long walk of 4.8 km from Ribeauvillé to Riquewihr, via Hunawihr, one of the most popular villages on the French Alsace Wine Route.
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