22 Most Beautiful Villages to Visit around Strasbourg in 2026

1. Riquewihr

Riquewihr (2 Rue du Général de Gaulle, 68340 Riquewihr, rated 4.7/5 on Google based on 12,000 reviews) is often presented as the most visited village in Alsace, and for good reason—with a few nuances. Built between the 12th and 16th centuries, it was virtually untouched by the two World Wars. The Rue du Général de Gaulle, the main street stretching about 400 meters, lines up Renaissance houses with timber-framed overhangs, geranium pots on balconies, and hand-forged signs. This intact setting is rare on a European scale: most villages in Alsace lost their original buildings during the conflicts of 1870, 1914–1918 or 1944–1945.

The Dolder, a 13th-century defensive tower fitted with a clock, forms the symbolic entrance to the village. Its internal museum traces seven centuries of local life across some twenty rooms. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours for a complete visit of the center, longer if you explore the tasting cellars: Riquewihr is at the heart of the Riesling Grand Cru appellation, and about a dozen cellars open their doors directly onto the main street.

Visit on a weekday, before 10 am or after 5 pm. Between 11 am and 4 pm on summer weekends, the streets can be so saturated with tour groups that the visit becomes less enjoyable. Riquewihr at 8:30 am, however, with shopfronts still closed and oblique light falling on the half-timbering, is an experience in itself. In winter, during the Christmas market (mid-November to late December), the village is transformed and draws a more focused crowd, often with more authenticity than its neighbor Colmar. Note: parking is paid year-round in the outlying car parks (around 4 euros per day), and no cars are allowed inside the medieval enclosure.

3. Kaysersberg

Kaysersberg (Place du Marché, 68240 Kaysersberg, rated 4.5/5 on Google based on 46 reviews) has a decisive advantage over Riquewihr: its lanes are less linear and less easily overwhelmed by tourists. The village is organized around the Habsburg castle (in ruins, free access) that dominates the valley from a rocky spur. From above, the view over the rounded-tile rooftops, bell towers and vineyards stretching to the Alsace plain is worth the detour in itself.

Kaysersberg is also the birthplace of Albert Schweitzer, physician, theologian and musician born here in 1875, Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1952. His birthplace has become a free museum, open from April to December. The 15th-century Fortified Bridge, one of the few covered bridges in Alsace still standing, and the Sainte-Croix church with its 1518 altarpiece are the two other highlights. Since 2016, Kaysersberg has merged with Kientzheim and Sigolsheim to form the commune of Kaysersberg Vignoble: if you come by car, these two hamlets are worth an additional 30-minute detour, each featuring partial ramparts and tasting cellars accessible without an appointment.

5. Wissembourg

Wissembourg (Place de la République, 67160 Wissembourg, rated 4.6/5 on Google based on 3,000 reviews) is located 60 km north of Strasbourg, on the German border. It is the least known village on this list for non-Alsatian tourists, and that is precisely its appeal. The almost intact medieval center features a 13th-century Gothic abbey church, the second largest church in Alsace after Strasbourg Cathedral, and half-timbered houses whose foundations plunge into the Lauter, the border river.

The Bruch quarter, to the east of the center, is the most photogenic: timber-framed houses on stilts overhang the branches of the Lauter, creating a 'Little Venice' setting less well known than those of Colmar or Strasbourg. The Saints-Pierre-et-Paul abbey church features an 18th-century organ and medieval frescoes rediscovered during a restoration in 1968. In June, the medieval market of Wissembourg attracts several thousand visitors over two days. The Parc du Lauter, which runs alongside the river for 2 km, offers a pleasant free walk in any season.

7. Hunspach

Hunspach (Rue Principale, 67250 Hunspach, rated 4.7/5 on Google based on 2,000 reviews) looks like no other village on this list. No vivid colors on the facades, no overflowing geraniums: here, the half-timbered houses are entirely whitewashed, with dark green shutters and windows with small rounded panes. This distinctive aesthetic, inherited from the Swiss settlers who rebuilt the village after the Thirty Years' War, earned it the status of a fully listed Historic Monument—a rarity in France.

Voted 'France's Favorite Village' in 2020, Hunspach has resisted the commercial transformation affecting other Alsatian towns: no advertising signs, no chain restaurant, architecture preserved across around a hundred buildings. The village is located 60 km north of Strasbourg, in the Parc Naturel Régional des Vosges du Nord. An hour is enough to walk around it, but visitors tend to linger far longer.

9. Andlau

Andlau (Rue du Général Koenig, 67140 Andlau, rated 4.5/5 on Google based on 800 reviews) is known to lovers of Romanesque art for its 12th-century abbey church, whose sculpted portal features one of the best-preserved Romanesque friezes in Alsace. According to the founding legend, the abbey was built on the spot where a bear, tamed by Queen Richarde, wife of Emperor Charles the Fat, had stopped digging the ground. The bear has since become the village's symbol, and a stone bear cub has stood watch at the entrance to the porch for more than eight centuries.

The village is also a good base for hiking: the trails to the ruined castles of Spesbourg and Andlau offer panoramic views over the Alsace plain from around 500 meters altitude. Andlau has two Grand Crus, Kastelberg and Wiebelsberg, and local cellars open at weekends for tastings. At 40 km from Strasbourg, it makes for an easy half-day trip. For those wanting to extend their stay on the Vosges trails, our Ryo selection of the most beautiful hikes in Alsace lists the marked routes in this area.

12. Mittelbergheim

Mittelbergheim (Rue Principale, 67140 Mittelbergheim, rated 4.4/5 on Google based on 400 reviews) is listed among the 'Most Beautiful Villages of France' for its remarkable Renaissance wine-growing heritage. The Grand-Rue is lined with 16th- and 17th-century houses whose sculpted portals bearing the coat of arms of wine-growing families constitute an exceptional catalog of rural architecture. The village produces two Grand Crus: the Zotzenberg, renowned for its Sylvaner (an extremely rare grape variety in a Grand Cru appellation), and the Brandluft.

Mittelbergheim is easily visited from Andlau or Barr (4 km away). Its discretion is part of its charm: no listed-site signage announces the significance of its architecture, and visitor numbers remain in the dozens even in high season.

14. Barr

Barr is the largest town in this selection without being a true city: 7,000 inhabitants, an active commercial life, and a weekly Wednesday morning market that caters to residents as much as visitors. The Baroque Town Hall from the 17th century and the Musée de la Folie Marco, a handsome 18th-century mansion converted into a museum of Alsatian decorative arts, are the two unmissable sights.

Barr is also the capital of the Klevener de Heiligenstein, a grape variety unique in France grown only on the Heiligenstein hillside adjacent to the village. Lovers of little-known Alsatian wines will find plenty to taste in several independent cellars open without an appointment.

16. Neuf-Brisach

Neuf-Brisach (Place d'Armes, 68600 Neuf-Brisach, rated 4.5/5 on Google based on 191 reviews) is an anomaly on this list: no picturesque half-timbering, no geraniums. Built entirely by Vauban between 1698 and 1703 on the orders of Louis XIV, it is an octagonal fortress town listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Seen from the ramparts or on the map available at the tourist office, the perfect geometry of the layout is striking. The Musée Vauban, housed in the Porte de Belfort, traces the construction of the town and its military history up to 1918 (admission 4 euros). For lovers of military architecture, it is a must-see detour 80 km from Strasbourg.

18. Ferrette

Ferrette (Place du Général de Gaulle, 68480 Ferrette, rated 4.5/5 on Google based on 952 reviews) is the southernmost town in this selection, 110 km from Strasbourg, at the gateway to the Alsatian Jura. The former capital of the County of Ferrette, which passed to the House of Habsburg in the 14th century, it retains the imposing ruins of two superimposed medieval castles on a limestone cliff. The staircase hewn into the rock leading up to the towers offers a plunging view over the wooded hills and, on a clear day, all the way to the Swiss Alps. A brief but memorable stop, especially at the end of the day.

20. Molsheim

Molsheim (Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, 67120 Molsheim, rated 4.4/5 on Google based on 600 reviews) is a small medieval town 20 km from Strasbourg whose Metzig, a former 17th-century guild butcher's hall converted into a museum, is the most distinctive building in the region. Founded by the Jesuits as a stronghold of Alsatian Catholicism in the 16th century, Molsheim features a Jesuit church and partial ramparts that frame a pleasant center to explore on foot. Bugatti started here in 1909, and a museum traces this automotive saga in the former workshops.

22. Scherwiller

Scherwiller (Rue de la Vieille Forge, 67750 Scherwiller, rated 5/5 on Google based on 48 reviews) is undoubtedly the least known village in this selection, and perhaps the most genuinely picturesque. Crossed by the Scheer stream, the main street runs alongside a canal for around a hundred meters: half-timbered houses and small wooden footbridges create a scene that has barely changed since the 1950s. At 45 km from Strasbourg, between Sélestat and Dambach-la-Ville, it can be visited in an hour and combines easily with Dambach for a morning in the wine-growing Bas-Rhin.