Alsatian Heritage & Culture

Since 1704, the village of Meisenthal has perpetuated the ancestral art of blown glass in the Vosges forest of northern Alsace. Birthplace of the modern Christmas bauble and a hub of contemporary glass art, this small Moselle village bordering Alsace embodies exceptional craftsmanship passed down for over three centuries.

The Alsatian Ried, a vast alluvial plain woven between the branches of the Ill and Rhine rivers, is one of Western Europe's richest wetlands. The historical birthplace of stork reintroduction, land of century-old orchards and floodable meadows, the Ried offers a unique landscape where preserved nature and farming traditions blend harmoniously.

The Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park spans nearly 3,000 km² across Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté. Its rounded summits - the famous "ballons" - its flowering high pastures and glacial lakes make it one of eastern France's most emblematic and best-preserved natural spaces.

With its 13,000 hectares, the Haguenau Forest is Europe's largest lowland forest. This green lung of northern Alsace, crossed by ancient paths and steeped in legend, offers walkers and nature lovers a timeless journey into the heart of an exceptionally rich ecosystem.

Alsace is a land of legends. Vosges forests, castle ruins, misty valleys and old half-timbered villages have for centuries nourished a teeming imagination peopled with mysterious creatures - mine witches, nocturnal washerwomen, mischievous dwarves and water spirits. A fascinating intangible heritage that tells as much about Alsace as its monuments and its gastronomy.

Wissembourg, nestled in a bend of the Lauter river at the German border, is one of the most charming and least-known towns in Alsace. Its medieval half-timbered houses, its thousand-year-old Romanesque abbey church, its cobbled streets and its northernmost vineyard make it a discreet gem that is well worth the detour for anyone seeking an authentic and unspoilt Alsace.

In southern Alsace, between the Rhine, the Swiss Jura and the first Vosges foothills, the Sundgau is the great forgotten region of Alsatian tourism. Yet this peaceful and unspoilt territory holds unsuspected treasures - its carp ponds, its flower-filled villages, its unique three-country border and a rare authenticity that captivates all those who take the time to discover it.

Jean-Jacques Waltz, known as Hansi, was not merely the picturesque illustrator of a happy Alsace. He was above all a cultural resistance fighter of rare determination, who used his pencil as a weapon against German occupation for nearly fifty years. Condemned by the Kaiser's courts, driven into exile, hunted - his fight for Alsatian identity is one of the most moving pages of regional history.

Traditional Alsatian costumes are among the most colourful and recognisable in Europe. From the great red bow of Strasbourg to the majestic black headdress of the Sundgau, through the floral embroidery of the Vosges foothills, these regional costumes tell a thousand years of history, influences and Alsatian identity.

Munster - or Munster-Géromé - is the quintessential Alsatian cheese. Produced in the Munster valley and on the Vosges high pastures since the Middle Ages, this soft washed-rind cheese has held a Protected Designation of Origin since 1969. Powerful in aroma, surprising on the palate, it is the most authentic expression of the Vosges terroir.

Gertwiller, a small village on the Vosges foothills between Obernai and Barr, is recognised worldwide as the world capital of gingerbread. Two exceptional artisan houses - Lips and Fortwenger - have been perpetuating a unique craft for generations, making this village of a few hundred inhabitants the global epicentre of a timeless Alsatian speciality.

Alsace is one of Europe's richest regions for medieval castles. More than 60 castles line the Vosges ridges, dominating the Rhine plain from their rocky promontories. From the majestic Haut-Koenigsbourg to the mysterious Fleckenstein, each one tells a fascinating page of Alsatian history.

Strasbourg's Notre-Dame Cathedral is one of the most fascinating monuments in Europe. Built over more than four centuries, with its spire that long dominated the entire world, its prodigious astronomical clock and its façade sculpted like a lace of stone, it embodies better than any other building the genius of Rhenish Gothic architecture and the deep soul of Alsace.

The Alsatian dialect is far more than a way of speaking: it is the living witness to a thousand years of history between France and Germany. A Germanic language deeply rooted in regional identity, it has survived wars, annexations and bans to endure to the present day - weakened, but still alive and proudly claimed by those who still speak it.

Alsace is one of Europe's richest regions for Christmas markets. From Strasbourg to Colmar, from Obernai to Kaysersberg, each market has its own character, atmosphere and specialities. This comparative guide helps you choose - and plan your visit.

Strasbourg proudly calls itself the Christmas Capital - and for good reason. Since 1570, its Christmas market, the Christkindelsmärik, has lit up the city's squares every December. A look back at more than four centuries of a tradition that has made Strasbourg one of the world's great festive destinations.

From 1582 to 1683, in Bergheim - the very village voted France's Favourite Village in 2022 - 40 women were accused of witchcraft and burned alive. This is no legend. This is history. A journey into the darkest and most fascinating chapter of Alsatian history.

For more than seven centuries, the Kappelturm has dominated Obernai's Market Square with its 60 metres of Vosges sandstone. Former bell tower of the Chapel of the Virgin, civic belfry, watchtower, guardian of medieval bells - this monument is the beating heart of one of Alsace's most beautiful squares. A journey through history and architecture.