Kaysersberg (Alsace, France): Stop Two of our Summer Tour 2016

The plan for our first ever three week trip was to make for Venice in Italy, taking in a stop or two in Switzerland on the way and also to revisit a couple of the lakes in northern Italy (Iseo being a favourite) before finally getting across to the Lido di Jesolo.

Ordinarily, I plan a toll-free route to our preferred end destination and then choose a selection of stop-overs as close to the intended path as possible; that's the theory! 

However, more often than not, it never works out that way; and that's the beauty of owning a motorhome. The freedom and flexibility they afford to make extended overnight stops, divert off route, discover new destinations and move on at will, are all the reasons why we enjoy motorhome ownership so much.

After stopping off in Ghent for a couple of nights I already had the feeling that we were not going to get to Venice, but hey its a holiday and we'll enjoy choose wherever we end up........ in fact that's probably why we won't get to our end destination as we're enjoying ourselves too much where we are.

So, stop-over number two (heading down the eastern fringes of France), had in previous years seen us pull into a number of the most popular motorhome aires including: Metz, Pont a Mousson, Charmes and Thaon les Vosges.

More recently when exploring Germany we have taken the Strasbourg route and headed down the German A5 stopping off at Europa Park in Rust by means of family entertainment for our junior members. 

However, this year we were travelling sans off-spring, which provided us with an opportunity to take in a bit more culture and put the electric bikes to a real test. With this in mind I decided that a little foray into Alsace would be a worthy distraction and I knew a nice little town that was worth exploring.

At 320+ miles from Ghent, Kaysersberg was slightly more travelling in a day than we prefer, however, leaving Camping Blaarmeersen just after breakfast we arrived at the Aire de Camping Car in Kaysersberg just before 4pm.

Our Route to the Motorhome Aire at Kaysersberg



Located just a short walk from the town centre the motorhome aire at Kaysersberg has space for 80+ vans. There's a picnic area, general waste re-cycling, free motorhome service points and free water. Parking at the time of our visit was €8 for 24 hours.


The motorhome aire has space for 80+ vans

Kaysersberg is a small town between Riquewihr and Colmar in the Haut-Rhin department of the Alsace region. It is also on the Alsace wine route and a handy place to base yourself for exploring the many picturesque villages and vineyard covered hills that are all close by; particularly the villages of Ribeauville, Riquewihr and Hunawihr.

I'd selected Kaysersberg as our stopping off point as it's generally considered to be one of the most impressive of the Alsace towns, particularly in the town's medieval centre.

The town is in a very picturesque setting, in a valley surrounded by vineyards and with forested hills rising above the town. 

Stork's nesting on the rooftops - A popular sight in Alsace

The town centre is only a shot walk from the Motorhome aire and once you're there you are immediately cast back in time with the wonderful array of painted half-timbered buildings. This is real-life Disney!

Traditional Medieval Buildings adorn the main street

Modern day residents clearly take pride in their historic dwellings

Riverside setting with wonderful backdrop

Even the roof tops get a decorative makeover
An idyllic medieval street - surprisingly, (for France) no dog shit either!

Kaysersberg traditional medieval street scene 


The weather was blistering but still enjoyable and so we stayed on the Aire at Kaysersberg for a couple of extra days (again longer than anticipated!) and used the opportunity to put the electric bikes through their paces exploring the nearby vineyards and villages. 

A particularly pleasant ride out was to the town of Ribeauvillé just a touch over 6 miles away; with some interesting topography en route.....no worries for our bikes though!

The butcher's tower in Ribeauvillé

Ribeauvillé is a very nice town to spend the day exploring. There are plenty of traditional medieval Alsatian houses, shops, ancient town walls and associated towers (including the sturdy square Tour des Bouchers) to visit.

Handy shop signs

A view down Ribeauvillé main street

Ribeauvillé is far busier than Kaysersberg and appears to be more touristy. If you are at all interested in the wines of Alsace this is without doubt one of the places you must visit....not least as it is home to the fabled wines of F. E Trimbach, the wines of which will grace the tables of Michelin starred restaurants throughout the world.

This is definitely an area of France we will be back to explore more and I've read that the Christmas markets in the region are well worth a visit too.

After Kaysersberg we make our away onward into Switzerland.....

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