Alsace & Lorraine

© Lonely Planet 136 INE ORRA L & E AC LS Alsace & Lorraine A HIGHLIGHTS Coming to grips with the drama of the Verdun battlefields (p148) Experiencing the sensory explosion of a Riesling decanted in an Alsatian Wine Route cellar (p138) Watching storks glide majestically above their rooftop nests in Hunawihr (p145) and other Alsatian towns Gawking at the unrivalled view from the top of the Grand Ballon (p145) TErraIN Gently rolling in Alsace, although the Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges is hilly; the Verdun battlefields are mainly rolling knolls and plains. Telephone Code – 03 www.tourisme-lorraine.fr www.tourisme-alsace.com Though often spoken of as if they were one, Alsace and Lorraine, neighbouring régions in France’s northeastern corner, are linked by little more than a border through the Massif des Vosges (Vosges Mountains) and the imperialism of 19th- century Germany. Charming and beautiful Alsace, long a meeting place of Europe’s Latin and Germanic cultures, is nestled between the Vosges and the River Rhine – along which the long-disputed Franco-German border has at last found a final resting place. Popularly known as a land of storks’ nests and colourful half-timbered houses sprouting geraniums, Alsace offers charming touring in and around its vineyards and gentle, forested mountains. Lorraine, a land of prairies and forests popularly associated with quiche and de Gaulle’s double-barred cross (croix de Lorraine), has little of the picturesque quaintness of Alsace. However, it is home to the battlefields of Verdun, an easy ride physically if not emotionally, which bear silent testimony to the destruction and insanity of WWI. lonelyplanet.com Alsace • ALSACE & LORRAINE • 137 pistes cyclables (marked bikepaths) and voies A vertes (carless greenways) laces through LS ALSACE AC vine lands, orchards, forests, farms and E Tucked between the Vosges mountains and picture-perfect villages of half-timbered, & the Rhine, Alsace is a wedge of diverse land- Hansel-and-Gretel-style houses bedecked L scapes just 190km long and 50km wide. To with geraniums. ORRA the south, the stark and windswept ballons Alsace comprises two départements (ad- (balloons; smooth, round-topped hills) of ministrative divisions): Bas-Rhin (Lower INE the Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Rhine), which takes in the area around Vosges are, quite simply, stunning. Domi- Strasbourg, and Haut-Rhin (Upper-Rhine), nating the north, but running throughout, covering the region’s south. the undulating Route des Vins d’Alsace (Alsatian Wine Route) is a showcase for HISTORY the region’s mostly white wines (Gewürz- Since the Middle Ages royalty, military and traminer and Riesling). clergy have disputed the borders of Alsace. Alsace is one of the most cycle-friendly Over the last 150 years alone, control of regions in France. An extensive network of Alsace has been hot-potatoed between 0 50 km ALSACE & LORRAINE 0 30 miles Merzig Kaiserslautern Thionville Hayange Veckring Florange Saarlouis G E R M A N Y VERDUN BATTLEFIELDS pXXX Bras-sur- Briey Zweibrücken Meuse Étain Völklingen Verdun Eix Saarbrücken Pirmasens Metz Sarreguemines Gorze St-Avold Parc Naturel Régional de Lorraine Metz-Nancy- St-Mihiel Lorraine Airport M Butte de Pont-à- e Montsec Mousson u s e Château- Salins Commercy Parc Naturel Haguenau Régional de Lorraine Toul Nancy Sarrebourg Saverne Lunéville Marlenheim Strasbourg Molsheim Kehl M eu Rosheim rth Aeroport Domrémy e Mt Ste-Odile Strasbourg Baccarat Obernai Neufchâteau Barr M Rambervillers os e ALSATIAN WINE ROUTE pXXX l l Lahr im e St-Dié Dieffenthal Schwarzwald Ste-Marie- Châtenois e Vittel n aux-Mines Sélestat i Bruyeres h Contrexéville Bergheim R Épinal Riegel Col du Bonhomme Sigolsheim er Gérardmer st Emmendingen Va n llée de Mu Colmar Hohneck Breisach Remiremont Eguisheim Munster am Rhein Bains-les- Plombières Bains Parc Naturel Régional Metzeral Neuf-Brisach des Ballons des Vosges Rouffach Freiburg Langres Bussang Ungersheim St-Maurice GERMANY S a Luxeuil- ô n les-Bains Ballon Thann Müllheim e d'Alsace Cernay Lure Mulhouse.

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