Page 229 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

rural ceramics. Betschdorf is a along the lakefront and boat
good place to try tasty tartes trips, as well as Géromée
flambées – hot, crispy bases cheese, similar to the more Did You Know?
topped with cheese or fruit. famous Munster, from just over
Another pottery village, the Alsatian border. Gérardmer Protected by the
Soufflenheim, lies 10 km also boasts the oldest tourist Vosges, Alsace has a
(6 miles) southeast. Its earth- information office in the warm climate and
coloured pottery is usually country, dating from 1875. France’s lowest
painted with bold flowers. The scenic drives and annual rainfall.
mountain hikes in the Vosges
attract adventurous visitors.
15 Most leave the lakeside bowl The Grand’Rue is lined with
to head for the Alsatian
Gérardmer border and the magnificent half-timbered houses. Close to
Route des Crêtes, which can the castle is the Marbacherhof,
! G3 ⌂ Vosges @ g
n 4 pl des Déportés; www. be joined at the mountain a monastic tithe barn and corn
hall. On a neighbouring square,
pass of Col de la Schlucht.
gerardmer.net
the modern parish church
Nestling on the Lorraine side retains its Romanesque
of the Vosges, on the shore of 16 sculpted tympanum.
a magnificent lake stretching The rest of the town has its
out before it, Gérardmer is a Eguisheim share of Hansel-and-Gretel
setting rather than a city. In ! G3 ⌂ Haut-Rhin @ atmosphere, while inviting
November 1944, just before n 22a Grand’Rue; www. courtyards offer tastings of
its liberation, Gérardmer was tourisme-eguisheim- grands crus. From rue de
razed by the Nazi scorched- rouffach.com Hautvilliers, outside the ram-
earth policy, but has since parts, a marked path leads
been recon structed. Sawmills Eguisheim is an exquisite through scenic vineyards.
and woodcarving remain local small town, laid out within
trades, though tourism is fast three concentric rings of
replac ing the textile industry. 13th-century ramparts. The u
Gérardmer is now a popu lar ensemble of austere fortifica-
holiday resort. In winter, the tions and elegance within Saverne
steep slopes of the Vosges makes for a harmonious whole. ! G2 ⌂ Bas-Rhin £ @ n 37
Cristallines around the town In the centre of town is the Grand’Rue; www.tourisme-
turn it into a ski resort, while octagonal feudal castle of saverne.fr
the lake is used the Counts of Eguisheim.
for watersports A Renaissance fountain in Framed by hills, and set on
in summer. front has the statue of Bruno the River Zorn and the Marne–
The town’s Eguisheim, born here in 1002. Rhine canal, Saverne is a pretty
attractions also He became Pope Léon IX and sight. The town was a fief of the
include walks was later canonized. prince-bishops of Strasbourg
and its sandstone Château des
Rohan was a favourite summer
residence. Today, it houses the
fascinating Musée du Château
des Rohan, with a collection
that traces Saverne’s past. On
the far side of the château, the
Grand’Rue is studded with
buzzy restaurants and hand-
some, well-kept timber-
framed Renaissance houses.
Musée du Château
des Rohan
" ⌂ Château des Rohan
§ 03 88 71 63 95 # Jan–mid-
Jun & mid-Sep–Dec: 2–6pm
Mon–Wed, 10am–noon &
One of the many bridges 2–6pm Sat & Sun; mid-Jun–
that crisscross the rivers mid-Sep: 10am–noon & 2–6pm
and canals of Metz daily ¢ Pub hols
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