Your Gite near Strasbourg, in the Quiet of the Vineyards

What to see in Strasbourg from the gite

At roughly 40 minutes away, Strasbourg is an easy day out — or two, if you want to slow down. The historic centre, the canals and the cathedral sit close together, so a first visit can cover a lot on foot. These are the highlights worth building your day around:

• The cathedral of Notre-Dame

  A masterpiece of Gothic pink sandstone, its single spire visible across the plain. Don't miss the astronomical clock, and — for the energetic — the climb to the viewing platform.

• Petite France

  The old tanners' quarter, with timber-framed houses leaning over the canals. It is the most photographed corner of Strasbourg, and best explored slowly on foot.

• The European institutions

  The European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights mark Strasbourg out as a European capital. The district is easy to see on foot or by bike.

• A boat trip on the Ill

  Drifting along the canals is one of the most enjoyable ways to take in the city's history, from Petite France out to the European quarter.

Getting to Strasbourg: by car or by train

For visitors from the UK, the US or further afield, the easiest gateways are Strasbourg airport and EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, each within a comfortable drive of the village; by rail, the TGV reaches Strasbourg from Paris in about 1 hour 50 minutes. Around the region itself, a car is genuinely the best way to get about, and from the gite you can reach Strasbourg in roughly 40 minutes. Driving also lets you weave a Wine Route village into the day on the way there or back.

If you would rather not drive into the city, leave the car in the village, where parking is free, and take the train. Dambach-la-Ville has its own TER station in the village, on the Strasbourg–Molsheim–Barr–Sélestat line; depending on the timetable you can also reach Strasbourg by changing at Sélestat, about 15 minutes from the gite. Services vary through the year, so it is worth checking the line's timetable for the day of your visit.

Once you are in Strasbourg without a car, everything falls into place: the old town, Petite France and the cathedral are all within an easy walk of one another, and the modern tram network runs efficiently out to the European quarter. Park-and-ride sites on the edge of the city, linked to the tram, are the simplest option if you do choose to drive in.

In the evening, the calm of a wine village

This is the real point of sleeping a little outside the city. After a lively day in Strasbourg you come back to Dambach-la-Ville, a fortified wine village tucked into the vineyards. In the evening you can wander the medieval ramparts and their floodlit gates, eat at one of the three restaurants about 200 metres from the gite, and fall asleep in genuine quiet — a world away from the bustle of the centre.

Dambach-la-Ville also makes a strong base for the rest of your stay. The Alsace Wine Route runs through the village, which has its own Frankstein Grand Cru and a waymarked vineyard trail, and it puts a string of landmarks within easy reach. It is the kind of spot that lets you alternate city days with slower escapes into the wine country.

• Sélestat and its Humanist Library

  ~15 min

  The town is home to the earliest known written mention of the Christmas tree (1521). Handy, too, for rail connections towards Strasbourg and Colmar.

• Obernai

  ~20 min

  One of the loveliest towns on the Wine Route — belfry, old corn market and ramparts — and conveniently on the road between the gite and Strasbourg.

• Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle

  ~25 min

  A restored medieval fortress at 757 m (about 2,480 ft), with vast views over the Alsace plain and across to the Black Forest in Germany.

• Colmar

  ~30 min

  The Unterlinden Museum and its Isenheim Altarpiece, plus the canals of Little Venice — a full day in its own right.

Why choose our gite to visit Strasbourg

Au Cœur de l'Ours is three self-contained apartments within a single 1723 house. Cœur de l'Ours is 60 m² (around 645 sq ft) for up to four guests; Rêve de l'Ours is 70 m² (around 750 sq ft) for up to five, with a mountain view; and Grenier de l'Ours is a 90 m² (around 970 sq ft) loft for up to seven. Booked together, the house sleeps up to fifteen. Each apartment has a fully equipped kitchen — ideal for a relaxed evening in after a day on your feet in the city.

You also get free parking in the village, which is a real comfort when you are using the gite as a base for Strasbourg and the surrounding villages, along with Wi-Fi, a bakery directly across the street for your morning croissants, and the warm welcome of your hosts, Corinne and Mathias. The house has a 9.8/10 guest rating on Booking — a fair reflection of a stay built to be both practical and genuinely restful.