Luxembourg & Alsace Wine Trail — A Tale of Two Vineyards

Daily Itinerary

Day 1: Luxembourg City — Grand Duchy Welcome

Begin your journey in the elegant Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After settling into your hotel, enjoy an afternoon guided walking tour of Luxembourg City’s UNESCO-listed Old Quarter. Walk the Chemin de la Corniche, the most beautiful balcony in Europe, offering panoramic views over the Grund district and the Alzette Valley. Explore the Bock Casemates’ underground tunnels and learn how this fortress city earned its nickname as the Gibraltar of the North. Visit the Place Guillaume II and the Grand Ducal Palace. Welcome dinner at one of Luxembourg’s celebrated restaurants, featuring modern interpretations of Luxembourgish classics paired with the country’s finest Riesling and cremant.

Meals: Dinner | Overnight: Luxembourg City

Day 2: Luxembourg Moselle — Cremant & Elbling Discovery

Morning exploration of the Luxembourg Moselle Valley. First wine tasting at Domaines Vinsmoselle in Wormeldange, learning about Luxembourg’s unique wine heritage and tasting the mineral Elbling, elegant Auxerrois, and the country’s distinctive expression of Riesling. Continue to Caves St. Martin in Remich for an exclusive tour of their underground cellars carved into limestone cliffs, followed by a tasting of award-winning Cremant de Luxembourg, produced in traditional Champagne method. Lunch at a riverside terrace restaurant overlooking the Moselle. Afternoon visit to Bernard-Massard in Grevenmacher, Luxembourg’s premier cremant house, for a comparative tasting of their prestige cuvees. Continue through charming Alsatian landscapes to Colmar, the jewel of the Alsace Wine Route. Check into your hotel in the heart of the historic old town. Evening stroll through Colmar’s illuminated medieval streets, including the fairy-tale Petite Venise (Little Venice) district with its half-timbered houses reflected in the canal.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch | Overnight: Colmar

Day 3: Colmar & Southern Alsace Wine Route — Riquewihr & Haut-Koenigsbourg

Morning guided tour of Colmar, one of France’s most beautiful cities. Explore the old town’s remarkably preserved half-timbered houses, including the Pfister House, the Old Customs House (Koifhus), and the Tanner’s Quarter. Visit the Unterlinden Museum, housed in a 13th-century Dominican convent, to see Matthias Grunewald’s breathtaking Isenheim Altarpiece, one of the most important works of German Renaissance art. After lunch, depart along the Alsace Wine Route to Riquewihr, the pearl of the wine route, a perfectly preserved 16th-century walled village with cobblestone streets and colorful half-timbered houses. Wine tasting at a family estate in Riquewihr, sampling the region’s famous Gewurztraminer, Riesling, and Pinot Gris amid the flower-bedecked streets. Continue to the magnificent Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg, a fully restored 12th-century castle perched at 755 meters above the Alsace plain. Tour the castle’s lavishly furnished rooms, medieval armory, and enjoy panoramic views stretching from the Vosges Mountains to the Black Forest. Return to Colmar for evening at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch | Overnight: Colmar

Day 4: Northern Alsace Wine Route — Ribeauville to Strasbourg

Follow the wine route north through a succession of enchanting wine villages. Stop at Ribeauville, dominated by the ruins of three medieval castles on the hill above. Continue to Bergheim, a perfectly preserved fortified village with its medieval walls and towers intact. Wine tasting at a biodynamic estate in the Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim vineyard. Lunch at a traditional winstub (wine tavern) in the village of Mittelbergheim, one of France’s Most Beautiful Villages. Afternoon: continue to the Mont Sainte-Odile, a 2,500-foot peak crowned by an ancient convent and one of Alsace’s most sacred sites, with spectacular views from the Pagan Wall, a mysterious 10-kilometer-long prehistoric fortification. Arrive in Strasbourg in the late afternoon. Check into your hotel in the historic center near the cathedral. Evening orientation walk through Strasbourg’s spectacular old town, including the magnificent Gothic cathedral and the fairy-tale Petite France district with its canals, weirs, and 16th-century half-timbered houses.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch | Overnight: Strasbourg

Day 5: Strasbourg — European Capital & Alsatian Gastronomy

Morning guided tour of Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace and the official seat of the European Parliament. Visit the breathtaking Strasbourg Cathedral, one of the finest examples of High Gothic architecture, with its soaring spire that was the world’s tallest building from 1647 to 1874. Marvel at the astronomical clock and climb the tower for panoramic views. Walk through the Petite France quarter, the city’s most picturesque district, where tanners, millers, and fishermen once lived and worked. Visit the European Parliament district to see the striking modern architecture of the Louise Weiss building. Afternoon at leisure to explore Strasbourg’s excellent museums, the covered bridges and Vauban Dam, or the shops of the Carré d’Or. Farewell dinner at a Michelin-starred winstub or a historic restaurant in the cellar of the Kammerzell House (1427), featuring classic Alsatian cuisine: choucroute garnie, baeckeoffe, and tarte flambée, paired with Grand Cru Alsace wines.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: Strasbourg

Day 6: Obernai, Eguisheim & Return to Luxembourg

After breakfast, explore the northern reaches of the wine route. Visit Obernai, a charming walled town with a magnificent Renaissance belfry and the beautiful Place du Marche. Continue to Eguisheim, consistently voted one of France’s most beautiful villages, with its unique concentric circular streets and flower-decked half-timbered houses painted in brilliant colors. Wine tasting at a family estate in Eguisheim, birthplace of the Alsace wine region and where viticulture dates back to Roman times. Enjoy a farewell lunch at a countryside auberge, savoring the last tastes of Alsace. Afternoon journey back through the Vosges Mountains and across the Lorraine plateau to Luxembourg City. Arrive by approximately 4:00 PM, where your tour concludes.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch