Metz, a Gallo-Roman city, is located in a strategic position as a defence
point and is also a crossroads of the trade routes. It contains some elegant
medieval walls, arches and public buildings, but its pride is the Cathedral
of St-Étienne. Nancy is best known for its perfectly proportioned Place
Stanislas, gracefully surrounded with elegant wrought-iron gates. The
history of Lorraine is excellently documented in the town’s museum.
A visit to Colmar can give a pleasant glimpse into the Middle Ages, and it
is one of the most agreeable cities in Alsace, as well as being capital of
the Alsatian wine country. The narrow, winding, cobbled streets are flanked
by half-timbered houses and painstakingly restored by the burghers of the
city. The 13th-century Dominican Convent of Unterlinden, now a museum,
contains some important works from the 15th and 16th centuries, including
the exquisite Grünewald triptych.
Colmar is a perfect place from which to set out along the Route du Vin (Wine
Route) stopping at many of the appealing towns along the way to taste the
local wine. Turckheim, just outside Colmar, has some of the best-preserved
array of 15th and 16th century houses in the district and a town crier takes
visitors through the streets at night to recall the atmosphere of old.
The town of Eguisheim, with its Renaissance fountain and monument in the
village square, is also a charming Alsatian town with many historic houses
and wine cellars open to the public for wine-tasting. Kayersberg (the
birthplace of Dr Albert Schweitzer, whose house has been turned into a
museum with mementoes of his work and life, also has some castle ruins on a
hill overlooking the town and a picturesque stream that meanders through the
town. A popular town with tourists is Riquewihr, with its 13th and 14th
century fortifications and belfry tower and its many medieval houses and
courtyards. St Hippolyte is another picturesque wine-tasting town at the
foot of the Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, a sprawling and impressive medieval
castle where Jean Renoir filmed La Grande Illusion. Self-steer boats are
readily available for canal cruising. There are also regularly scheduled
Rhine river and canal tours daily all summer, several hotel boats ply these
waterways as well. Helicopters and balloons make regular sightseeing
flights, weather permitting. Ancient steam trains make regular circuits
including Rosheim/Ottrat (on the wine route), at Andolsheim a steam train
runs along the Canal d’Alsace between Cernay and Soultz.
Throughout Alsace there are artisans’ workshops, including glass and wood
painting at Wimmenau and pottery in Betschdorf where studios and shops are
open to the public. Organised walking tours that include overnight stops and
meals en route are arranged from Colmar and Mulhouse. Bicycle trails are
marked along the Rhine, where bicycles are readily available for hire.
Belfort, a major fortress town since the 17th century, commands the Belfort
Gap, or Burgundy Gate, between the Vosges and the Jura mountains. Dominating
the routes from Germany and Switzerland, it became famous during the
Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 when it withstood a 108-day siege. This is
commemorated by a huge stone statue, the Lion of Belfort, by Bartholdi, the
creator of the Statue of Liberty. The ‘route du vin’ lies between the Rhine
and a low range of pine-covered mountains called the Vosges. The flat,
peaceful plain is covered with vineyards and orchards. Pretty, rural
villages dot the landscape, their church spires piercing the horizon.
The wines of Alsace have a long history, the Alsatian grapes were planted
before the arrival of the Romans. It has never been clearly understood where
they originated and unlike other French wines, these depend more on grape
type than soil or processing. Almost exclusively white with a fruity and dry
flavour, they make an excellent accompaniment to the local food. Beer also
goes well with Alsatian food, and as might be expected, good beer is brewed
in both the Alsace and the Lorraine areas. There are famous and popular
mineral water sources in Contréxeville and Vittel (also a spa town). They
were well known and appreciated by the Romans and today are the most popular
in France.
One of the food specialities of Alsace is truite bleue, blue trout, which is
simply boiled so fresh as to be almost alive when tossed into the water. The
swift rivers provide gamey trout and they can be fished by visitors if
permits are obtained at any city hall. The cooking is peppery and hearty and
quite unlike that of any other French region. Munster, a strong winter
cheese, is usually served with caraway seeds. Lorraine and Alsatian tarts
are made with the excellent local fruits: mirabelles (small, yellow plums),
cherries, pears, and so on. Each of these fruits also makes a world-renowned
eau-de-vie, a strong white alcohol liqueur drunk as a digestive after a
heavy meal. Lorraine is famous for quiche lorraine made only in the
classical manner: with cream, eggs and bacon. Nancy has boudin (blood
sausage), although this is found in the rest of France. |
