Grand Est is a vast northeastern French region created in 2016 from the historic provinces of Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne, and Lorraine. Bordered by Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Belgium, it is a crossroads of European culture, language, and cuisine. Strasbourg, the regional capital, hosts the European Parliament and flaunts one of Europe's finest Gothic cathedrals. Reims preserves the coronation church of French kings and the prestige champagne cellars of the world-famous Champagne region. In between, Colmar's half-timbered lanes, the vine-draped Alsace Wine Route, the Vosges mountain forests, and the solemn WWI battlefields of Verdun create an unrivalled diversity of experiences within a single region.
Top day trips
Handpicked excursions within easy reach.
Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Highlights: Freiburger Münster cathedral tower: 116-metre climb with Black Forest and Rhine plain panoramas · Bächle: narrow medieval water channels threading every street of the old town · Daily farmers' market at Münsterplatz with local produce, Brezel, and hot sausage · Schlossberg hillside viewpoint reachable by funicular or a 20-minute walk · Augustinermuseum: medieval altarpieces and early German Renaissance painting
Black Forest (Schwarzwald), Germany
Highlights: Titisee glacial lake: boat hire, lakeshore promenade, and 5 km Seerundweg forest circuit · Feldberg summit (1,493 m) — Germany's highest peak outside the Alps with Alpine panoramas · Scenic Col du Bonhomme mountain pass approach from Alsace into the Black Forest · Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte and traditional Black Forest cakes at lakeside restaurants · Winter skiing and snowshoeing at Feldberg with day lift pass from approximately €35
Basel, Switzerland
Highlights: Kunstmuseum Basel: one of Europe's greatest public art collections spanning five centuries · Münster cathedral Pfalz terrace with simultaneous views into France and Germany across the Rhine · Fondation Beyeler in Riehen — Monet, Rothko, and Giacometti in a Renzo Piano building · Dreiländereck: the exact confluence point where Switzerland, France, and Germany meet · Marktplatz and the vivid red-sandstone Rathaus (Town Hall) at the heart of the pedestrian old town
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Highlights: Chemin de la Corniche: UNESCO-listed promenade with panoramas over the fortifications and Grund valley · Bock Casemates: 17 km of 17th-century underground tunnels carved from the cliff face (entry €10) · Grand Ducal Palace and Place Guillaume II in the pedestrianised upper town · Grund lower town: riverside restaurants and medieval lanes in the Alzette valley · MUDAM — Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean in a landmark I.M. Pei building on the Kirchberg plateau
Épernay — Avenue de Champagne
Highlights: Avenue de Champagne: a UNESCO-listed kilometre of grand champagne-house mansions and chalk cellars · Moët & Chandon cellar tour: 28 km of underground tunnels with 100 million ageing bottles · September harvest season: vine-picking activity and open-house events across the maisons · Perrier-Jouët and Pol Roger: smaller-scale guided cellar tours with comparative tastings · Hautvillers abbey (8 km by taxi): burial place of Dom Pérignon in a hilltop champagne village
Verdun Battlefields
Highlights: Mémorial de Verdun: comprehensive museum covering the 1916 battle's human and military dimensions (entry €12) · Ossuaire de Douaumont: ossuary holding the remains of 130,000 unidentified soldiers (entry €5) · Fort Douaumont: the battle's largest fortification, open to self-guided underground exploration (entry €5) · Tranchée des Baïonnettes: outdoor memorial marking the fate of an entire infantry unit — always free · November 11 Armistice Day ceremony at the Ossuary — one of France's most solemn national commemorations
Alsace Wine Route — Colmar to Riquewihr Circuit
Highlights: Riquewihr: a perfectly preserved 16th-century walled wine village with colourful timber-framed houses · Kaysersberg: fortified medieval bridge, ruined castle, and Albert Schweitzer birthplace museum · Kientzheim Alsace Wine Museum: the history of Alsace viticulture in a 13th-century fortified château · Cellar-door Gewurztraminer and Riesling tastings from estate producers along the entire circuit · Ribeauvillé optional detour: three medieval towers above vine-covered hillsides south of Riquewihr
Nancy and the École de Nancy
Highlights: Place Stanislas: a UNESCO World Heritage royal square with gilded wrought-iron gates by Jean Lamour · Musée de l'École de Nancy: original Art Nouveau interiors, Gallé glassware, and Majorelle furniture · Three-square Baroque ensemble: Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière, and Place d'Alliance · Self-guided Art Nouveau façade walk covering 30+ decorated buildings across the city · Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy: European painting and a world-class Daum crystal collection
Heidelberg, Germany
Highlights: Heidelberg Castle: Renaissance ruins 80 m above the Neckar with panoramic Odenwald and river views · Alte Brücke (Old Bridge) and the Philosophenweg: 2 km hillside promenade with castle panoramas · Hauptstrasse: Germany's longest historic pedestrian street, 1 km of medieval façades and bookshops · Großes Fass: the world's largest wine barrel (220,000 litres) in the castle cellar complex · Deutsches Apotheken-Museum: historical pharmacy collection included with castle entry
Montagne de Reims and Champagne Villages
Highlights: Phare de Verzenay: a 1909 champagne-house lighthouse with Grand Cru vineyard panoramas (entry €8) · Faux de Verzy: a grove of uniquely gnarled umbrella beech trees — a free, botanically unexplained natural curiosity · D26 champagne circuit: a signposted driving route through Premier and Grand Cru villages · Small-producer cellar tastings in Verzenay, Verzy, Ay, and Ambonnay with advance booking · Parc Naturel Régional de la Montagne de Reims: 22,000 hectares of forest and vineyard landscape
Trips by distance
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Getting there
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Day trip tips
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