If you like going on a hike in France the Alsace is a nice region to go. It located just behind the german border. We decided to visit a small village called Ribeauville, which is just south of Straßbourg. You can easily get there with train and bus.

It is a nice cozy village with many old buildings in its center. It is surrunded by many wine yards, so you can always taste some local wine. West of the town there are some mountains which are nice for hiking. Just what we have been looking for.

Hiking

We decided to go for a so called "Three-castle-hike" which brings you to the castles Château Saint Ulric, Château Giersberg and Château Haut-Ribeaupierre. We found this hike on outdooractive.com. The also have an app through which you can track your hike. We used the mobile version of their webpage instead, which can be a little complicated sometimes.

The hike starts in te north-west of Ribeauville where you hike up through a wine yard. Soon you find yourself in a forest, so there will be plenty of shade if you come here in summer. The terrain is rather rough with many stones, so hiking boots are recommended. We also saw one person hike in sandals, but I guess that's just a personal choice.

The first castle you reach is the Châteu Saint Ulric. It is directly on the edge of a cliff. In a little enfenced area you can find some goats just mnding their business eating of the bushes. You can enter it and climb up its towers. From here you have a nice view over the town of Ribeauville, as well as the second castle, the Châteu Giersberg. To reach this one you need about 10 minutes, depending on your pace. Unlike the Châteu Saint Ulric you can not enter ther Châteu Giersberg. However, you get a nice view of to Saint Ulric which is great for taking pictures.

From here the hike continues farther up the hill. Sometimes the trail becomes super narrow and you have to watch your step. Eventually you reach the third castle, the Châteu Haut-Riberupierre. This one was the most dissappointing one on this hike. Due to a risk of collapse you are not alowed to enter. Overall it doesn't look that great either. However, you can find some nice spots to sit down and have a small break.

Contiuing the hike we got to a nice viewing point called 'Kahlfels'. Here we discovered a nice rock to climb on from which you can take nice pictures in front of the valley in between the two hills.

Aterwards the hike continues through the forest for a ong time. We decided to try a shortcut which brought us to the monastery Dusenbach. This is pretty much the last sight along the route. I am not sure, weather you can actually go inside the church, but it is also nice to look at from the outside. From here on on it is not far of a walk downhill until you are back in the town of Ribeauville.

This is just one of many other possible hikes, but we highly recommend going on this one. On outdooractive.com you can find many more other hikes, some leading through the hills, other along the counless wine yards. I am sure they all have their own charm. So if you are into hiking, make sure to visit this little place.

   

The town

As mentioned before, ribeauville is a small town in the Alsace region south ofStraßbourg. The western part of the town is the original old town and is beutiful. I recommend getting a room in this part, as this is the area you want to spend your time in.

The town features many colorful, old buildings with different restaurants and stores. Overall you will experience a very calm athmosphere around here. If you just want to relax for a little bit I can recommend just walking down the streets, visiting the little store and enjoyin a few sweets in one of the little bakeries.

      

Accomendation

Our apparment was located right in the heart of the old town of Ribeauville. We had a small appartment with a small bathroom and a little kitchen. All we needed for two nights in this area.

You can find the appartment right here
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Restaurants and Tips

The Alsace region has some nice local dishes as well as many local wines. Here I have two restaurants I can recommend for your visit.

Le Giersberg
A nice restaurant just opposite of our appartment. We enjoyed the traditional 'Käsespätzle' here.

Brasserie de la Poste
A small restaurantin the easter apart of the old town. Great 'Flammkuchen' and 'Käsespätzle'

 

 

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