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Travel guide
The Sundgau
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to September
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Welcome
The Sundgau, in a few days
South of Mulhouse, against the Swiss border, the Sundgau is the Alsace of hills, ponds and half-timbered farms, far from the crowds of the wine route. Three ruined castles guard the Alsatian Jura, the Ill rises in a meadow at Winkel, and fried carp is eaten with your fingers.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Ferrette Castle free · about 1 hRuins on a 612-metre rocky peak above Ferrette, seat of the Counts of Ferrette, among the most powerful lords of Upper Alsace before the Habsburgs.
- Afternoon · Grotte des Nains free · about 45 minA forest path between Ferrette and Bouxwiller leads to limestone cliffs, a 25-metre gorge and a small cave that legend says housed the earth dwarves.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Auberge Sundgovienne€110 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Oltingue Farm Museum · about 45 minA restored farmhouse with exposed half-timbering, showing rural Sundgau life in the 19th and early 20th centuries through trades, looms and household objects.
- Afternoon · Landskron Castle free · about 30 minA hilltop castle at Leymen by the Swiss border, older than 1297, later modernised by Vauban and used as a state prison until the Revolution.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Petit Kohlberg€140 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The source of the Ill at Winkel free · about 30 minThe 217 km river that runs through Mulhouse and Strasbourg begins here in the meadows at around 550 metres, narrow enough to step across.
- Afternoon · Morimont Castle free · about 30 minFirst mentioned in 1183, on a 522-metre hill a kilometre from Switzerland, destroyed by the 1356 Basel earthquake and rebuilt as an artillery fortress.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Auberge Sundgovienne€110 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Hirtzbach castle park free · about 45 minAn English-style park laid out in the early 19th century by Charles de Reinach around his family's listed manor, with large trees and wide lawns.
- Afternoon · Altkirch free · about 1 hThe Sundgau's capital, founded in the 12th century above the Ill, where most of the castle made way for the church in 1845.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Petit Kohlberg€140 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €88 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/sundgau
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.