Riquewihr, Alsace
The historic town of Riquewihr in Alsace is really a great place to visit. It is located on the Route des Vins about 13 km from Colmar, 9 km from Kaysersberg and 5 km from Ribeauvillé. It has many beautifully preserved buildings and colorful houses. The main street has a lot of shops and restaurants and is full of life and magical atmosphere. It is also worth going to the side streets - they are interesting, too. Just explore, walk and have fun.
Parking in Riquewihr
We park the car in a spacious parking lot located just next to the old town (P1; GPS: 48.165107, 7.299592) on its eastern side, at Avenue Méquillet. In case of problems with free places, you can also try to park on a smaller parking lot located on the west side of the town (P2, GPS: 48.167421, 7.294406) on Place des Charpentiers.
Stroll in Riquewihr
Because we left the car in the first of the above-mentioned parking lots, we went through the gate of the town hall building (A, GPS: 48.166250, 7.299836) straight to the main street of the town - it's the Rue du Général de Gaulle. Then we walked this street to the gate in the Dolder tower, which also can be used to enter the old town from the west.
As usual in the Alsatian towns, we passed beautiful half-timbered houses with walls painted in different colors. Immediately after going through the gate, we found ourselves on the first square - Place Voltaire with the obligatory fountain. Then, on the left side, we passed an interesting old well (B; GPS: 48.1664489, 7.2988297). There is also an interesting winemaker's building from 1561 located opposite the well. The house is called Le Gratte-Ciel - it means "the skyscraper" for its height, unusual at the time of its construction.
Going further, we passed another interesting building - this time the ancient cooper's house (C; GPS: 48.1666564, 7.2983042). The whole street was full of tourists - the town has so beautiful beautiful appearance so it attracts many people to come there.
Turning right into the side street Rue des Trois Églises, you can see the Sainte-Marguerite protestant church from the 19th century (D; GPS: 48.1673006, 7.2977622).
We finally reach the western border of the old town, where the beautiful Dolder tower is located, as well as the equally nice the Fontaine de la Sinne (E; GPS: 48.167282, 7.295766). From the outside, the tower with the entrance gate looks a bit different. Next to the tower is located the second gate - Porte Haute. It is also worth visiting the nearby Museum of Thieves (Musée de la Tour des Voleurs) (F; GPS: 48.167779, 7.295900) - the ticket price is 4€.
We stroll the town visiting the side streets, too - they're as beautiful as the main one. If you get hungry, take advantage of the many restaurants available - remember of course that usually better (and cheaper) food is served in places that are not located on the main routes. This rule applies in every town visited by tourists.
Festival International de Choeurs d'Hommes
Being in Riquewihr, we came across an interesting cultural event - Festival International de Choeurs d'Hommes - The International Festival of Male Choirs. The event consisted in the fact that we met at every step many groups that performed different works, starting from classic/traditional songs and ending with more modern ones. These choirs moved through the streets of the town, and finally, at the end of the day, they participated together in the closing ceremony nearby the mayor's office. Such an event takes place in Riquewihr every two years and attracts large audiences of all ages.
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