France Guide
Alsace and Lorraine
Disputed for centuries by French kings and the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and subsequently embroiled in a bloody tug-of-war between France and Germany, France's easternmost provinces share a tumultuous history. Visiting Alsace and Lorraine, you'll find a host of ruined castles, poignant war memorials and France's only Nazi concentration camp.
The people of Alsace tend to display a Mitteleuropa taste for Hansel-and-Gretel-type decoration – oriel windows, carved timberwork, toy-town gables and window boxes overflowing with geraniums. This distinct combination of French and German influences is seen at its most vivid in the numerous wine villages that punctuate the Route du Vin, along the eastern margin of the forests of the Vosges mountains. The region's white wines are an attraction in themselves; they accompany a cuisine more Germanic than French, which revolves around pork, cabbage and pungent cheese. The handsome regional capital, Strasbourg, and smaller, more postcardish Colmar, are home to some outstanding museums and churches. A noticeably wealthy province, Alsace has historically churned out cars and textiles, not to mention half the beer in France.
Alsace's less prosperous rival, Lorraine, shares borders with Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium, and is part farmland, part rust belt. Although less scenic than Alsace, the elegant former capital, Nancy, home to a major school of Art Nouveau, is well worth a visit, as is leafy Metz, the current capital. The bloody World War I battlefields around Verdun also attract a large number of visitors. Gastronomically less renowned than other French provinces, Lorraine has nonetheless bequeathed to the world one of its favourite savoury pies – the quiche lorraine.
Highlights
1 Strasbourg Cathedral Climb the lofty spire of this magnificent Gothic cathedral for stunning views as far as the Black Forest.
2 The Route du Vin Surrounded by a sea of vines, Alsace's picturesque wine villages are overlooked by a wealth of ruined castles, perched on pine-clad fringes of the Vosges.
3 The Issenheim Altarpiece, Colmar Luridly expressive, this Renaissance masterpiece alone makes quaint Colmar worth a visit.
4 Bugattis at Mulhouse's Cité de l'Automobile A unique collection of vintage motors in the city where the French car industry was set in motion.
5 Place Stanislas, Nancy Along with some outstanding Art Nouveau, elegant Nancy is home to one of the most grandiose eighteenth-century squares in all France.
6 Chagall windows, Metz Cathedral Moses and co. captured in glorious technicolour glass.