Alsace is in eastern France on the Rhine River border with Germany. It is unquestionably spectacularly beautiful. A very special combination of history, culture, scenery, and especially food and wine makes it one of the most delightful places to visit in all of Europe. - John Egan
Riquewihr is the jewel in the crown - famous for the Riesling and other great Alsace wines produced here - and looks today exactly as it did in the 16th Century. Riquewihr is a wonderful and romantic little medieval city hidden between the Vosges mountains and some of the most famous vineyards in Alsace. Although in a very preserved area, Riquewihr is only 7 miles from Colmar and minutes from other famous alsatian villages like Ribeauvillé, Hunawihr, Eguisheim or Kaysersberg.
Simply walk out of your holiday apartment and go for beautiful walks in the forest and mountain or through some of the most famous vineyards in Alsace, the choice is yours!

"If there’s a more delightful prospect anywhere in Europe than the Alsace wine route, I’d like to hear about it. I mean, consider: we have, first, the Vosges mountains — rounded, forested and with just enough drama to give matters an edge. Up top, castles look out from craggy summits, their sting now drawn. Down below, vineyards unfurl right to the gates of villages whose half-timbered streets tell tales stretching back to the middle ages. " - 
James Preston, Sunday Times, JAN 7, 2007.

Our romantic vacation rental apartments are in the most picturesque part of the external city wall built in the year 1500. On the picture (below on the right), Le Colombier**** house is the large part behind the trees, on the left side of the just married couple. More left, before the bushes, the Sentinel**** apartment is on the first floor and the attic.  Part of the studio The Refuge of the Imp*** can be seen, embedded in the city wall below the Sentinel apartment. Access to our vacation rentals are on the other side of the ramparts, in the picturesque Rue des Remparts. The door at the bottom of the wall is in fact hiding the external part of our airconditioning system. Since the city wall is a national heritage listed building, it was necessary to prove some imagination to hide the ugly (but useful) modern appliances!  

Riquewihr is certainly the object of an enchantment which lasts for centuries. Its layout and structure have not changed since the Middle Ages, and every piece of architecture is miraculously preserved. If today’s Riquewihr resembles the Middle Age town so much it is because people have not changed much either, for they have the same lifestyle and their existence revolves around the industry of winemaking. It is the aroma of this particular wine that you smell in every ‘Winstub” of the main street. Wine is everywhere and everything in Riquewihr and may be the cause of the enchantment. George Kassianos, wine expert Cyprus.

As you may imagine, Riquewihr is a successful tourist destination. But most of the tourists are only coming for the day. At 6 o'clock in the evening, most of the visitors are gone and this beautiful village will be yours until late in the morning of the next day. The 6 next pictures below are taken at approx 9:30 am... Furthermore, our holiday apartments are slightly away from the main street and most of its visitors. And finally, no car traffic is allowed in our narrow and picturesque rue des Remparts (except for the short time necessary to unloading your luggage). This means that your vacation rental apartment is in a priviledged place.

Within the town’s well-preserved walls, are tight alleys and uneven streets void of cars, with the exception of the few natives’ vehicles, town’s people who live in charming half-timbered homes, each one a different hue of the rainbow.  Yes colorful dwellings not just the typical off white plaster straw and dark beamed homes of European medieval villages one sees on TV.  Riquewihr‘s homes and stores range in light shades of baby blue, pale yellow, mauve, faded turquoise and light green. Michael J. Meese

On each side of the main street, there are a lot of beautiful hidden little streets which most of the tourist hardly explore.

Take some time to leave the main street beaten track and discover the hidden and secluded streets of Riquewihr. Lift your eyes and you will see so many wonderful architectural details...