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A Journey Through Time: Visiting Alsace’s Memorial Sites
- February 27, 2023
- To Know
Alsace is a region that has been marked by several historical events, including both World War I and World War II. As... Read More
When is the best time to come to Alsace?
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by Ralph Ward
- February 25, 2023
- To Know
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Your impression of Alsace can be quite different depending on the season you decide to come. The two high seasons are the Summer holidays in July-August and the Christmas markets in December. Below you can find the all year round seasonality trend (data from Accor hotels occupancy rate) and weather temperatures.
Seasonality
Weather temperatures
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| High | 5 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 20 | 15 | 9 | 6 |
| Low | -1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
From January to March
This is the low season for visiting Alsace, and it’s the best time to find cheap flights and accommodation.
It’s a low season mostly because of the weather, it can get quite cold (a dry cold) and due to the low demand, the most touristy attractions aren’t in activity. However, it’s the ideal period for snow activities!
The Vosges mountain range connected to Alsace is still an unknown gem by many tourists. The low altitude (peak at 1,424m) makes them less appealing compared to the Swiss Alps, but for a fraction of the price you can go skiing, cross-country or alpine hiking, dog sledding, etc. when the snow is good.
💡 Good to know: With climate change, the snow season is unfortunately getting shorter and shorter. In the winter of 2019, there was hardly any snowfall, but ski stations do their best to create artificial snow and keep the slopes open.
Most of the food specialities in Alsace are Germanic, warm and calorie-dense, which is best appreciated in colder temperatures. Also inspired by the Germanic culture are the carnivals in February, with kid-friendly parades and shows, with the most famous one being in the city of Mulhouse.
💡 Good to know: In France, shops can only legally do sales, called “soldes” and use that term twice a year in specific periods. 4 weeks in Winter and in Summer. The exact date changes from year to year, which you can check here.
From April to June
Alsace in Spring is amazing, the temperatures are not too cold or too hot, and everything slowly comes back to life, with the activities but also the nature. Alsace prides itself in having the most flowered villages in France, which is impressive as it’s also the smallest region in France. You can see colorful houses and flowers all year round, but in Spring it’s particularly pretty.
In the seasonality graph above you’ll see a peak in April, as this is caused by Easter, unlike anywhere else in France. Many residents decorate their typical houses for the occasion, creating fairy tail scenes wherever you look, especially in the typical villages along the wine route. The city of Colmar holds an Easter market for 2 weeks, and on Easter Sunday you’ll see many egg hunting events.
💡 Good to know: Alsace has the exception in France for also having a bank holiday on Good Friday, so you should book from Friday to Monday if you come at that period.
Towards the end of Spring makes it very nice to go hiking and cycling, as it’s not too hot yet and not as many people are on the roads.
From July to August
July and August are both high season months for the Summer in Alsace. The weather can get quite hot, as the mountains to the West (Vosges) and to the East (Black Forest) “protect” it from rain clouds and create what is known as a microclimate. Not many people know that because of this, it’s one of the driest regions in France!
Many festivities bloom across the region, with the most famous being the wine festivals. People of all ages visit the villages with wineries for wine tasting but it’s also just a good time to hang out with friends and family. The wine festival of Colmar, called the “Foire aux Vins”, the biggest and very popular with locals, is a century-old festival lasting 10 days, with local food and wine exhibitions but mostly music concerts from national and more and more international popstars.
Summertime is also when most people visit the famous Wine Route of Alsace, a 170-km-long road that passes through a string of picturesque villages, well-known wine-producing villages and exceptional landscapes where vineyards are at their greenest.
💡 Good to know: In this high season, many top attractions are sold out, sometimes months in advance, so you should definitely anticipate and book those that interest you.
From September to November
This is also a pleasant time to visit Alsace, as it’s the wine harvest time, the temperatures are still warm, and a lot of tourists have gone. There are less activities to do but still more than January to March.
Visiting the Wine Route during this season is preferred for some people, as the small villages are less densely packed with cars and tourists and the views from the castles are better with less haze.
💡 Good to know: With the vineyards and tree leaves turning gold, and with the sun being less bright, Autumn in Alsace is a lovely time for photography.
💡 Good to know: While Halloween seems to be slowly dying off in a lot of places, in Europapark, the biggest theme park in Europe, puts on quite a show.
December
December deserves a paragraph of its own because of Christmas. The amount of people that come to see the Christmas markets is quite impressive, and for good reason. The efforts and attention to detail that locals put in for the decorations is baffling.
Although some people may think it’s overdone and artificial (and in some places it is true) it’s still welcome to see joy in the middle of winter.
💡 Good to know: As you can imagine, finding accommodation at this period is difficult, with some villages at full capacity months in advance. Plan ahead accordingly!
