After hearing from Carolyn and John Scallan how much they had enjoyed a stay in the medieval Alsatian village of Eguisheim, we decided to visit for our wedding anniversary en route to Basel.
When people say that a place is picture postcard perfect there is usually the scent of slight exaggeration yet we were to discover that Eguisheim could indeed be said to be just that without any suggestion of embellishment, having recently been voted France’s Favourite Village (Village Préféré des Français) 2013.
Where to stay? We were spoiled for choice but plumped for the Hostellerie de Pape, named after one of Eguisheim's most famous sons: Pope Leo IX, born there in 1002.
......so much so that Steve had to have a sleep as soon as we arrived!
The village wraps around itself protectively (it was fortified as far back as 1257), its multicolored houses creating a small, concentric but beautiful maze and so the only way to see it is on foot.
If the houses have a somewhat Germanic look to them then it is because the department of Haut Rhin (in which the village lies) has a mixed cultural heritage. Although it is one of the original 83 French departments created in 1790 during the French Revolution it has twice been annexed by Germany, from 1871 to 1919 and for four years during the Second World War.
It's obviously a very popular tourist destination,
but it's all very under-stated and far from commercially in-your-face.
The houses, the flowers and the colours are breath-taking,
as are the 8 fountains.
There has obviously been a huge amount of effort gone into the rendering and painting of the buildings, and it's still a work-in-progress:
Because of its concentric design, we walked down lane after lane, every corner leading to a new delight.
After all that walking some refreshment was in order.
There are an embarrassment (16) of great restaurants in Eguisheim and we had lined up two to visit.
On Saturday night we ate in the Pavillion Gourmand ( http://www.pavillon-gourmand.fr/la-boutique-traiteur/) which , despite its lovely setting, was not as 'special' as we had hoped, just as had been predicted from its Tripadvisor reviews.
Sunday night, however, was so much more successful. The Restaurant Au Vieux Porche ( http://www.auvieuxporche.fr/) was sublime and well lived up to its Tripadvisor reviews (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g196493-d1064589-Reviews-Au_Vieux_Porche-Eguisheim_Haut_Rhin._).
So much so that when we returned to the hotel for a night-cap, and a spot of emailing, it was all too much for Steve.
No comments:
Post a Comment