Fertile, wooded countryside but also, with its 1.6 million inhabitants, many densely populated areas. Bordering on Germany, Alsace did not become part of France until 1678. In 1871 it was annexed by Prussia after the Franco-Prussian War but was restored to France in 1918 (Albert Schweitzer, the famous humanitarian, was born in Alsace in 1875, but is claimed by both the French and the Germans as their own son … but he lived much of his life in Africa).
The region produces excellent white wine and most of France's beer. Ribeauvillé, Kientzheim and Mittelheim are just a few of the wine-growing communities in Alsace which hold annual wine festivals, complete with dancing, flowers and fountains flowing with wine. The common grape varieties grown in Alsace include Sylvaner, Riesling and Pinot Blanc. There is more to Alsatian cuisine than choucroute and sausages. Try baekeoffe, tarte flambée or roïgabragelti, which are all specialities of this Franco-Germanic region.
The region used to be a nesting place for migrating storks but over the years their numbers gradually declined; twenty years ago the stork population in Alsace had dwindled to near extinction. Then, in 1976 a rescue plan was set up in Hunawihr and now there are more than 150 storks who have made their home here.
Described by the writer Georges Duhamel as "the most beautiful city in the world", Colmar is certainly very picturesque with its half-timbered houses and window-boxes of flowers. From here you can follow the wine-route south through Pfaffenheim to Thann.
There is a remarkable car museum in Mulhouse: once the private collection of two brothers, Hans & Fritz Schlumpf, it is now both a museum housing Bugattis and Rolls-Royces and a hands-on exhibition of contemporary and future transport.
Strasbourg has a beautiful cathedral with a famous astronomical clock. Legend has it that the sculptures on the Angel Pillar of Strasbourg cathedral were not entirely man-made, such is their quality. The cathedral has been described as 'a pinky-red angel hovering over the city'. Also unmissable are the Château des Rohan and its 18th century treasures.