A picturesque walk: Eguisheim

Ah, the beautiful Alsace, mostly notable for the wine, but there’s also a tiny pearl for the lovers of history, picturesque architecture and all of those with a romantic soul.

There lies a little village, which goes by the name of Eguisheim. We stopped there on our way to the World Sommelier Championship thanks to a hint by my friend Francois. Naturally, we had to visit some winemakers and do the mandatory tasting, but a morning walk turned into a discovery of a unique historic and colourful palette.

Eguisheim was voted “Village préféré des Français” (Favorite French Village) in 2013, no wonder! Marked by medieval concentric and narrow streets, half timbered houses and lovingly coloured facades it makes you feel you’re walking through one of the fairy-tales your parents used to read you before a “Good-nite sleep”.

A look at the history shows that it formed under the castle that was build by the Dukes d’Alsace in the middle ages. You can still see its remains while approaching the village through many of the vineyards surrounding it. And it is the alleged birthplace of Pope Leo IX in 1002 whose birth name was Bruno of Egisheim-Dagsburg.

Eguisheim is the perfect stop for all wine lovers as it hosts cellars of some notable winemakers and is also crossed by the Alsace Wine route. So if you plan a visit to Alsace go there, you won’t regret it.