Alsace Wine Route and Black Forest: Autumn 2026 Road Trip

Marlenheim, Barr, Riquewihr, Eguisheim, Thann

According to Wikipedia (in French) and visit.alsace, the Wine Route runs for 170 km from Marlenheim in the north to Thann in the south. It passes through 67 villages out of the 119 wine-growing communes of Alsace and was inaugurated on 30 May 1953 by a rally with two convoys leaving from each end: it is the oldest wine route in France. Along the way you will meet 7 grape varieties, 51 grands crus and more than 300 estates.

On the ground, a straight line makes little sense. The experience works best in four stretches:

• North (Molsheim, Rosheim, Obernai, Barr): the Barr wine harvest festival on 2-4 October, plus independent cellars that see fewer visitors.
• Foothills (Andlau, Mittelbergheim, Dambach-la-Ville, Itterswiller): the quietest villages, including Mittelbergheim, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France and Sylvaner country.
• Tourist heart (Ribeauvillé, Hunawihr, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg): the prettiest and the busiest, best visited early and on a weekday.
• South (Colmar, Eguisheim, Guebwiller, Thann): Eguisheim and its new wine festival on 3 and 4 October.

A harvest three weeks early

The classic brief for an autumn trip to Alsace is « see the grape harvest ». In 2026, that no longer works. According to France 3 Grand Est (in French), picking began on 12 August, a record for earliness, and winemaker Xavier Muller sums it up: « It’s unheard of. Thirty years ago, we started at the end of September, beginning of October. » According to Vinabox’s review published on 28 September, the last plots are being picked around 1 October, and only the Riesling and Gewurztraminer destined for late-harvest and noble-rot wines stay on the vine until mid-October. Volume falls to 804,000 hl, 4.4% less than in 2025, with some Rieslings hit hard by the heatwave.

On the German side, it is the same story: the first grapes for Federweißer were picked on 10 August and, according to the Stadtanzeiger Ortenau (in German), around 100 million litres are expected in Baden. Holger Klein of the Badischer Weinbauverband describes a vintage that is « very early and promising in quality, but not a year of large quantities ».

The three logistical traps of 2026

1. Border controls

According to Sevenradio (in French), on 16 September 2026 Germany extended for six months the controls reinstated in September 2024, so until March 2027. They can cause queues of up to an hour on the Europe Bridge between Strasbourg and Kehl at commuter rush hours, and they also affect trams and trains. Carry your passport (most UK travellers have no national ID card), avoid 7am-9am and 4pm-6pm, and if you are coming from Colmar, go further south via Breisach. Entry conditions change, so check the Foreign Office advice for France and Germany before you go.

2. Crit’Air: yes in France, no in Germany

Strasbourg’s low-emission zone (ZFE) covers the 33 communes of the Eurométropole, 24 hours a day, and applies to foreign-registered vehicles too. According to Rue89 Strasbourg (in French), Crit’Air 4, 5 and unclassified vehicles have been banned there since 1 January 2025; Crit’Air 3 can still enter in 2026 but will be banned on 1 January 2027. The abolition of ZFEs, voted in April 2026, was struck down by the Constitutional Council on 21 May.

On the other side, according to the European Consumer Centre, Crit’Air is not recognised in any German environmental zone, and Freiburg scrapped its own on 2 May 2025. To our knowledge, there is none in Baden-Baden, Offenburg or Freudenstadt either. The subject only becomes real if you push on to Stuttgart, where the German green sticker (€10 to €20) is still compulsory.

3. Car, train or both

• No toll or vignette for a private car on German motorways, and you drive on the right on both sides of the Rhine.
• Filling up is no cheaper on the other side: at the end of September, petrol cost about 8 to 13 cents more in Germany than in France.
• The Baden-Württemberg-Ticket costs €27 for one person, then €9 for each additional person, valid from 9am on weekdays, starting from Kehl or Breisach.
• The KONUS guest card, given by accommodation in about 145 Black Forest localities, gives free regional buses and trains.
• If you hire in France, tell the rental company you are leaving the country (expect €15 to €60 in fees).

From the Kaiserstuhl vineyards to the B500 ridges

Kaiserstuhl and Freiburg

The KaiserHerbst runs from 10 October to 8 November with about a hundred events: walks, concerts, evenings on wine farms. The KaiserWii in Endingen (10 October, €25) brings together more than 70 winemakers. For smaller budgets, the Jechtingen-Amoltern co-operative offers a free tasting on Thursdays from 10am to noon until the end of October, and the Badischer Winzerkeller in Breisach a visit with tasting at €12 (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2pm), according to Badische Weinstraße.

In Freiburg, there is no wine festival in October (the Weinfest took place in July), but the city remains an excellent stop: the Schlossbergbahn costs €3.50 one way (€6 return), the Schauinslandbahn €12 one way (€15 return). Right by the Rhine, Europa-Park in Rust, about 40 minutes from Colmar, runs its Halloween season until 1 November, with tickets from €56, according to the park.

Ortenau and the Badische Weinstraße

Between Offenburg and Baden-Baden, festivals follow one another: the Erntedank- und Weinfest in Sasbachwalden (2-4 October, parade on Sunday at 2pm), the Weinwandertag in Bühlertal on 3 October, the Winzer-Kirwi in Kappelrodeck on 17 and 18 October, Herbst Beben in Durbach on 23 October. Another regional institution is the Straußwirtschaft: a broom hung on the door signals that a winemaker is opening their dining room to sell their own wine, with Zwiebelkuchen, Flammkuchen and, depending on the year, Federweißer. The tradition is said to go back to a decree of Charlemagne around the year 800.

Baden-Baden and the Schwarzwaldhochstraße

The Schwarzwaldhochstraße (B500, opened in 1930) links Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt over about 60 km (37 miles), an hour’s drive without stops. The stops worth the detour: the Geroldsau waterfalls, the Mummelsee (a 3.7-hectare glacial lake), the Hornisgrinde (1,164 m, with views as far as the Vosges on a clear day), Ruhestein with its national park centre, and the Schliffkopf (1,053 m) and its free Lotharpfad trail. A useful detail: the access road to the Hornisgrinde plateau is closed to cars, so you park at the Mummelsee (free car park) and then walk 30 to 45 minutes or take the shuttle at €3.20. In Baden-Baden, the Caracalla Therme starts at €21 for two hours.

• Do not confuse the Schwarzwaldhochstraße with the Route des Crêtes in the Vosges, on the French side. The latter closes in winter, usually in mid-November (17 November in 2025): the 2026 date is not yet known.
• No roadworks have been spotted on the B500 for autumn 2026, but sections have been closed for works in recent years: check traffic conditions before you set off.
• In the national park, you do not pick plants or mushrooms, you stay on the paths and dogs must be kept on a lead.

The same cooking on both sides of the Rhine

Flammekueche was born in the 18th century in the Kochersberg, north of Strasbourg, close to the border: bread-oven dough, cream, bacon, onions. Expect to pay €7.50 to €14.50 at members of the Confrérie du véritable flammekueche d’Alsace. In Germany, the autumn trio is Flammkuchen, Zwiebelkuchen and Federweißer.

New wine is called « Neier Siasser » in Alsatian: drawn from the vat after three or four days of fermentation, it is sparkling, cloudy, at 4-5% alcohol, and is drunk with walnuts, smoked bacon and country bread, according to ICI (France Bleu) (in French). Because the harvest was early, the very young product will be rarer and more advanced in October: ask the estate whether any is left. Harvest sausage, for its part, can be found from September to early November.

Federweißer does not travel. According to ZDF (in German), it is grape must still fermenting, to be carried upright with the cap loosened to let the gas out, and drunk within a few days: there is no point taking any home. For chestnut lovers, head to Oberbronn on 18 October.

Mushrooms: one rule per territory

In the state forests of the Vosges département, according to the chamber of agriculture (in French), the quota is 5 litres per person per day. The rules for the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin have not been checked: ask locally, and remember that in private woodland you need the owner’s permission. In Baden-Württemberg, allow about 1 kg a day for your own consumption, with no resale, and nothing at all in the national park. The dry summer complicates the season. And never eat a mushroom that a pharmacist or a mycological society has not identified. For foraging in general, see our guide to mushroom foraging in the Périgord.

Averages, not a forecast

According to ou-et-quand.net (in French), Strasbourg averages 12 °C in October (8 to 17 °C) and about 64 mm of rain; Colmar, sheltered by the Vosges, is one of the driest cities in France. In the Black Forest, Freudenstadt drops to an average of 7.8 °C with 81 mm, morning frosts are possible on the Hochstraße and fog is frequent at altitude.

In the Vosges, the foliage turns from 900 m in the first week of October, peaking in mid-October at altitude and more towards the end of October in the valley floors. But 2026 is a special year: after a scorching summer and marked water stress, sources such as the NZZ (in German) report a less colourful autumn, with early leaf fall. These are general observations, not a measurement of the Black Forest or the Vosges. The honest wording: the reds may be less blazing, and altitude (above 900 m) and the vineyards remain your best bets.

A loop from Strasbourg to Colmar, Freiburg, Baden-Baden and back

With three days, choose a single side: southern Alsace plus the Kaiserstuhl and Freiburg, or northern Alsace plus Baden-Baden and the B500. Without a car, the regional TER train links Strasbourg to Colmar, then German regional tickets take over at Kehl or Breisach. With children, think of Europa-Park Halloween, the Haut-Kœnigsbourg and the Triberg waterfalls (€9).

Indicative budget (prices noted at the end of September 2026, to be checked before booking)

The two limits to accept

The crowds. Colmar welcomes about 3.5 million tourists a year and, according to France 3 (in French), Riquewihr sees 1.5 million visitors pass through for a village of about 1,700 inhabitants. October is less saturated than July or December, but festival weekends stay busy: prefer Tuesday to Thursday for Riquewihr and Colmar, do not park on delivery spaces and respect the quiet streets. To widen your playground, see our European alternatives to avoid the crowds.

The wheel. A tasting road trip and the road do not mix: name a driver who does not taste, spit rather than swallow, sleep on site or favour cellars reachable on foot, by bike (Véloroute du vignoble) or on a guided excursion. And do not sell this trip as eco-friendly: it is a trip by car, unless you combine train, bike and a hire car on the spot.