Depending on hiking or cycling, you will see nature, the forest and the vineyards reborn. The first leaves are waiting for the signal of the flowering almond trees. There are some almond trees on the heights of Riquewihr. They are plenty more 2 kilometers away, on the Mandelberg hill (mander hill), between Beblenheim and Mittelwihr. Their beautiful pink bloom marks the end of winter.

With climate change, it becomes difficult to make predictions. Wouldn’t it be reasonable to stop subjecting our mood and joy of life to the weather? 😇

Alsace is beautiful in all seasons. Whatever the time of year, the region has treasures to deliver. Everything will depend on the traveler’s interests and constraints. Some will be disturbed if the sun is not shining. Others will be distrained if it rains. It must not be too cold. Not too hot…

It is true, however, that spring in Alsace is generally a very pleasant season, with rather mild temperatures.

Enjoy the spring of 2025 with a stay in one of our charming cottages at the Rumparts de Riquewihr or in the garden village of La Vancelle!

👉 www.i-love-riquewihr.com

In spring, the young foliage dresses the forest and the mountain with 50 shades of soft green…

More than ever, it’s time to go back on the trails for beautiful hikes. Riquewihr is in the heart of a beautiful vineyard with many trails. The mountain is also very close.

👉 25 kilometers north of Riquewihr, on a sunny slope of the Alsatian Vosges, the small garden village of La Vancelle, with our cottage of the “Mountain Hiker”, enjoys a very exceptional location.

Whatever your preference, just walk out of one of our vacation rentals and take a few steps to enjoy a beautiful environment.

At the Eagle’s Park (Volerie des Aigles), the raptors do the show and it is a breathtaking one for young and old.

More than 50 years ago, the venerable ruin of Kintzheim Castle on the slopes of Haut-Koenigsbourg became the sumptuous theater of the Volerie des Aigles and its feathered boarders. Ladies and gentlemen, what we offer you here is a ballet. An artistic aerial ballet during which the winged stars – these same majestic raptors that you will have approached upon your arrival – will embark on breathtaking high acrobatic numbers under the guidance of their falconers.

There is no other word than “exceptional”!

👉 The Volerie des Aigles opens this year from March 26, 2025 and until November 11, 2025. 
See the location of the Volerie des Aigles on Google Maps – Tel. +33388928433 – www.voleriedesaigles.com

At the Monkey Mountain in Kintzheim, you will approach 200 macaques!

The Monkey Mountain (Montagne des Singes in French) is an animal park located in the municipality of Kintzheim a few kilometers from the castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg and very close to the Eagle’s Park (Volerie des Aigles). Here there is no cage, it is you who walk in a 24-hectare forest where you will be nose-to-nose with the monkeys!

The Monkey Mountain welcomes you this year from March 29, 2025.

👉 See the location of the Montagne des Singes on Google Maps
Tel +33388921109 – www.montagnedessinges.com

A few minutes from our Riquewihr cottages, you will find a tropical greenhouse, the Jardin des Papillons. The Butterfly Garden (Jardin des Papillons) in Hunawihr presents you a fascinating collection of exotic butterflies, living freely among lush flora. We walk in the middle of hundreds of butterflies from all over the planet and thus discover the hidden life of these jewels of nature.

The Butterfly Garden in Hunawihr comes out of winter and welcomes you from April 1, 2025

👉 Location of the “Jardin des Papillons” on Google Maps – Tel +33389733333 – www.jardindespapillons.fr

Here and there on the wine route, villages celebrate this rebirth to a new life by organizing the first wine festivals of the year.

In Dambach-la-Ville, the Brotherhood of the Blessed Frankstein (Confrérie des Bienheureux du Frankstein) organizes the traditional “Granite Stones & Wines” festival every spring. Wine traditions and folklore are at the rendezvous. Amateurs come from far away for the occasion.

👉 This year, “Pierres & Vins de Granit” is April 27, 2025 (the Sunday after Easter).

In Mittelbergheim, another wine village near Andlau, the winegrowers are organizing an event that they have baptized ” Hinter’m Kallerladen”, which literally means “behind the cellar skyline”. It is an “open cellars” festival where you can make beautiful discoveries.

👉 This year, the Kallerladen will take place on Sunday, April 06, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

It is organized by the “Syndicat viticole” of the village of Mittelbergheim. Contact +336 86 65 24 62 fred@vinhansmann.com

Apart from a few insiders, tourists do not know much about these events. It is mostly Alsatians who benefit from it.

Traditionally, the Ascension weekend – this year May 29, 2025 – is also conducive to “Open Doors” days among winegrowers.

All over Alsace, the Pentecost weekend (June 7, 8, 9, 2025) has been the time, for several years, for the “picnic at the winemaker”. The winemakers who participate in the operation welcome visitors who come each with their packed lunch. The winemakers offer their wines. Some even put barbecues in place. Attention, the event is very popular. It is absolutely necessary to book.

👉 During March 2025 you should find the list of participating winemakers on the website of the Vignerons Indépendants d’Alsace.

👉 See also the small file I created for all wine lovers: Riquewihr & its Alsace wines, pearl of the wine route. Small guide to discover the great wines. Good addresses of winemakers and other treasures to discover.

Since the Middle Ages, peasants and their herds have shaped mountain landscapes. It was they who cleared the forests that covered the Vosges ridges to create the high-altitude pastures that we call “chaumes” here.

The farmer in the Vosges massif who raises dairy cows is traditionally called “marcaire”. Its name comes from the Alsatian “malker”, which means “the one who milks cows”. The marcaire transforms cow’s milk into munster cheese.

In winter, the “marcaire” works in his farm in the valley with his animals that stay warm in the stable. But as soon as the sunny days return, he goes up with his flock to the thatch. Cows love this fragrant altitude grass and the summer munster is even better!

The marcaires spend the whole summer at the marcairie, a small high-altitude farm. Today, these farmers continue to make a magnificent munster cheese (which benefits from the appelation “munster fermier” meaning the cheese is made in the farm, not in an industrial dairy) but, in addition, they have become innkeepers because the marcairies have become farm-inns. Most of the marcaires welcome hikers and visitors around their succulent local specialties! Charcuterie, dairy specialties and smoked meats are among the most traditional dishes.

The marcaire menu, available all over the farm-inns of the Vosges mountains, allows you to enjoy these delicious farm products.

👉 Official website with the list of 56 farm-inns in the Vosges mountains.

Bring a detailed map with the marked trails. It is best to have the IGN (French National Geographic Institute) maps on your smartphone (well charged). This will allow you to geolocate yourself. Don’t joke with your security. Of course, the Vosges mountains are not the Alps but every week the Hohrod Gendarmerie Platoon (specialized in mountain rescue) must go to rescue reckless or lost walkers.

Inform your loved ones of your itinerary before leaving. In case of a problem, have the “112” reflex: it allows you to reach help free of charge, 24 hours a day, even from any mobile phone.

👉  Practical tips and advice for hikers.

👉  Whympr is the app that brings together all the essential information for hiking enthusiasts to prepare their outings thanks in particular to fabulous detailed maps.

Every year, in mid-June, Riquewihr pays tribute to one of the most emblematic dishes of Alsace and the Rhine universe: Knepfel (can be translated as “quenelle”). We have known the Knepfle since the Middle Ages. The recipe variations are endless and every year, chefs create new ones! This is an opportunity to be gourmet during this memorable weekend of June 14 and 15, 2025.

The festival takes place in the square in front of the town hall where a dozen tents house as many cooks and winemakers. There is also a cook show during which renowned chefs from the region compete amicably. This is who will produce the most original knepfel recipe. The jury will decide.

During the two days of the event (June 14 & 15, 2025), visitors will be able to stroll from stand to stand, to discover duos of chefs and winemakers who offer knepflas & Alsace wines pairings.

👉 For your accommodation, stay in Riquewihr! Our charming holiday apartments, arranged in historic buildings on the ramparts, offer you a central position to taste the Knepfelfacht dishes but also visit all of Alsace, the Vosges and even nearby Germany.

The book of the monk Bernardin Buchinger is 297 pages long! Very dense, it looks more like a reminder than a very precise description of recipes. But a real cook should be able to reconstruct the recipes… Here are some that concern the Knepfle. It is translated from Old German. The numbers are those of the original edition (1671). You will see that delicate spices and flavors are very present.

While waiting to be able to implement these very old recipes that are part of the Rhenish culinary heritage yourself, come and taste the Knepfle recipes that are offered to you in Riquewihr at Knepfelfacht!

571. Hard-boiled eggs chopped and mixed with other raw eggs, a little flour, ginger, pepper and salt to make dumplings. Then baked or boiled and placed in a pea broth. Seasoned with fresh butter, ginger, pepper or yellow spices (cumin).

572. You can also add chopped parsley and other tasty herbs, salt, mace, cumin or saffron, as well as crushed almonds and raisins. Or chopped apples or pears roasted in lard. You can serve these meatballs cooked in a yellow pea broth or in a sweet cinnamon broth.

573. Or you can put milk and other things on these dumplings and serve them as stuffed eggs and broth.

574. Or you can mix eggs and young chard or chopped spinach, some breadcrumbs, salt, finely chopped sage, mint, marjoram, parsley, ginger, pepper, boil in a pea broth and let dry, pour over the lard and sprinkle with yellow spices.

575. Or you can beat eggs, mix them with pure crushed bread, milk cream, salt, marjoram, ginger, pepper, yellow spices and also mash, and a good amount of flour, make balls and boil them in pea broth or cook them in hot lard; you can add peeled and crushed almonds, raisins or raisins.

576. You can add boiled fish or stockfish, all chopped, and once boiled, add them to a yellow pea broth and season with saffron if you wish.

577. You can also mix together a good portion of finely chopped chard or spinach, sliced green onion or chives, toasted and diced bread (croutons), a little flour, milk, cream, eggs, salt, ginger, pepper and raisins. Make dumplings and boil them as usual.

578. The knöpflin is also made from chopped white cabbage or cabbage, previously blanched in boiling water, seasoned with eggs, good flour, salt, tasty herbs, green onions, ginger, pepper.