GETTING TO AND AROUND ALSACE
You plan to come and visit to visit Alsace ? It’s a great idea! Alsace has three main cities: Strasbourg, Colmar and Mulhouse. Here’s some practical information to help you organize your travels in the region.
Coming to Alsace by car/motorbike
Here is an indicative table of travel times by car or motorcycle to come to Alsace from the most important cities in France.
| Â | Strasbourg | Colmar | Mulhouse |
| Bordeaux | 9h15 | 8h30 | 8h15 |
| Clermont-Ferrand | 6h | 5h30 | 5h |
| Lille | 5h15 | 6h | 6h30 |
| Lyon | 4h45 | 4h | 3h45 |
| Marseille | 7h30 | 6h45 | 6h30 |
| Nancy | 2h | 2h | 2h45 |
| Nantes | 8h | 8h30 | 8h15 |
| Paris | 4h45 | 5h30 | 5h15 |
| Reims | 3h15 | 4h | 4h45 |
| Rennes | 7h45 | 8h15 | 7h45 |
And from the big cities of the neighboring countries.
| Â | Strasbourg | Colmar | Mulhouse |
| Brussels | 4h30 | 5h | 5h45 |
| Freiburg im Breisgau | 1h15 | 1h | 1h |
| Geneva | 4h | 3h30 | 3h45 |
| Innsbruck | 5h | 5h | 4h45 |
| Luxembourg | 2h15 | 3h | 3h30 |
| Stuttgart | 1h45 | 2h30 | 2h45 |
| Zürich | 2h30 | 1h45 | 1h30 |
Flying to Alsace
Alsace has two international airports.
Euroairport (Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport)
The Euroairport is the Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg airport (Euroairport). It is located in the south of Alsace, on the border with Switzerland and Germany (department of Haut-Rhin).
In addition to many regular airlines, the Euroairport welcomes low cost airlines such as Easyjet, Vueling and Ryanair. A good way to come to Alsace easily and at low cost! Here you will find a list of cities with direct flights to the Euroairport.
Getting to and from the Euroairport
Public transport
A shuttle bus runs between the Euroairport and the Saint-Louis train station (2€50, 12 minutes). You can find the schedule here. From the station, there are direct trains to Mulhouse (about 6€, 15 minutes), Colmar (about 13€, 35 minutes) and Strasbourg (about 23€, 1h10). You can find the train schedules here.
There are also private shuttles linking the Euroairport to Strasbourg, which can be taken with several people or privatized: Strasbourg Navette (from 29€) and Alsace Navette Aéroport (from 38€).
Cab
You will find a list of cabs on the Euroairport website.
Car rental
Many car rental companies are present at the Basel-Mulhouse airport. Book your car by comparing prices on Discover Cars.
Strasbourg-Entzheim Airport
Strasbourg Entzheim Airport is significantly smaller than Basel-Mulhouse. It is located in Strasbourg in the north of Alsace (Bas-Rhin department). In addition to the regular airlines, Strasbourg airport welcomes low cost airlines such as Easyjet, Volotea and Ryanair. Another good solution to come to Alsace at a low cost! Here you can find the map of the cities connected to Strasbourg by direct flights.
To and from Entzheim
Public transport
The Entzheim Airport train station can be reached in 5 minutes on foot from the terminal. There is a shuttle bus that connects the airport to Strasbourg in about 10 minutes. You can find the schedule of this shuttle here.
Cab
Here are some numbers of cab companies in Strasbourg: Taxi Pro 67: 03 88 200 800, Taxis 13: 03 88 36 13 13, Taxi Strass: 03 88 27 13 13
Car rental
Many car rental companies are present at Strasbourg airport. Book your car by comparing prices with Discover Cars.
Getting to Alsace by train
To book a train ticket, visit the SNCF Connect website. Here’s an indicative table of train journey times to Alsace from France’s main cities. The travel times indicated here correspond to the fastest route.
| Â | Strasbourg | Colmar | Mulhouse |
| Bordeaux | 6:36 am (live) | 7:22 am (1 change) | 7:35 am (1 change) |
| Clermont-Ferrand | 6:50 am (1 change) | 6h22 (1 change) | 5:35 (1 change) |
| Lille | 3h40 (1 change) | 4h33 (1 change) | 4h50 (1 change) |
| Lyon | 3h16 (live) | 3h15 (live) | 2h48 (live) |
| Marseille | 5:34 am (live) | 5:06 am (live) | 4h42 (live) |
| Nancy | 1h24 (live) | 2h06 (live) | 2h29 (live) |
| Nantes | 5h42 (1 change) | 6h21 (2 changes) | 6:01 am (1 change) |
| Paris | 2h17 (live) | 2h55 (live) | 2h40 (live) |
| Paris – Charles de Gaulle Airport | 2h27 (live) | 3h14 (1 change) | 3h35 (1 change) |
| Reims | 1h52 (direct from Champagne-Ardennes TGV station) | 2h34 (1 change) | 2h55 (1 change) |
| Rennes | 5h37 (1 change) | 6h11 (1 change) | 5:59 (1 change) |
And from the big cities of the neighboring countries.
| Â | Strasbourg | Colmar | Mulhouse |
| Brussels | 4h05 (1 change) | 5h10 (1 change) | 4h51 (1 change) |
| Freiburg im Breisgau | 1h07 (1 change) | 2h (1 change) | 1h38 (1 change) |
| Geneva | 4h20 (1 change) | 3h47 (1 change) | 3h08 (2 changes) |
| Innsbruck | 6:25 am (2 changes) | 5:51 (2 changes) | 5:09 am (1 change) |
| Luxembourg | 2h (direct) | 2h51 (live) | 3h07 (live) |
| Stuttgart | 1h16 (live) | 1h56 (1 change) | 2h49 (1 change) |
| Zürich | 2h29 (1 change) | 1h57 (1 change) | 1h19 (live) |
Getting around Alsace by train
We are lucky, the SNCF network is important in Alsace(see here the map of the TER Grand Est network) and we can easily travel by train. You can book your tickets online on the TER Grand Est website. As an indication, here are some travel times by train.
- Strasbourg – Haguenau: 35 min(direct)
- Strasbourg – Colmar: 30 min(direct)
- Strasbourg – Mulhouse: 50 min(direct)
- Strasbourg – Saint-Louis: 1h10(direct)
- Colmar – Haguenau: 1h30(1 change)
- Colmar – Mulhouse: 20 min(direct)
- Colmar – Saint-Louis: 35 min(direct)
- Mulhouse – Haguenau: 1h55(1 change)
- Mulhouse – Saint-Louis: 15 min(direct)
- Haguenau – Saint-Louis: 2h10(1 change)
Looking for ideas on what to do by train? Here is the program for a first weekend in Alsace without a car as well as some ideas for visits and activities to visit Alsace without a car.
Day tickets
There are a lot of tickets available for low fares. It’s up to you to choose according to the number of people and your movements.
Alsa Plus 24h Solo (1 person)
The Alsa Plus 24h Solo ticket is valid every day for 24 hours after validation and gives unlimited access to the Alsatian TER trains and buses as well as to the urban transport of Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Colmar, Sélestat, Haguenau, Saint-Louis and Obernai.
Alsa Plus Group Day (from 2 to 5 people)
The Alsa + Group Day ticket is valid on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday until midnight on the day of validation and gives unlimited access to Alsace TER trains and buses as well as to urban transport in Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Colmar, Sélestat, Haguenau, Saint-Louis and Obernai, for 2 to 5 people. The one covering all of Alsace costs 39,10€.
Cross-border tickets
If you want to take advantage of your stay in Alsace to visit our German and Swiss neighbors, you should know that there are many cross-border ticket offers at low prices:
- Tri-regio packages for the Basel area
- Europass packages, for the Strasbourg and Kehl-Offenbourg region
- Dual tickets, to go from Mulhouse to Freiburg or Mülheim
- Pass Alsace – Rheineckar, to go from Alsace to the German region Rhine-Neckar
- Saarland ticket, to reach the Saarland from the Lower Rhine
Fluo Card
If you live in the Grand Est region, it may be a good idea to buy the Fluo discount card, which gives you a 50% discount on TER Fluo tickets (trains and buses) every day, throughout the Grand Est region.
As a bonus, this discount applies to the person of your choice on weekends and holidays.
It costs only 20€ or even 1€ for those under 26 years old!
Getting around Alsace by bus
In addition to trains, there are many bus lines, coaches, etc. The easiest way to organize your trip is to visit the Fluo website, which integrates all public transportation and allows you to easily calculate your route.
Getting around Alsace by car
The A35 freeway crosses Alsace from north to south, passing through Lauterbourg, Strasbourg, Obernai, Sélestat, Colmar, Mulhouse and Saint-Louis (located on the border with the city of Basel in Switzerland). Good news: the highway is free in Alsace! It takes about 2 hours from Lauterbourg to Saint-Louis, i.e. to cross the whole Alsace.
If you need to rent a car, don’t hesitate to compare prices with Discover Cars.
As an indication, here are some travel times by car.
- Strasbourg – Colmar: 1h
- Strasbourg – Mulhouse: 1h25
- Strasbourg – Saint-Louis: 1h30
- Strasbourg – Lauterbourg: 45 minutes
- Colmar – Mulhouse: 45 minutes
- Colmar – Saint-Louis: 45 minutes
- Colmar – Lauterbourg: 1h30
- Mulhouse – Saint-Louis: 30 minutes
- Mulhouse – Lauterbourg: 1h50
- Lauterbourg – Saint-Louis: 2h
Apart from the main roads, Alsace has some very nice roads that are pleasant to drive on, taking the time to admire the landscapes and to stop in the villages, such as the Route des Vins or the Route des Crêtes.
Getting around Alsace by bike
With 2,500km of cycle routes and greenways, Alsace is an attractive region for cyclists. For more information, I invite you to visit the cycling section of the blog (with lots of tested itineraries!) and the website L’Alsace à vélo.
Good news: it is possible to transport your bike for free on trains in Alsace (except TGV), except on some trains during rush hours. More info here.