Posted date: January 25, 2022
Kaysersberg is one of the most picturesque towns in France. Set in the Weiss valley, this small town is surrounded by endless vineyards and hills. With its cobblestone streets, colorful houses, and beautiful surroundings, Kaysersberg feels like a real-life fairytale.
We visited Kaysersberg on a 4-day trip through the Alsace region in France. Strasbourg was our home base for a few days while we explored small towns nearby.
On a day trip to Colmar, we had a couple of hours to spare in the evening and decided to visit Kaysersberg after seeing a few photos of it.
Kaysersberg ended up being our favorite town we visited on our trip.
Since Kaysersberg is small, there aren’t a lot of the usual tourist attractions here. We spent the evening strolling through the quaint streets and walking through the vineyards. It’s a lovely place to take it slow after a hectic day of sightseeing.
Best things to do in Kaysersberg, France
Here are the best things to do in Kaysersberg, France, including few tips on when to visit and how much time to spend there.
How much time should you spend in Kaysersberg?
A few hours in the morning or afternoon is plenty of time to see Kaysersberg. It makes for a great half-day trip. The main attraction in Kaysersberg is the town itself!
We arrived at 5:30pm and left at 8:30pm on an early September evening. We had enough time to wander through the streets, admire the German-inspired buildings, and to walk up to the Kaysersberg castle.
You can easily fit in a visit to Kaysersberg on a day trip to Colmar.
If you want to spend more time in Kaysersberg, then you can look into the many hiking trails in the area. There are several hikes in the hills surrounding the Kaysersberg and a few hikes to/from the neighboring towns.
Best time of year to visit Kaysersberg
The time of year you visit Kaysersberg depends on what you want to do. We visited in early September when the vineyards were at their peak and the grapes were ready to be picked.
The valley was covered in green and the town was in bloom with flowers everywhere we looked. I would highly recommend visiting during this time of the year – it was beautiful.
Kaysersberg is on the Alsace Wine Route, so if you are interested in doing wine tastings or experiencing the grape harvest, then late summer/early fall might be the right time for you.
I’ve also heard that Kaysersberg has a spectacular Christmas market on the weekends from the end of November until Christmas. The town goes all out and decorates the buildings with garland and ornaments. It looks like a Christmas storybook that has come to life.
Visiting Kaysersberg Castle
Constructed in the 1200s, the Kaysersberg Castle sits atop a hill overlooking Kaysersberg. The only part that is left of the castle is the outer structure, so there isn’t much to see inside the castle itself.
The best part is taking a 100-step spiral staircase to the top of the tower for an incredible panoramic view of Kaysersberg and the Weiss valley.
To get to Kaysersberg Castle, you can follow one of two paths leading from the town. The first one is a more scenic route through the vineyards and is about a 15-minute walk from Kaysersberg to the castle. You can follow the path from Rue du Tir.
The second option is a more direct route using stairs to reach the top. This path takes about 10-minutes. You’ll follow the path from Rue des Forgerons.
If you search for Kaysersberg Castle on Google Maps and select the walking option, you will see these two routes show up.
We opted to take the more scenic route through the vineyards and ended up spending over an hour walking to the castle and enjoying the views.
For the best lighting, I would recommend visiting Kaysersberg Castle at sunset. We were lucky to enjoy a lovely pink-lit sky and a spectacular sunset from the top of the castle tower.
How to get to Kaysersberg
From Strasbourg
By car: 1 hour, 78 km
By public transportation: Take the train from Strasbourg to Colmar (30 minutes) and then catch bus line 145 at the Colmar train station to Kaysersberg (20-30 minutes).
From Colmar
By car: 20-30 minutes, 13 km
By public transportation: Take bus line 145 from the Colmar train station to Kaysersberg. The journey is around 20-30 minutes.
Make sure to coordinate the bus times with your train to/from Strasbourg if you plan on taking public transportation. The bus does not run as often as the train.
You can check the bus schedule here. You need to take line 14B towards Lapoutroie/ Le Bonhomme / Freland to get to Kaysersberg. And line 145A towards Colmar to go back.
If you are driving, there is a parking lot just outside of the city. You can find it on Google Maps. Do not drive into the city – you need to park in one of the designated parking areas.
To make the most out of your day, I would highly recommend renting a car. You will be able to spend more time seeing things rather than sitting on a bus or train.
Our overall experience
Overall, we absolutely loved our few hours in Kaysersberg and would go back in a heartbeat! We drove from Strasbourg to Colmar and then to Kaysersberg in one day and we feel like we had plenty of time to see everything in both towns.
If we were to do it again, we would probably spend a night in Colmar or Kaysersberg and spend the next day cycling through the vineyards. The nature surrounding these towns is so beautiful that we would like to spend more time amongst the green vineyards.
Pin for later
