10 Things to Do in Riquewihr, the Walled Alsace Wine Village

Riquewihr at a glance

Riquewihr is where most village days stop for lunch, and each Alsace Wine tour gives it a different length of time. Here is how long you get inside the walls, and who pours.

1. Climb the Dolder

The Dolder closes the top of the main street. It went up in 1291 and stands 25 m tall, and its museum fills four floors with how the town held off attackers and fire. At the top you look over the roofs to the Alsace plain.

Entry is €3. In 2026 the museum opens from 3 April to 31 October, 10:30am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm, at weekends and on public holidays, and every day from 4 July to 30 August.

2. See the Thieves' Tower and the winegrower's house

The Tour des Voleurs, at 14 rue des Juifs, is the most imposing of the town's defensive towers. Its rooms cover how justice worked under the Counts and Dukes of Württemberg, and the €5 ticket also takes you into a historic winegrower's house next door. It opens every day of the same season, at the same hours. A combined ticket for both towers is €7, and accompanied children under 15 go free.

3. Walk the walls and the half-timbered streets

The houses here date from the 13th to the 18th century, and the town walls around them are intact. Look for the Schickhardt house, the Maison du Gourmet and the castle of the Counts of Württemberg. The whole village takes about an hour at a steady pace, which leaves time for a cellar. For Eguisheim, Kaysersberg and the rest, see things to do on the Alsace Wine Route, village by village.

4. Taste at Hugel, founded in 1639

Hugel is a family house, making wine here since 1639. Its cellar door at 3 and 1 rue de la 1ère Armée opens every day, 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 6pm. Tasting is free, for individuals and for groups. Guided visits of the estate are by appointment.

The house is known for its late-harvest wines, Vendanges Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles, the sweet end of what Alsace makes, so ask to finish on one of them.

5. Try Crémant d'Alsace at Dopff au Moulin

Dopff au Moulin has lived by wine since 1574. In 1900 Julien Dopff watched the champagne method demonstrated at the Paris Universal Exhibition and brought it home. The Crémant d'Alsace appellation followed in 1976, under Pierre Dopff. The tasting room in the centre opens every day, 11am to 7pm, and cellar visits at the estate are by appointment.

6. Walk up into the Schoenenbourg grand cru

The Schoenenbourg rises straight behind the roofs, 53.40 ha between 265 and 380 m, facing south and south-east. It is planted for Pinot Gris, Riesling and Muscat. The Géovino wine trail runs 35 km on foot or by mountain bike through the 11 villages of the vineyard, with panels on the work in the rows. Its sections take 1 to 2 hours each, so one of them fits an afternoon. How the Alsace grand crus work explains what the words on the label mean.

7. Find the Sporen, the second grand cru

The Sporen is the village's other grand cru: 23.70 ha at 275 m, facing south-east in a natural bowl of clay and marl. It is planted for Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer, so the two crus between them cover all four of the grand cru grapes.

8. Take the guided walk from the Dolder

Les Chants de Lisel runs a walk of about 2 hours from the Musée du Dolder, in German, French or English. It is rated 4.7 from 27 reviews. The tasting at the end is an option you choose when you book: wine made in the village by one family for five generations. You make your own way to the start, so allow time to park. The other Alsace wine walking tours cover Colmar and the vines near it.

9. Come for the Christmas market

The Riquewihr Christmas market runs from 27 November to 20 December 2026, on the Esplanade des remparts and the squares of the old centre. For the rest of the year, see when to visit the Alsace Wine Route.

10. See it on a day of villages

Riquewihr is the stop the village days build lunch around, and the table above gives each one's time here. Two are worth a closer look from Colmar:

• The half day from Colmar: 45 minutes at Hunawihr, an hour here, then six wines at a cellar, all in the $113 fare.
• The 4 Wonders day from Colmar: Eguisheim, Kaysersberg and Ribeauvillé, then Riquewihr last. The wine at the cave is bought on the spot.

The Colmar and castle day from Strasbourg and the open-top bus pour nothing. Before you book a day for the glass, check which Alsace wine days include the tasting. The Alsace wine tours from Colmar and the Alsace wine tours from Strasbourg each have their own page, and One Day on the Alsace Wine Route lays out the whole day around this stop.

Getting to Riquewihr without a tour

The open-top bus stops at Riquewihr post office, just outside the walls. In 2026 it runs from 3 April to 11 October: Friday to Sunday and public holidays in April, May, June and October, and more days from July to September. The day ticket is valid from 8:30am to 7pm.

By car, Parking du Vignoble opens every day from 9am to 7pm. An hour costs €4, four hours €7 and seven hours €9. If you are tasting, somebody else drives, and the guide to doing the Alsace Wine Route without a tour sets out the other ways round. The Alsace Wine Route map shows every stop.

Questions about Riquewihr

Days that give you time in Riquewihr

The true heart of Alsace in Riquewihr with optional wine tasting

Two hours walking Riquewihr with a local guide, as long or as short as you ask. The wine tasting is an optional extra here, not part of the price.

From $36 per person

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From Colmar: Castle, Alsace Villages & Wine Tasting

A long day from Colmar with the castle ticket in the fare, three villages, the Sigolsheim necropolis and an hour at a winery. A French-speaking driver, with audio in twelve languages.

From $160 per person

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Medieval Villages and Wine Tasting from Strasbourg

A long day by minibus from the Place de l'Étoile coach station, with real time on the ground in Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg and Eguisheim, and a tasting in the fare.

From $146 per person

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