Trip ideas · Champagne, Alsace and the Vosges ridge road in the autumn holidays

Champagne, Alsace and the Vosges ridge road in the autumn holidays: a One-Week Road Trip From the Low Countries or Paris

Checked 14 October 2026 against each tourism board's, city's and operator's own page · skynomad

Day by day

Most hours at the wheel in a day No limit3 hours4 hours5 hours6 hours

Kilometres and hours are motorway estimates between the cities named, without stops or traffic. Where you sleep in a smaller place nearby, the real place and its distance are given.

1. Day 1

   Utrecht → Reims 419 km · about 4 h 45 driving

   The cathedral and the Champagne houses; a day out to the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay. Source

   

2. Day 2

   A day out from Reims No long drive

3. Day 3

   Reims → Mulhouse 453 km · about 4 h 45 driving

   Colmar's old town and the wine villages, a day on the Route des Crêtes over the Vosges, and a day at Europa-Park or the parks round Kintzheim. Source The place itself: Colmar, about 45 km (approx).

   

4. Day 4

   A day for Colmar No long drive

5. Day 5

   A day for Colmar No long drive

6. Day 6

   Mulhouse → Strasbourg 120 km · about 1 h 25 driving, plus the way back from Colmar

   The cathedral and Petite France; park at a P+R and take the tram in. Source

   

7. Day 7

   Strasbourg → Luxembourg 233 km · about 2 h 35 driving

   A last night in Luxembourg City before the drive home through Belgium. Source

8. Day 8

   Luxembourg → Utrecht 334 km · about 3 h 50 driving

Why go in October

• Dutch autumn school holiday (herfstvakantie), regions Midden and Zuid: 17–25 October 2026 (Noord: 10–18 October); recommended dates, schools may differ. Source
• Halloween at Europa-Park, open every day: 26 September – 1 November 2026, from 09:00 until at least 18:00. Source
• Halloween at the Parc du Petit Prince, Ungersheim, with evenings to 22:00 on 24, 30 and 31 October: 17 October – 1 November 2026. Source
• La Montagne des Singes, Kintzheim: Barbary macaques in a forest park, open every day: 21 March – 1 November 2026, 10:00–17:00 in October. Source
• The Route des Crêtes over the Vosges, open until its winter closure: Open in October; the 2026 closure date is not published (27 November in 2023, 28 November in 2022). Source

What to watch for

• French Toussaint school holiday in every zone: busy parks and roads (17 October – 2 November 2026). Source
• Reims ZFE-m: the city centre and the A344 (voie Taittinger) through Reims; Crit'Air 4 and 5 banned, and a Crit'Air sticker on the windscreen, foreign plates included (all year). Source
• Strasbourg ZFE-m: the whole Eurométropole, 24 hours a day; only the through roads (the A4 and A35 north of Vendenheim, the M35 as far as the Geispolsheim junction, the M353) stay outside, so driving into the city needs a Crit'Air sticker (all year). Source
• Winter tyres or chains on the Vosges mountain roads from 1 November (Loi Montagne) (1 November – 31 March). Source

What the week costs to drive

Not included: hotels, food and parking. For your own car and exact days, use the trip cost calculator.

Parking at the stops: what parking costs in Reims, Strasbourg and Luxembourg, the zone rules and a calendar file, on our sister site ParkingInEurope.

The rules on this route

Driving in the Netherlands · Driving in Belgium · Driving in France · Driving in Germany

Use this route in my plan to get every vignette, zone, kit rule and deadline for these countries in one checklist, with dates. The speed limits and sign words pages can then show only these countries.