We spent a few days in downtown Riquewihr, France and I was already planning our next visit before we were gone. It is the cutest little town in eastern France and is dubbed the Beauty and the Beast town, since it’s one of the inspirations for the Disney movie. Once we arrived, we could see why, it’s such a quaint and picturesque little town.
Here are the highlights from our trip to downtown Riquewihr, France and the restaurants and shops we recommend…
Have you ever seen a girl so happy to have crêpes? This was on the second morning, when she already knew how delicious they were.
BREAKFAST:
Au Vieux Riquewihr - Every morning we were in Riquewihr, we ate breakfast at Au Vieux Riquewihr. Iris loved the crêpes (I did too), and we all loved their eggs and french style hash browns.
LUNCH & DINNER:
La Taverne Alsacienne - We went here for an early dinner one evening and got a couple Tartes Flambées (Flammkuchen as it’s called here in Germany) and they were a nice, lighter dinner before we shopped some more. It doesn’t have the cozy ambiance that a lot of other restaurants here had, but it also had very friendly service.
Cafe Restaurant Au Dolder - This is a nicer, more cozy restaurant, but we felt comfortable bringing Iris here. It should be noted that she’s very well behaved and sits pretty quietly at restaurants. If you’re looking for something with a nice atmosphere, we really enjoyed this spot. The wine was delicious (and local), the French onion soup was the best we’ve had, but I will say the rest of our food we probably could of had better for cheaper down the road.
One of the best meals we had was the cheapest…isn’t that how it always goes? It was a lady at the end of the main street serving a gumbo type of food out of a huge pot. She also had a delicious mulled wine that you could take to-go. I’m not sure if she’s only out there during the Christmas season, as that’s when we went, but definitely a must if you go that time of year. Plus, she was filling everyone’s cup to the very tip-top with this scalding hot dark red wine and it was fun to watch everyone get their drink and do the dance to not get stained with hot red wine.
DESSERT & SNACKS:
Au Petit Délice - One afternoon while Dave and Iris napped in the hotel, I stopped at the window of Au Petit Délice and grabbed a sugar pretzel to go. It was such a nice way to stroll the shops and snack. They also had plain salted pretzels and others with cheese on top.
Maison Alsacienne de Biscuiterie - My top recommendation when staying in or strolling through Riquewihr is Maison Alsacienne de Biscuiterie. If you can only purchase one thing, this is it. We bought a slip of 8 macarons the first full day we were there and they were gone by the time we were leaving the next day so we bought another (bigger) tin to have at home. They are sooo scrumptious and I am now forever spoiled when it comes to macarons. They also have other delicious cookies you can get in their pretty red tins, if macarons aren’t your thing.
Shopping:
Here are a few things that the Alsace area is known for that I would recommend planning to shop for while you’re in the area.
Soufflenheim Clay Pottery - Almost every shop has a collection of these and you can pick up one for whatever you cook or bake the most. You can find this pretty and decorative pottery in every size of bundt cake pans, oval terrines, dishes, saucepans, pastry dishes, bread pans, and the list goes on. They are stacked floor to ceiling in a lot of shops and it’s amazing to see.
Decor - There was a ton of cute, small decor items I wanted to take home with me in all of the little shops. We went after Thanksgiving, so I came home with a few small Christmas decor items (you MUST stop in the Käthe Wohlfart shop for Christmas ornaments and decor). One shop had a few witches left from their Halloween decor, so Iris picked one out for us to put up this year.
I’m hoping we can plan another trip back to this adorable town very soon! These pictures and reliving this trip are killing me, knowing we’re only two hours away right now and can’t go thanks to covid restrictions.
Have you been to Riquewihr, France before or is it on your travel list? Let me know in the comments! This is definitely one of those places that took me by surprise just how much I loved it. I’ll be plotting another trip until we make it happen!
♡ MALLORIE
