Grand East

From Strasbourg, the European capital to Mulhouse, the industrial city, via Colmar, the wine capital of Alsace, this small region is astonishing. Yet it only has two departments, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin! Business tourism benefits from its economic dynamism. Nature, vineyards, Vosges, heritage, events, Christmas markets, gastronomy and conviviality: Alsace is also a first-rate tourist destination. In Alsace, Fasthôtel welcomes you to Colmar Houssen, in its hotel ideally located between Strasbourg and Mulhouse, on the Alsace wine route.

Alsace: Colmar between Strasbourg and Mulhouse

Business or tourism, Alsace always offers picture-postcard landscapes!
- The historic center of Strasbourg and its “Petite France” district, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
- Colmar and its “Little Venice”.
- The half-timbered houses of its flowery villages.
- The Rhine plain and the pretty villages on the Wine Route.
- Nature, tamed in the vineyards which have managed to preserve still wild landscapes.
- The Grand Ried which extends between Strasbourg and Colmar, classified by UNESCO as a “World Biosphere Reserve”.
- The Northern Vosges, neighboring Lorraine.
- At the southern end, the Sundgau where you can taste fried carp. Alsace offers a diversity of landscapes between mountains and balloons, forests and vineyards, fields of wheat and hops.

Alsace between gastronomy, terroir and winstub

Alsace is a bon vivant and Alsatian conviviality is often revealed around a table! From Vosges farm inns to the refined menus of starred restaurants, gastronomy is an integral part of Alsatian culture and art of living.
The elegant Alsace goose foie gras sits alongside Riesling sauerkraut and fried Sundgau carp.
Countless specialities are as generous as they are difficult to pronounce: Baeckeoffe, Flammecküche, Bibeleskaese... There is also no question of missing out on the "winstubs", essential traditional bistros that love conviviality as much as the good little dishes that accompany the white wines of Alsace served in pitchers.

Alsace: in the heart of Europe, a border region

- Alsace, in the heart of Europe, is also a land where the Alsatian, French, German and Swiss cultures of Strasbourg and its neighbor Kehl meet in the "Land of three borders" which borders the Swiss canton of Basel as well as the German Baden-Württemberg.
- Alsace, a border region, has many fortified sites including the remarkable one of Neuf-Brisach, an octagonal town that is part of the French "Vauban Works Network" listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To discover near the Fasthôtel, your hotel in Colmar Houssen, between the Rhine and the Alsace wine route.

Natural Alsace between the Rhine and the Vosges

Alsace has managed to preserve its rich natural heritage while developing its industries and economic dynamism. It has reintroduced species that had deserted its ecosystem: storks and salmon, which had almost disappeared from the waters of the Rhine.
Today, this region has 21 nature reserves on its small surface area, from the Rhine to the Vosges! Also add two regional nature parks, those of the Northern Vosges and the Ballon des Vosges.

 

 

In Champagne Ardenne, Fasthôtel welcomes you to the North at the Hôtel de Reims Tassy in the Marne and in the Aube at the Hôtel de Troyes - La Chapelle Saint-Luc: - For your business trips - Your tourist getaways to Reims, a high place of culture and heritage - On the Champagne wine route - For your shopping trips to Troyes.

Champagne Ardenne: a central location

Champagne Ardenne benefits from a central location and a transport network which facilitates its relations with the territory of the Paris region in eastern Europe.

- Motorways: A26, A4, A5, A31 and A24;

- Trains with the Paris-Strasbourg, Paris-Basel, Paris-Munich routes and the future TGV Est Européen;

- River infrastructures;

- Two airports: Reims Champagne and the international airport of Vatry.

From Reims to Troyes: the industrial assets of Champagne Ardenne

Champagne Ardenne remains a land of industries, compared to the majority of French regions with, in order of the most dynamic sectors:

- metalworking;

- the Foundry;

- the beverage industry;

- metal products;

- textiles with fabrics and knitwear which are the speciality of Aube and the Troyes region.

- The Marne is a region with a strong agricultural dominance, mainly for the production of champagne wines. The wine sector also generates related activities, in particular for packaging and conditioning. Other productions such as beetroot, forage peas or rapeseed for example contribute to the liveliness of the agricultural sector.

Among the sectors that boost the regional economy, two teaching and research centers are linked to this sector: Europol'agro for industrial applications of agricultural production and Esiec for packaging.

Champagne vineyards and wine tourism

The Champagne wine region covers 34 hectares, which represents 000% of the surface area of ​​French vineyards, cultivated by some 3,4 winegrowers. Its terroir is characterized by a chalky subsoil which promotes soil drainage. In Champagne, 15 villages benefit from a "Grand Cru" appellation and 000 from the "Premier Cru" appellation.

The Champagne vineyard is divided into 4 large regions, each offering a tourist route which allows you to combine visits to the cellars and the heritage, whether built or natural:

- the Montagne de Reims around the historic city which is home to three monuments listed as UNESCO world heritage sites;

- the Marne Valley which crosses the Château Thierry vineyard in Épernay;

- the Côte des Blancs around the town of Épernay and going towards Sézanne;

- the Côte des Bar around Bar-sur-Seine and Bar-sur-Aube or the small village of Essoyes where the painter Auguste Renoir lived.

Troyes: French capital of knitting

Its textile industry remains lively despite the difficulties of the sector and Champagne Ardenne produces 25% of the hosiery "Made in France". The region has preserved its know-how in knitting developed in the middle of the 18th century in Troyes. The agglomeration still has 250 companies linked to textile manufacturing and "ITF Maille", the Textile Institute of France, a research center at the cutting edge of technologies and specialized training in all the clothing and fashion professions.

Troyes is also the birthplace of factory outlets where manufacturers and major brands sell off their stock to the delight of bargain hunters.

 

Lorraine shares its borders with three European countries: Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium. The country of Saint-Nicolas and mirabelle plums is marked by its history and its know-how.

Place Stanislas in Nancy is one of the most beautiful in Europe. The capital of Lorraine is also home to Art Nouveau and Art Deco masterpieces.

Longwy, a stronghold listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the "Network of Major Vauban Sites", is renowned throughout the world for its cloisonné enamels.

Metz offers art and history lovers a journey through time from the 6500 m2 of stained glass windows of the Gothic Saint-Etienne Cathedral to the imperial quarter. The city is also home to the Centre Pompidou-Metz, inaugurated in 2010, whose futuristic architecture is dedicated to contemporary art collections. From Sedan to Verdun, the landscapes and sites perpetuate the memory of the "Poilus" and the 14-18 war. On this route, the Fasthôtel in Dun-sur-Meuse welcomes you to the heart of the Val Dunois.

Nancy: Place Stanislas and Art Nouveau

Nancy, the capital of Lorraine, is famous for its Place Stanislas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the most beautiful and harmonious large squares in Europe with its forged gates decorated with gold leaf, the five pavilions that surround it, its fountains and in the center the statue of Stanislas Leszczynki.

Another architectural gem: the Gothic Saint Etienne Cathedral, renowned for its stained glass windows and glass roofs. The oldest date from the 14th century, as well as those from the 20th century by the great contemporary artist Marc Chagall.

Among the must-sees: the Musée de l’école de Nancy dedicated to Art Nouveau and decorative arts, to the works of the great glassmakers Daum and Gallé, to the furniture of Louis Majorelle. It is an ideal starting point before going to explore the rich Art Nouveau and Art Deco heritage in the streets of the City.

The Botanical Garden: in a 27-hectare park, Villers-lès-Nancy with its tropical greenhouses and 12 species of plants is also worth a visit.

Verdun: memory of the Great War 14-18 and World Peace Center

In Lorraine, many sites are testimonies that preserve the memory of the First World War of 1914-1918. From the trenches to the battles of the Meuse and the Argonne, the image of the "Poilu de Verdun" is part of our history.

- Fort Douaumont is emblematic of the many defensive works that were the scene of conflicts. Taken by the Germans, it served as a logistics center.

- The Douaumont ossuary: this imposing 137-metre-long monument and its 46-metre-high tower were inaugurated in 1932. It preserves in its vaults, according to estimates, the remains of some 130 unidentified men, French and German, who perished during the Battle of Verdun in 000. At the foot of the ossuary, a cemetery contains the graves of 1916 identified French soldiers.

- The Bayonet Trench, which was covered in 1920 by a monument in memory of the soldiers buried in 1916 after a bombardment. - Fort Vaux, considered the symbol of the heroism of the Poilu of Verdun.

- The underground citadel of Verdun, which dates from 1624, had been reinforced and connected by Vauban to the city's defensive system. This impressive site played a role of prime importance during the Battle of Verdun in 1916. A logistical base for all army services, the citadel then housed nearly 10 men.

- The Verdun Memorial: it was built on the site of the Fleury-devant-Douaumont station, one of the nine villages destroyed on the battlefield of Verdun.

- American cemeteries are also numerous in the region, the Argonne having been liberated at the end of 1918 thanks to the Franco-American offensives. end of 1918.

The Verdun World Peace Center: it was created in 1994 in the former renovated episcopal palace. This monument, an architectural jewel of the City of Verdun, was built at the beginning of the 18th century under the direction of Robert de Cotte. First architect of Louis XV, he is one of the founders of the "Rocaille" architectural style. Verdun, beyond its battlefields and military cemeteries, wanted Peace to also be a lasting part of its heritage. The Center is a unique place dedicated to Peace, Freedoms and Human Rights in all their forms. It hosts exhibitions, conferences and the University of Peace.

December in Lorraine: Saint Nicholas and Christmas markets

Saint Nicholas is celebrated in the North and North-East of France. And of course in Lorraine where a relic of the Patron Saint of children and Lorrainers is kept in a small town near Nancy. This is how one can meet in Lorraine, around December 6, Saint Nicholas, his big white beard and his bishop's mitre on the occasion of markets, parades, festivals or distributions of sweets to good children.

Christmas markets: in Lorraine, there are some 150 events, the largest during the whole month of December or just for a weekend in the villages. Enjoy the atmosphere of the end-of-year celebrations and Christmas traditions for your weekends and stays in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Vosges, Moselle, and Meuse.

Longwy: Vauban, UNESCO heritage and city of enamels

Longwy, a stronghold built in 1679, is part of the "Network of Major Vauban Sites", listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Longwy is also the "City of Enamels", a know-how preserved since the opening of the first factory in the city in 1798. The Longwy earthenware makers acquired their letters of nobility thanks to their mastery, at the end of the 19th century, of the technique of cloisonné enamels and the famous "Longwy Blue". An art to discover at the municipal enamel museum as well as in the workshops of the five earthenware factories of Longwy and its region.

Next to Longwy, the Sûre Valley, a tributary of the Moselle, is a delight for walkers and hikers who will continue to the medieval ruins of Esch-sur-Sûr.