Two of Alsace's most storybook villages — Eguisheim's concentric medieval spiral (repeatedly voted "France's favorite village") and Riquewihr's ramparted, half-timbered Plus Beau Village — linked by vineyard cycling on the Alsace wine route. An extended weekend, ~451 km one-way with a Supercharger stop each way.
Colmar gets the day-trippers; these two villages, a short hop away, are where Alsace actually looks like the postcards. Eguisheim is built as three concentric rings around a 13th-century castle keep — you can walk the whole spiral in twenty minutes or spend three hours getting lost in it, past window boxes stuffed with geraniums and half-timbered houses in every pastel imaginable. It's regularly voted "le village préféré des Français." Riquewihr, 16 km north, is a genuine Plus Beau Village de France: intact medieval ramparts, cobbled Rue du Général de Gaulle lined with 16th-century wine-merchant houses, and the 13th-century Dolder belfry watching over it all. Both sit directly on the Route des Vins d'Alsace, so the drive between them is itself lined with vineyards. If you're combining this with a Colmar trip, treat that as the city day and these two as the slow, quiet counterpoint — see the sibling Trip-Colmar.html for the city itself.
Meudon-la-Forêt → Eguisheim is ~451 km by the shortest routing (A6 → A36 → A35), about 4h51 of driving time before charging stops, per Mappy's route planner. Tolls run roughly €45–48 one-way (the big one is Péage Saint Maurice on the A36, ~€44.90). With a realistic ~330–370 km range on a 97% SOH Model Y Premium, you need one stop each way at minimum.
Long driving day — leave early or overnight partway if you'd rather split it. Arrive in Eguisheim and walk the three concentric rings around the old castle keep (Château Saint-Léon), a genuinely free wander through one of the most photographed streetscapes in France. Grand'Rue and the surrounding lanes are lined with wine-grower houses, many with tasting rooms attached.
Eguisheim sits directly on the Véloroute du Vignoble d'Alsace (131.5 km total, part of EuroVelo 5, running through Eguisheim, Colmar's edge, Kaysersberg, Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr) — genuinely one of the best rides in the region, rolling gently through vines the whole way. Bike up to Riquewihr (Eguisheim is ~12 km south of Colmar, Riquewihr ~13 km north, so figure ~16 km of riding between the two along the wine road). In Riquewihr, walk the intact ramparts and the cobbled Rue du Général de Gaulle — free — and climb the Dolder belfry-tower-museum for the view over the medieval town: €3 entry, or €7 combined with the Tour des Voleurs and Maison du Vigneron. Open roughly 10:30–13:00 and 14:00–17:45.
Ride back to Eguisheim through the vines (or reverse the loop and sleep near Riquewihr the second night), then a slow last morning — Eguisheim's ramparts walk and chapel, or a final coffee in a village square — before the long drive home, same Supercharger stops in reverse.
Bike loaded inside the Model Y with the front wheel off, per the Car Camping, Food & Bike Guide — no roof or hitch rack, no range penalty on the long autoroute legs. Once you're at Eguisheim, this is flat-to-gently-rolling vineyard cycling on a dedicated route, easy for any fitness level, and genuinely one of the highlights of the trip rather than just a way to get between sights.
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tolls (round trip, A6/A36/A35) | ≈ €90–96 |
| Charging (2–4 Supercharger stops total) | ≈ €25–40 |
| Lodging (2 nights: free domaine + paid campsite fallback) | €0–50 |
| Wine cellar tasting, Eguisheim | ≈ €35 |
| Dolder tower entry, Riquewihr | ≈ €3–7 |
| Food (mostly self-cooked, one treat meal) | ≈ €35–45 |
| Total | €150–210 |