Alsace for car enthusiasts

Alsace, France’s smallest region and a hidden secret as far as British tourists are concerned, is fast becoming a major attraction for motoring holidaymakers and car and motorsport enthusiasts alike.

Apart from offering quiet roads running through stunning countryside littered with vineyards, medieval villages and castles that are ideal for late summer or autumn motoring, Alsace is home to one of the most charismatic names in the world of cars, Bugatti.

The famous company’s Molsheim plant near Strasbourg, which made its first cars in 1909, now produces what is claimed to be the world’s most beautiful sports car, the Bugatti Veyron. And if you want to see the world’s largest collection of old Bugattis then head for Mulhouse and Cité de l'Automobile. The Schlumpf Collection is certainly the most prestigious car collection in the world. This is demonstrated by the two Bugatti Royales, including the famous Coupé Napoléon, the 150 Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Maserati, Maybach and Mercedes models,. It was in a former Mulhouse woolen mill, with its typically 19th century architecture, that Fritz Schlumpf established his fabulous collection of 437 cars belonging to 97 different brands. Today the Cité de l’Automobile sees itself as being to cars what the Louvre is to art!

For motorsport enthusiasts Alsace also has a strong connection with the world of international rallying, so strong in fact that in October the annual Rallye de France will be held in the region, the first time ever that the event has been held outside of Corsica. It will be a home coming for the legendary driver Sebastien Loeb, born in northern Alsace and who has won the World Rally Championship an amazing six times.

However if it just a peaceful motoring holiday in a relatively unknown part of France that you want then Alsace should not be overlooked. Sitting between the Rhine and the peaks of the Vosges mountains it is at the real centre of Europe, with its colourful, complex culture created by German, Swiss and Flemish influences. Drive on through undiscovered wine country and go and see some of the best fortified castles in France. After that enjoy outstanding food and wine, as there are more Michelin starred restaurants in Alsace than anywhere else in France other than Paris.

To discover more about all that is happening in Alsace in 2010, visit: tourism-alsace.com