Breisach

Though panoramic views of the Black Forest and Vosges mountain range from the lovely outdoor terrace are a bonus, a pleasant ambiance, friendly service, and good food served all day long complete the package. Whether you're looking for a coffee and pastry between sightseeing or a full lunch or dinner, it's all here: from a tempting selection of French and Mediterranean-inflected light dishes—quiche Lorraine, charcuterie plates, with chorizo, salami, and pâté, Greek salad, stuffed grape leaves—to homemade pastries and a choice of coffee, tea, and the local beer and wine by the bottle or glass. A hearty breakfast is available on weekends and holidays.

All roads lead to this pretty peach-colored café-bakery smack in the center of town, where an eye-popping variety of German style cakes, tortes, and tartes make for a difficult choice indeed, further complicated by towering ice cream sundaes topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit and an array of homemade pralines and truffles. Savory soups, salads, and crêpes make this a good choice for a quick lunch or a resplendent brunch featuring fresh breakfast pastries hot from the oven. A large, sunny terrace is perfect for a coffee and a quick bite or a beer and some people watching. Deservedly popular, it gets very crowded in high season.

For quality dining and impeccable service, this handsome ivy-clad inn and restaurant, an easy stroll from the port, is the place to go in Breisach. You'll feel pampered from start to finish, from the elegant wood-paneled dining room sparkling with crystal and white linen, to the gourmet menu of market-fresh dishes: housemade goose-liver pâté or creamy cauliflower and white truffle soup to start, followed by tender roast veal with spring vegetables, sautéed monkfish complimented by a buttery shallot-wine sauce, or pasta and scallops with fresh basil coulis. The expert staff is delighted help you choose just the right pairings from an extensive wine list.

The loft-like space, bright, contemporary décor, and imaginitive pizzas, salads, and light pasta dishes—like tagliatelle with shrimp, zucchini, fresh tomato, and saffron or linguini with homemade pesto and shaved parmesan—draw a lively crowd. The restaurant's location near the old town and the late hours (it's open until midnight 7 days a week), also make it a much-appreciated night spot.

This small museum offers a 4,000-year journey through the history of a typical Rhine river town, from the early settlements through the Middle Ages up to a sobering exhibition describing the bombardment that destroyed nearly 90% of Breisach during WWII. The museum is housed in a 17th-century edifice built according to designs by Vauban, France's renowned military architect under Louis XIV.

Few estates in this winemaking town can boast a tour as impressive as this venerable champagne house, which has produced the bubbly elixir for 177 years. Here you'll be treated to an in-depth hour-long tour of the 15th-century vaulted cellars and an introduction to the wine production, aging cellars, and history of the house. For a few extra euros, you can join a tasting of the various cuvées, nibbles included.

Three miles from Breisach on the French side of the Rhine, this extraordinary example of a fortified town is the last and greatest work by the 17th-century French military engineer Sébastian Vauban. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, the huge octagonal fortification, which contains an entire city, was built at the orders of Louis XIV after the town of Breisach, the king's former stronghold on the Rhine, was returned to Austria. Deprived of his stake on this important riverside front, Louis enlisted the help of his head engineer, who decided to design an entire fortified town from scratch. Though damaged in 1870 and again during WWII, Neuf-Brisach remains almost unchanged. Regular buses from Breisach train station connect Breisach and Neuf-Brisach via Colmar, a 10–20-minute trip.

Breisach's major shopping street is the Neutorstrasse, a few steps from Marktplatz and the tourist office, where you'll find a majority of the little boutiques in town. There is also shopping on the nearby Rheinstrasse and the Richard-Müller-Strasse.

Breisach's major landmark, St. Stephan Cathedral rises up over the old town offering stunning panoramic views of the Rhine Valley and Black Forest to the east and the Vosges Mountains to the west. St. Stephan's was begun in the 12th century in the Romanesque style and completed in the 15th century, hence the gothic elements that can be seen throughout. The cathedral's inner riches include an ornately carved chancel screen and altar, both considered masterpeices of late Gothic stonemasonry, as is its elaborately carved vaulted ceiling.