Hiking the Three Castles of Ribeauvillé (Alsace, France).
Alsace is a beautiful region full of quaint little towns, colourful half-timbered buildings and lots of wine and vineyards. But my favorite day in the region was the day I hiked the three castles above the town of Ribeauvillé.
In this post I tell you about the castles, how to hike them on your own, and how to organize your time.
An introduction to the three castles of Ribeauvillé
The three Castles of Ribeauvillé: Saint-Ulrich, Girsberg and Haut-Ribeaupierre were all built for the Ribeaupierre family between the 11th and 14th centuries. The family was one of the most powerful dynasties in medieval and early modern Alsace and their base was here, in Ribeauvillé.
The family built these three castles in the hill above town, all for different purposes which I’ll cover below. The town of Ribeauvillé itself was defended by walls, protection from its many enemies which included the Holy Roman Empire and the Imperial free city of Strasbourg (which had aligned itself with the Kingdom of France in the 14th century). Alsace at the time was decentralized with many villages controlled by lords who were constantly threatened by the larger kingdoms around them.
Eventually, the 30 Year’s War (1618 – 1648) led to the end of Ribeaupierre family rule. The Kingdom of France took over Alsace and the castles were all abandoned and fell into disrepair.
How to Get to Ribeauvillé with public transport
Ribeauvillé doesn’t have a train station, you have to get there by bus from either Sélestat or Colmar. And buses aren’t that frequent, sometimes hourly or sometimes every 2 hours. You have to consult and organize how you are going to do it. Luckily, Google Maps has accurate information.
I did the trip to Ribeauvillé several times from both Colmar and Sélestat.
Sélestat is closest to Ribeauvillé. We visited Sélestat because it has a very interesting old town (very underrated). It’s also the access point to Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, the biggest castle in Alsace. I’ll have a post on that because it’s quite impressive. Know that Sélestat has a train station and is the biggest town between Strasbourg and Colmar (thus trains here are quite frequent). From Sélestat, you can take the bus (TER) at the bus stop right in front of the train station. It takes about 25 minutes between Sélestat and Ribeauvillé and you’ll be going through some wonderful geography and very pretty villages along the way.
From Colmar, you can get to Ribeauvillé on the 816 or 817 bus and it’s a bit further – anywhere between 40 minutes and an hour depending on traffic. Note: the bus terminal is indicated as “Scheurer Kestner”. The bus stop going to Ribeauvillé is actually on Rue de la 5E Division Blindee. You’ll see the timetables for the 816 and 817 there which confirms you’re in the right place.
From Ribeauvillé bus stop to the castles
The bus stop in Ribeauvillé is just outside the old town. The old town in Ribeauvillé is built along a main street (Grand Rue) and the main access point to the trail is at the very end of the old town (there’s an aptly named restaurant called “Restaurant Aux Trois Châteaux” at the beginning of the trail). It’ll take you about 15 minutes to get to this spot from the bus stop.
From here you’ll walk uphill alongside some city walls, then through some vineyards, then along a cobbled path which peters out and becomes a little rougher. You’ll soon hit a little parador with nice views.
The trail turns inland, first going through the forest, then becoming steeper and more rugged. I was sweating doing it but technically its not difficult: I saw a father with daughters who were maybe 8 and 6 who did the whole hike I describe here. I also spoke to a German woman with walking sticks who must have been in her 80’s.
As you get higher the forest clears and you get views of the first 2 castles: Château de Saint-Ulrich and Château du Girsberg. Both are within minutes of each other and just separated by a gorge.
I soon reached Château de Saint-Ulrich. Total time hiking from bus stop to castle was 40 minutes (I was pushing myself pretty hard though because I had a specific bus in mind for my return to Colmar).
1. Château de Saint-Ulrich
This castle was the biggest and grandest of the three castles because it was the primary residence of the Ribeaupierre family. First built in 1185, a chapel was added in 1435 (the Saint-Ulrich chapel) and the castle renamed Château de Saint-Ulrich.
The castle was abandoned in the 15th century and today is mostly in ruins. But there are ladders in places and you can walk to the upper parts of the castle, admiring the views of the valley and the castle across the gulley. Some might prefer restored, manicured castles – I prefer old castle ruins and I like climbing, imagining how it would have been.
2. Château du Girsberg
It’s a 3-minute walk from Château de Saint-Ulrich. Château du Girsberg (13th century) is the smallest of the 3 castles and its principal purpose was as a watchtower. It’s built on a sheer outcrop, making it a formidable defensive watchpoint.
The views of the valley from the castle are great but the most impressive views are looking across the Château de Saint-Ulrich. It’s stunning.
2. Château de Haut-Ribeaupierre
This castle is about 20 minutes further up the hill. Château de Haut-Ribeaupierre is the oldest (around 1084 AD) of the three castles, having been built by the Counts of Eguisheim who owned this area before the Ribeaupierre family. In 1288 the Ribeaupierres took over and used it as a watchtower (Alsace at the time was under threat from the Kingdom of France).
It’s the least impressive of the three castles today, mostly because it doesn’t have the same impressive views as the other 2 castles. But if you’re on a mission to do all three castles (as I was) then it’s worth doing.
Back down to town…
Coming back, you follow the same trails as you did coming up. From Château de Haut-Ribeaupierre, it took me 45 minutes to get back to the bus stop in Ribeauvillé. But again, I wanted to catch my 5pm bus so I went really hard.
Overall, I did everything in 2 hours. If doing it at a more leisurely pace, plan on anywhere between 2 ½ and 3 hours. It is very much worth doing: as I said at the top, it was my favorite day in Alsace, a day that combined my love of hiking with my love of castles.
Related: Why Obernai makes for a great day trip from Strasbourg
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