From Orbey, everything is within reach: mountain lakes, ski slopes, farm inns, marked trails. Enough to fill an entire stay, whatever the season.
Old town and museum
A day in town: half-timbered houses along the Lauch, the covered market, and the altarpiece Grünewald painted between 1512 and 1516.
Open-air museum
France's largest open-air museum: 80 half-timbered houses saved from demolition and rebuilt beam by beam around a village square.
Historic monument
A 12th-century fortress, fully restored in the early 1900s, with sweeping views across the Alsatian plain.
Medieval castle ruins
A ruined fortress, looked after by volunteers, with a wide view over the Munster and Kaysersberg valleys.
Fortified village
A medieval town wedged between the Weiss and the vineyards, under the round keep of the Schlossberg. Voted France's favourite village in 2017, and Albert Schweitzer's birthplace.
Memorial site
The major historic site in Orbey itself. German concrete on one side of the path; on the other, a few metres away, what is left of the French trenches.
Welche heritage museum
Where the Pays Welche stops being an abstraction. Two-hour guided tour, online booking required, open four days a week.
Museum
Open every single day of the year, free to enter, with a tasting at the end. The best thing to do around here when it rains.
Volunteer-run museum
In Labaroche, a museum built by volunteers: the clog maker's shop, the wheelwright, the forge, an 1896 steam engine and close to a thousand wooden toys. Guided visit, two hours.