Eguisheim

Eguisheim takes a couple of hours: concentric streets around a 13th-century octagonal castle, voted «the French people's favorite village» in a 2013 national TV contest. April-September is best, when the façades are covered in flowers. It's cheap and compact, ideal as a half-day stop along the Alsace Wine Route. It's the birthplace of Pope Leo IX and one of the best-preserved villages in the region, with a circular layout unique in Alsace that still follows the perimeter of the original medieval walls.