In the village of Ribeauville, France in the region of Alsace, there is my favorite hike that I’ve ever been on. The 3 Chateaux de Ribeauville. Or in English, the 3 castles of Ribeauville! It’s a must-add to your list of things to do on a trip to the Alsace region, especially if you plan on visiting Colmar. 

How do you get to the hike?

If you’re staying in Colmar, it’s simple. There’s a bus that goes straight to Ribeauville from Colmar that will take you there and back for 4 euros if you take less than 4 hours in Ribeauville. If you take more then you will need to buy another 4 hour ticket. These can be bought with cash or card when you enter the bus.

If you search “3 chateaux de Ribeauville” on google maps it will guide you to the nearest bus stop that will take you there.

Along with the amazing hike, Ribeauville is one of my favorite alsace villages and it is also worth exploring! (And taking endless photos, of course.) So if you have extra time after the hike, it’s a great extra activity to spend some time looking around the village. 

There’s also lots of food options between the bus stop and the hike entrance (about a 15-20 minute walk) if you want to grab a bite to eat. 

But now let me tell you about the hike! 

This hike, like lots of others, is free, which makes it all the much more enticing. Even if it did cost, I would happily pay to experience this hike over and over again. 

The hike is more on the easy side. It takes more exertion than a normal walk, of course, but it is decently mellow and there are no steep parts. There’s also no rock climbing involved unless you want to climb to certain parts of the actual castles (which is allowed.) 

I was amazed at how easy it seemed to get to the top, and how quickly we were able to get there. When you are down in the village of Ribeauville, you look up and see the castles at the top of the mountain- but then when you are hiking they seem to be closer than they look. Part of that is due to the fact that in order to get to the entrance of the trail, you walk up some pretty steep roads in the town. It is so much fun to walk through the gorgeous village as you start your hike, but it definitely warmed up my lungs before even getting to the start of the trail! 

There are so many lookout spots that you are certain to get countless amazing photos. 

For most of the trail, you are surrounded by pretty trees. There are a few lookout spots on the way to the castles but nothing compares to the ones from the top! 

You also don’t see the castles for the majority of the way up, but there are occasional times that you see them pop out from behind the trees. It’s so exciting everytime they do, too!

The second time I did this hike, it was the fall and it made it that much more magical! The entire trail was surrounded by the gorgeous oranges and yellows of the leaves around me.

When I hiked this trail in the summer, the trees provided super convenient shade that helped us keep cool. Once we were at the top, the wind was also super nice. The trees are incredibly green on this trail in the summertime! 

The entire trail is absolutely breathtaking. Google maps will guide you through the whole trail, so as long as you have battery, you have some hep with that. Along with that, the paths are pretty well paved. If you go in the fall, parts of the trail are likely to be covered with crunchy leaves, but the paths are still pretty visible. 

There are trail markers that guide you to the castles. There are 3 different castles, all clustered together at the top. The first castle takes about 30-40 minutes to get to, but more experienced hikers could probably make it up even faster. 

Once you get to the first one, the next is only a 10 minute hike away. Then, from there you can hike 20-30 more minutes to get to the 3rd. The 2nd one is the biggest and in my opinion, the best of the three, but the top one is definitely worth checking out. There are lots of lookout spots at each castle and the view is AMAZING. 

One of my favorite things about this trail is the fact that the castles are so explorable. (And we know how much I love to explore.)

There are different sections in each of the castles and so many corners, doorways, and staircases. Most of the windows have the perfect view of the mountains and the village below. If you are a climber, there are certain spots that you could climb and explore slightly more. At the second castle, there is a large lookout tower, that you can take stairs to the top of. We ate our lunch there. I felt so free standing at the top of a castle so high up. It’s seriously so magical. Just be careful taking the staircase back down. 

If you only go to the first 2 castles, the hike doesn’t require you to turn around- you just continue along the trail until it gets you back to the town. If you go to the third castle, you’ll have to turn around until you get back to the second castle, then you can follow the rest of the trail.

I highly recommend this hike because it’s perfect for families or new hikers, and has my favorite view ever!

Next time you’re in Alsace, France, go check out the 3 chateaux de Ribeauville!