Bas-Rhin, France

Bas-Rhin holiday rental homes - Gites Bas-Rhin

Bas-Rhin is a department in the Alsace region in north-eastern France. The name means "Lower Rhine". The Rhine river has always been of great historical and economic importance to the area, and it forms the eastern border of Bas-Rhin. The area is also home to some of the foothills of the Vosges. A visit to the Bas-Rhin will find you in the northern most part of this heavily forested region.

Strasbourg is the capital of the department and the region and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Strasbourg's stunning historic city centre, the Grande Île ("Grand Island"), was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honor was placed on an entire city centre. The city is chiefly known for its sandstone Gothic Cathedral with its famous astronomical clock, and for its medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings. There are numerous medieval streets and squares to explore when you renting a self catering holiday home in Bas-Rhin, France. In addition to the cathedral, Strasbourg houses several other medieval churches including Église Saint-Etienne, partly destroyed in 1944 by Anglo-American bombing raids, and the part Romanesque, part Gothic, very large Église Saint-Thomas with its Silbermann organ on which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played.

Strasbourg features a number of prominent parks, including the Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg (botanical garden). To the south of Strasbourg is Haguenau, where the Forest of Haguenau is situated – it’s the largest undivided forest in France.

Saverne is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains and is also worth a visit when you rent a holiday-home in the Bas-Rhine. The emblem of the town is a unicorn. Legend has it that a unicorn's horn was found in one of the nearby castles. The ruined castles of Haut-Barr, Grand Geroldseck, Ochsenstein and Greifenstein are found here. Saverne is also known for its famous Rose Garden, locally known as La Roseraie. It is also the host of the International Contest of New Roses every year. The Garden itself blesses visitors with over 550 varieties of roses.

Travelling to your Bas-Rhin holiday rental house or cottage

By Air: The nearest airports are Strasbourg (which currently does not receive  direct flights from the UK) and Baden Baden, Germany. Baden Baden welcomes Ryan air flights from London Stansted airport. By Train: By train from Paris Est station a regular TGV service is in operation and the journey times is just under 2 ½ hours. By Road: From Paris the journey time is 4 ½ hours via the A4.