Half-timbered houses leaning into cobbled canals; vineyards climbing the Vosges foothills; a Germanic-French border-land where the food is richer, the wines whiter, the light somehow longer. Two days that feel like a small foreign country.
Colmar is the unofficial capital of Alsace: a town of half-timbered façades, geranium-laden canals, and a museum that holds one of the most extraordinary altarpieces in Christian art. Outside its walls, the Wine Route climbs gently into the Vosges foothills, threading through villages whose names have not changed since Charlemagne.
It is a place where you eat Flammekueche at noon and white asparagus at dinner, where the Rieslings smell of slate and the Pinot Noirs taste of cherry, where every cellar door has a story older than France itself.
You will need someone who knows which doors to knock on. That is what this escape provides.
A draft itinerary, refined in the weeks before your departure to suit your interests, the season, and your appetite for wine.
A private car collects you in central Paris and drives you west through Versailles to the airfield. Coffee, the flight plan, and a brief introduction to the aircraft before we fly east.
We climb east over Champagne, then over the Lorraine plateau. The Vosges mountains rise on the horizon, dark and forested. We descend into the valley of the Rhine, with the Black Forest visible across the water and the vineyards of Alsace at our feet.
A short transfer from Colmar-Houssen aerodrome to the historic centre. Your suite is ready. Lunch at a winstub — perhaps presskopf and Riesling, or a tarte flambée straight from the wood-fired oven.
A private visit to one of the finest small museums in Europe, home to the Isenheim Altarpiece by Grünewald — a work of such intensity that pilgrims still travel here to stand before it. Your guide will give you the time it deserves.
A guided walk through the half-timbered streets of the Krutenau and Petite Venise, the canalside quarter where the tanners and fishmongers worked for six centuries. The afternoon light on the painted façades is the reason photographers come here.
A Michelin-listed table where the chef combines French technique with Alsatian ingredients — perhaps pike-perch from the Rhine, perhaps a saddle of venison from the Vosges. A flight of Alsace whites you will not find in Paris.
A slow walk through the lit canals, a digestif in the hotel bar. Tomorrow, the vineyards — and a cellar door that does not open for everyone.
Kougelhopf, soft cheeses, fresh fruit, and coffee strong enough to read by. A leisurely start — the vineyards are not going anywhere.
Your driver takes you north, following the foothills of the Vosges through villages whose names sound like spells: Eguisheim, Kaysersberg, Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé. We stop in two — one for the architecture, one for the storks nesting on the rooftops.
We are received by a vigneron whose family has worked these slopes since before the Revolution. A walk among the vines, a descent into a vaulted cellar, a tasting of Rieslings, Pinot Gris, and a single Gewurztraminer that will stay with you.
A long Alsatian lunch in a winstub overlooking the vines. Choucroute, perhaps, or a baeckeoffe — and a glass of the Pinot Noir we tasted at the cellar, now paired with something worthy of it.
A final coffee, the boxes of bottles loaded carefully into the hold (yes, the wine comes with you), and we climb out over the Rhine. The Vosges fall away behind, and Paris pulls us home.
Your car is waiting on the apron. You are back in central Paris by early evening, with a half-case of Alsace whites and a long story to tell over dinner.
No upgrades to choose, no add-ons to negotiate. The price is the price, and everything below is in it.
Paris (an airfield less than 30 minutes away from downtown Paris) to Colmar-Houssen, return. Approximately 1h30 each way in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, piloted by a captain with more than 1,000 hours of flight experience.
A historic property in the heart of Colmar's old town — chosen for its discreet service, its setting on or near the canals, and the quality of its Alsatian breakfast.
A table reserved for you at one of Alsace's most respected restaurants, chosen and confirmed by your host to match your palate, the season's ingredients, and the right wine pairings.
A guided tour of Colmar's old town and the Unterlinden Museum (Isenheim Altarpiece), a walking visit of two Wine Route villages, and a private cellar tasting with a vigneron of repute.
Your driver collects you in Paris, meets you at Colmar-Houssen, drives the Wine Route at your pace, and returns you to your Paris address. No timetables, no logistics to manage.
Lunch at a winstub on Day One. Breakfast at your hotel on Day Two. Lunch in the vineyards on Day Two. Bottled water and refreshments throughout — and, of course, the wine you bring home.
Light aircraft are sensitive to weather. In the rare event we cannot fly safely on your chosen date, we will offer you a date change at no charge — or a full cancellation at no charge — whichever you prefer.
Each traveller may bring one soft cabin bag (approximately 7 kg). Large suitcases stay at your Paris hotel. We will always find room in the hold for the bottles you wish to bring home.
If you visit in September or October, the vineyards may be in active harvest. We adapt the cellar visit accordingly — sometimes you will walk among the pickers. An entirely different experience to the rest of the year.
We welcome travellers aged 8 and older. The aircraft cabin is intimate; we provide active noise-cancelling headsets for all passengers, and the ride is generally smooth at our cruising altitude.
May through October are our recommended months. June for long evenings in the vineyards, September for the harvest, and December for the Christmas markets — Colmar's is among the most beautiful in Europe.
A 30% non-refundable deposit secures your dates. The balance is due 30 days before departure. Full terms are provided with your booking confirmation and explained personally by your host.
€5,500 for one · €7,000 for two · €7,500 for three
Inaugural pricing · All-inclusive · Available through December 2026
Reserve This EscapeTwo visions of the Alsatian countryside — the vineyards, the light, and the aircraft that takes you there.
If vineyards and half-timbered streets are not your weather, our first escape ventures west — to the granite ramparts of Saint-Malo and the medieval abbey of the Mont-Saint-Michel, rising from the Norman tide.
Discover Saint-Malo & Mont-Saint-Michel