Obernai Market Square and Ramparts

Obernai is the largest town on the northern section of the Route des Vins and has a proper town-scale presence that the smaller villages lack. The Place du Marche (market square) is one of the finest in Alsace: a large open square surrounded by half-timbered houses, the Renaissance Hotel de Ville (town hall, 1523), the Kapellturm (chapel tower, the tallest structure in town), and the Puits aux Six Seaux (the six-bucket well, 1579, an ornate Renaissance well-house in the middle of the square). The ramparts walk follows the old town walls through gardens and past medieval towers - a 30-minute circuit that gives a sense of the town's medieval extent. The weekly market on Place du Marche (Thursday mornings, 7 AM-noon) has local produce, Alsatian cheese, honey, and wine from nearby producers. Obernai is 25 minutes from Strasbourg by car or train and is where most people start or end the Route des Vins.