Camping Piscine du Plan Incliné

It might not sound like something that’d feature on tourist schedules, but there’s much fascination to be had watching the vessels being hoisted between levels at the Saint-Louis-Arzviller boat lift, 10 minutes’ walk away. It was built in 1969 to replace the 17 locks of the Eclusiers valley, 10 minutes away by bike and now a most agreeable place for a walk, a traffic-free bike ride or a spot of fishing. For a bit more walking or bike pedalling, you may like to seek out Rocher de Dabo (15 minutes’ drive), where a church sits on top of a huge pink sandstone rock, venture underground at Grotte Saint-Léon (25 minutes) or trek to the pretty Nideck waterfall (35 minutes). If you like your treasures to be manmade, scoot along to see the experts in action at the Lehrer Crystal workshop (10 minutes’ walk), or take a wander around the ruins of Château de Lutzelbourg (10 minutes’ drive) and medieval Château du Haut-Barr (20 minutes).