A fairy tale AMONG THE VINES

What sold me on Riquewihr? Was it the colourful, half-timbered houses? The pictureperfect vineyards? The fact that it's one of the villages that inspired Beauty and the Beast? Yes, yes and (a loud, resounding) yes.

- CANDICE LE NOURY-BRESLER

Wary of becoming one of those travellers whose W experience of France was limited to Paris, I decided to broaden my horizons and see what the rest of the country has to offer. After weeks of researching, I stumbled across the village of Riquewihr - and within seconds of clicking on Google Images I was hooked. And booked.

Rique... what?

My French is conversational at best. I can get by. But when faced with trying to pronounce Riquewihr I was stumped and a little research helped me realise why.

Riquewihr is one of the smallest villages in Alsace (population a mere 1000) and it's located right against the German border. If that wasn't enough for a little German culture to rub off, since 1870, the region has passed hands from France to Germany... to France... to Germany... to France. As a result, Alsace went from holding the title of being the largest wine-growing region in Germany to that of being the smallest wine-growing region in France in 1918. While this may have been a demotion in terms of title and rank, what was Germany's loss in terms of wine was very much France's gain.

All the makings of a fairy tale

With its whimsical water features, bell tower and colourful houses, it's easy to see why Riquewihr has long been touted as the main inspiration for the fairy-tale village in Beauty and the Beast. And it truly is the perfect spot to embrace your inner Belle. While this may conjure images of twirling down cobbled streets (which I thoroughly recommend, by the way), what I'm actually referring to is settling down with a good book.