* Alsace : cooking with flowers!

Sauerkraut lunch in Selestat, followed by a guided tour of the mediaeval old town, hugging the banks of the Ill River. Visit the Bread Museum, an institution dedicated to one of man's staple diets through the ages. A visit to the Humanist Library, boasting a vast collection of humanist titles from the 7th to the 16th century, is an optional extra. Dinner and overnight.

Start by touring a kitchen garden with a difference, aided by the master of the house and his tales and anecdotes, where you can pick aromatic herbs and edible flowers for your cookery lesson. Discover recipes such as omelette with flowering salad, flower bud stir-fry, violet fritters or flower jam; cooking with wild herbs and plants will hold no more secrets for you! A tasting session of your concoctions follows. Dinner and overnight.

Take the "Route des Crêtes », or high road, through the Vosges National Park, and enjoy stunning views over the Alsace plateau, from the Black Forest to the Alps. Visit a Munster Cheese Dairy and sample some of the produce. Partake of a "repas marcaire" in a farm inn, a veritable local feast of quiches, hams, potatoes and Munster cheese.