Visit The Maginot Line
The Maginot Line and its less well known cousin the Alpine Line were a defensive network of bunkers and artillery positions built along France’s frontier with Germany and Italian between World War I and World War II.
The largest and most formidable fortifications were built on the border of France and Germany. The map to the left shows these most heavily fortified areas, represented with the dark dashes. The border with It fortified.
Visiting the Maginot Line
The best locations to visit the Maginot Line are in areas like Alsace and Lorraine on the border between France and Germany. There are a number of excellent locations to visit. When you visit this region you will want a car as the sites are relatively remote.
Where to stay?
When you visit the Maginot Line you are going to visit a very beautiful region, the region of Alsace and Lorraine. This part of France is particularly interesting because it was a borderland between Germany and France for centuries. Also, because it is not easily accessed from major centers like Paris it is a place where an American can go and likely not run another American. There are numerous small communes (villages) and I recommend that you stay in one of the small villages like Kaysersberg and enjoy the feel of a Medieval era village in an Airbnb rental or similar and from there you can drive to multiple Maginot Line locations, wine vineyards and the numerous castle ruins in this location.
When you visit this region you will want a car as the sites are relatively remote. One must take a tour to see the fortress and if you are going to see these sights then you need to take a tour to fully appreciate this piece of history. Most likely there will not be an English language tour, there was not for us. They do provide an English language card that one can read. However, I recommend that you polish up on a little French or German. The French tours are typically more crowded then that German tours. We took a German tour and were the only one’s on the tour, which made it extra special. Also, be sure to bring a sweater in with you as when one descends into the fortress they travel down 30 to 40 meters below the surface and the temperature drops significantly.