Rixheim and Ungersheim
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Mulhouse

In the village of RIXHEIM, 6km east of Mulhouse, the Musée du Papier-Peint, 28 rue Zuber (June–Sept daily 9am–noon & 2–6pm; Oct–May daily except Tues 10am–noon & 2–6pm; €5.50; train to Rixheim or bus #10 from Mulhouse, direction "Commanderie", stop "Centre Europe"), a subsidiary of the printed fabrics museum, is housed in the former headquarters of the Teutonic Knights. A museum of wallpaper may not be everyone's idea of a fun afternoon out, but this contains a stunning cornucopia of antique painted wallpaper, and there are demonstrations of printing the stuff (Tues, Thurs & Sat at 3pm).

Just past Pulversheim, 10km northwest of Mulhouse off the D430 at Ungersheim, the Écomusée d'Alsace (daily: July & Aug 9.30am–7pm; March–June & Sept 10am–6pm; Oct–Feb 10am–5pm; tel 03.89.74.44.74, www.ecomusee-alsace.com; €11–13, children €6–9, depending on time of year) is an open-air museum that presents regional traditions and customs. It's plenty of fun for adults and kids, with over fifty traditional Alsatian buildings spanning the centuries, as well as on-site craft workers doing their various things. It's a vast complex and from April to October you can also visit the nearby potassium mine that ceased production in the 1990s but is run as a tourist attraction by the former miners. You can even stay there, at the Loges (€40–55), in comfortable well-equipped rooms. A regional bus runs frequent services Monday to Saturday from Mulhouse's gare SNCF, direction "Guebwiller" (€6.20 one way).