Mulhouse is an industrial city in southern Alsace, near the Swiss and German borders, that has reinvented itself as a surprisingly compelling museum destination. The Cité de l'Automobile houses the Schlumpf Collection — over 400 cars including the world's largest collection of Bugattis — and is one of the finest automobile museums in Europe. The Cité du Train, nearby, is the largest railway museum in France.
The city's industrial heritage runs deep. Mulhouse was a centre of textile manufacturing from the eighteenth century, and the Musée de l'Impression sur Étoffes documents this history with an extraordinary collection of printed textiles. The old town is modest compared to Colmar or Strasbourg, but the Place de la Réunion with its painted Renaissance town hall is worth a visit. Mulhouse also serves as a convenient base for the southern end of the Alsace Wine Route and the nearby Sundgau countryside.