Colmar travel guide
Colmar is an extraordinarily, fairy-tale beautiful town in Alsace (departament Haut Rhin, Grand Est), a smaller sibling to Strasbourg. It is literally an open-air museum featuring all architectural styles—from late Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism, Empire, Eclecticism, Art Nouveau, to Modernism and Postmodernism. Outside the old town, however, late medieval Colmar and Renaissance Colmar are prized for their architectural unity. The town’s jewel is the “Little Venice” district, with its charming canals and bridges surrounded by a lush display of geraniums.
Colmar is considered the driest city in France. Thanks to its unique microclimate, it is an ideal place for winemaking: in terms of the number of Grands Crus, the Colmar region is comparable to Bordeaux, except that here they produce white wines instead of reds. Colmar is located along the “Alsace Wine Route,” a popular tourist trail that passes through the region, with many key winemaking villages concentrated around it.
Colmar is also considered the capital of Alsatian cuisine.
Colmar travel guide
Although Colmar has been French for most of its modern history (as has all of Alsace and Lorraine), its population has been predominantly German. Alsace has changed nationality several times throughout history, shifting between France and Germany. During World War II, Hitler reclaimed Alsace (which had been annexed by France after Germany’s defeat in World War I), and it is quite shocking to see photographs from that time with Nazi flags hanging in the streets.
The suppression of local culture led to the Francization of Alsace (and Colmar along with it). However, you will still hear a lot of German spoken in Colmar, partly due to the many tourists from neighboring Germany and Switzerland, but also because of the native Alsatians who speak their German dialect, known as Alsatian. Unfortunately, English is not as widely spoken, but people are generally quite tolerant of English, and many locals will make an effort to communicate despite the language barrier.
Colmar Tourist Office: Pl. des Unterlinden, 68000 Colmar, France
Whather in Colmar
Worth to visit?
Yes! Yes! Yes! and a hundred more times Yes! This is one of the most beautiful small towns in France, with many picturesque half-timbered houses, very cozy and cute, even despite the crowds during the Christmas market.
Colmar or Strasbourg?
The question often arises, which city to choose. Although Strasbourg is more famous and larger, in my personal humble opinion Colmar is somehow more authentic and cozier. And it is around it, literally within a radius of 10 – 15 km, that the most beautiful villages of Alsace are located. So if you are travelling by car, this is especially convenient!
Get in and around
Colmar is located between Basel (known as Bâle in French) and Strasbourg, with direct train connections from both cities. Be sure to sit on the right side of the train to enjoy the beautiful views of the Vosges Mountains if you are coming from Strasbourg.
If you are arriving from the German side, there is a direct bus to Colmar from Breisach (which is accessible by direct train from Freiburg). The bus stop is directly opposite the Breisach train station. If you are traveling from Freiburg, it’s cheaper to get the RegioElsassTicket, as it is valid for this bus as well as the entire RVF (Regio-Verkehrsverbund Freiburg) network.
If you are flying, you will likely use one of the nearby airports: EuroAirport in Basel (with many low-cost flights) or Strasbourg (with fewer options).
All of Colmar’s attractions are concentrated in its old town. Although the historical area is quite large for a medieval city, it is easily explored on foot (public transportation within the old town is very limited).
If you are travelling around Colmar, there are bus services providing an access to the most populst tourist villages around. In high season there is a circular route of panoramic tourist bus in and around Colmar.
Note that according to the Colmar Tourist Office, there are no luggage storage facilities at the train station or anywhere else in the city.
Get in:
Around Colmar
- Transport in and aroun Colmar
- Regional trains in Alsace
What to see
The old town is Colmar’s main attraction, with its picturesque “Little Venice” quarter (pictured above). It is stunningly beautiful and well preserved. Allow yourself a whole day to stroll through the old streets of Colmar, enjoying its atmosphere, cozy restaurants and cute shops with traditional Alsace souvenirs. Everything is on foot, of course.
If you are in a hurry, allow at least 3 hours to see the main beauty spots. On Christmas Day, add at least 1 more hour, because it’s really beautiful!
Colmar sights
- Main Sights of Colmar
- Churches
- Museums
- Fountains
- Monuments
- Excursions
- Tourist route in Colmar
- To Alsace with children – theme parks for children in Alsace
- Colmar Map
Self-guided walking tour of Colmar
Itineraries around Colmar
Entertainment in Colmar
With the development of online services, not only hotel aggregators, such as booking, have appeared, but also excellent options with all the excursions, museums, attractions that you can look through before your trip and choose interesting ones, and you can immediately see the prices, and even buy tickets online in order to stand painfully in queues to the cashier. Same prices as offline, sometimes even cheaper! So I highly recommend making your life easier!
Colmar with kids
To eat
In the historical center of Colmar you will find many restaurants, one more cozy than the other, where you can taste traditional local dishes in an authentic Alsatian setting. Don’t miss the opportunity to try the delicious Tarte Flambée (pictured below), which pairs perfectly with local wines or beers. This inexpensive (about 9 – 12 €) dish is one of the most popular in the region and city. But, if desired, it is easy to find something more complex and refined.
In general, Alsace cuisine is quite close to German, they even love cabbage dishes! But still, in Germany (in Freiburg too) you will never find such a perfect Tarte Flambée (Flammkuechen in German) as in Alsace…
If you need to eat on a budget, then take beer and Tarte Flambée – it will cost about 14 – 15 euros all together, but it will be tasty, authentic and quite filling. Bacon with cream may not be a very healthy food, but you have to try it. Even my toddler daughter devoured the local Tarte Flambée with great joy, although it was usually extremely difficult to find something she liked.
In winter one of my favority dish is Gratin de pommes de terre au Munster (potato gratin with local very aromatic cheese Munster) or tartiflette au Musnter.
Those who are more conservative in food can try Baeckaoffa (~ 20 €) – stewed potatoes with meat. Nourishing, tasty, simple, and generally familiar. Or more a “german” dish: Jarret de porc (pork knuckle served with sauerkraut and potatoes).
Shopping in Colmar
The most memorable shopping experience in Colmar will be visiting the traditional Christmas market, which begins at the end of November and lasts until Christmas. An incredible atmosphere in the city center, cute shops with handicraft souvenirs, hot mulled wine and traditional tartiflette will definitely create a special mood!
The rest of the time, you’ll find a traditional selection of mid-town French brands. Not exactly very luxury, more like some mass market brands.
For local products, visit the Colmar covered market (13 rue des Ecoles). It is open from Tuesday to Sunday (from 7 – 8 am to 18-19 pm on weekdays, until 17 pm on Saturday, from 10 am to 2 pm on Sunday).
On Saturdays there is also a local market at PLACE SAINT JOSEPH and a textile market at PLACE DE LA CATHÉDRALE and PLACE DES DOMINICAINS.
The Colmar Flea Market is held at PLACE DES DOMINICAINS from April (16 April 2022) to December on Saturdays. During the spring and Christmas markets it moves to rue des Clés. The market is usually held from 9am to 5pm.
Souvenirs from Colmar
Wine route of Alsace
Around Colmar
The maximum number of beautiful villages and towns that I have ever encountered are concentrated in the vicinity of Colmar. Within a radius of literally 15 minutes by car you will find 2 of the most beautiful and popular villages in Alsace (Riquewihr and Eguisheim), as well as a number of stunning, picturesque, very beautiful places, among which I would like to especially mention Kaysersberg and Ribeauville. You can admire endless vineyards, picturesque half-timbered houses, ruins of ancient castles and fabulous landscapes of Alsace…