An afternoon in Colmar
On my recent trip to Europa-Park, Rust in Germany I decided to pay Colmar a little visit on my way back north. Colmar is a beautiful city in the Alsace region in France and only about half an hour from Freiburg, Germany. Located along the Alsatian Wine Route it considers itself as the capital of the wine region – since I don’t drink wine, I can’t proof this statement, but you can visit a lot of beautiful vineries and vineyards in the area.
Since my visit was going to be a stop-along-the-way, my main goal was to visit the well-known old town and see the colored timbered houses. I’m not going to lie, the first thought that came into my mind when I entered Colmar was “this doesn’t look like the photos at all”. Outside of old town, Colmar looks like every other city that size including lots of multistory buildings. If you are also visiting via car, I can recommend parking directly next to the St. Martin’s Church (I paid 1 € for two hours): you are already in old town and right next to one of the main attractions.
St. Martin’s Church
After I went inside the church I walked down to Little Venice or “la Petite Venise”. On my way I passed several gorgeous timbered houses painted in various colors.
One of those great houses is called “Koifhus” or “Ancienne Douane” which loosely translates to old custom house. It is a mixture of gothic and renaissance style and is classified as a national heritage site. Usually the house is decorated with various flowers, but since I was there during the winter, it looked a little plain.
If you follow the streets to Little Venice, you’ll also pass the “Le Marché Couvert de Colmar”. The brick building from 1864 is home to the daily market. It’s not super big, but you can find everything you might need for your daily life (meat, vegetables, fruits, drinks, merchandise, etc.). There are also a few places, where you can buy your lunch and sit down to enjoy the meal. Plus, there is an outdoor area along the waterside to sit outside during the summer.
One of the best parts about the old town is the River Lauch “la lauch”, which is winding its way through and gives the city a great flair; I personally love the sound of water in the hustle and bustle of a vibrant place. Little Venice itself is rather small but super nice. There are a bunch of really cute French and Italian restaurants located on the river. It must be super nice to sit outside and enjoy lunch or dinner during the summer.
On my way back to the car, I took some smaller alleys and saw some more beautiful colored timbered houses. Since I only had two hours, I concentrated on the main attractions in the area and didn’t bother visiting any museums or parks. I can recommend tasting some amazing Crêpes or French pastries in the various cafés along the way.
Even though, Colmar might not be the biggest city (especially the old town part), I really loved my short visit to Colmar and I could definitely have stayed a little longer. I might come back during the summer time to see everything decorated with flowers – and probably a lot more tourists 😉
Walking Tour of Old Town
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Anja Travels 