France’s ‘Little Venice’: top things to do in Colmar
Known as the ‘Little Venice’ of France’s Alsace region, Colmar is a wonderful place to visit. Its well-preserved old town is packed with colourful half-timbered houses, historic churches, and lively squares. Plus there’s a small river that you can sail along, fascinating museums, and great food and wine to sample.
If you go, you’ll discover a variety of things to do in Colmar. I’ve outlined these below based on my recent trip. Whether you’re day tripping here from nearby places or staying for a short break or a longer vacation, you’re bound to fall in love with it!
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Where is Colmar?
Colmar is in the Alsace region of northeastern France, near the German and Swiss borders. It is just over 70 kilometres to the capital of Alsace, Strasbourg, around 65 kilometres from Basel in Switzerland, and just under 55 kilometres from Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany.
Being in the Alsace region of France, Colmar sits on the Alsace wine route. This is a 170 kilometre route taking in dozens of beautiful towns, villages, vineyards, and wineries.
Its location, therefore, makes it an ideal place to either use as a base to explore the nearby regions and countries, to day trip from other destinations, or to stop off in if you’re exploring the wine route.
How to get to Colmar
I recently took a day trip to Colmar from Basel in Switzerland. Direct trains run between the two cities and take 45 minutes. Strasbourg is just 30 minutes by train. From Freiburg, the fastest train is around an hour and forty minutes, including a change of train.
You can also get to Colmar from other places in France. Paris is around two and a half hours by train, and Lyon is just over three and a half hours.
If you’re arriving by plane, you can fly into either Strasbourg airport, which is between 50 and 60 minutes away by train, or the EuroAirport (Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg). If you do the latter, you can take a 10-minute bus journey from the airport to Saint-Louis train station and then change to the train to Colmar. The train journey is around 35 minutes.
When you arrive in Colmar, the train station is around a 15 to 20 minute walk to the old town (when you leave the station, turn left at the main road in front. It’s then a straight walk down to the area).
How to get around Colmar
The best way to get around Colmar is on foot. It’s a relatively compact place, with small streets, squares, and little bridges that lend themselves to walking.
My overview below, along with a map (I used Google maps), will help you find the main places. However, if you’d prefer to see the sights alongside a local guide, then there are walking tours you can book. You can browse these here.
Alternatively, if you fancy taking the weight off your feet, you can catch a little tourist train. This will take you around the main attractions and lasts just over half an hour.
You’ll see both green and white trains. The green trains run between 9.00 am and 6.30 pm every day of the week and provide information in 16 different languages. They can be picked up near the Unterlinden Museum.
The white trains run on most days between early February and early November, but check the website for times as these vary during the year. Information is also provided in 16 different languages.
In the Little Venice part of Colmar, you can also hop onto a 30-minute boat ride along the River Lauch. This is a great way to see this part of the town from the water.
Top things to do in Colmar
There’s a lot of things to do in Colmar – and the beauty is that even if you only have one day in Colmar, you can see quite a lot. It’s a small town, and the part you’ll be most focused on is even smaller. So it’s possible to tick off the main sights and do this in a leisurely way, with enough time to stop off in one of the local bars and restaurants.
Below are the top things to do in Colmar and best places to see.
The Colmar City Pass
If you plan to do a lot when you’re in Colmar – particularly if you plan to go into museums – you might want to consider buying the Colmar City Pass. The cost of the card includes unlimited access to five museums and the Dominican Church, a boat tour, and a ride on the green tourist train.
This would be particularly useful if you’re staying in Colmar, as the card is valid for 7 days. However, if you only have one day in Colmar, I’d suggest you check out the cost of the individual things you plan to do and work out if the price of the card is worth it.
Top things to do in Colmar
Soak up the atmosphere in Colmar’s old town
The old town in Colmar is a delight. Often described as a fairytale town, when you walk into it, you’ll see why
It comprises a charming collection of cobblestone streets lined with small shops that you’ll no doubt want to pop into. Alongside the usual souvenir shops, there are shops selling homemade chocolates and cake, local wine, and cheese. It’s hard not to pop into these and start sampling the goods as you wander along and see (and smell!) all the delicious food laid out.
You’ll also come across small squares buzzing with people sitting outside having food and drinks on the terraces of the cafes and bars.
For me, part of the charm of Colmar was the relaxed vibe. So I’d recommend you spend time just leisurely wandering around, stopping for refreshments in a place that takes your fancy, and soaking up the atmosphere.
Admire the old historic buildings
When you’re strolling around the old town, you’ll discover that it’s crammed full of beautiful historic buildings.
So as you wander around, make sure you look around and up at the beautiful architecture. You’ll lose count of the number of beautifully coloured buildings and half-timbered houses in the streets and squares.
There are also a few houses and buildings that have particular significance and that you should make a point of seeing.
St. Martin’s Church
You can’t miss St Martin’s Church (the Collégiale Saint-Martin de Colmar) as you wander around. It sits in the Place de la Cathedrale, a lovely square with a small lawn in the middle, medieval buildings around the sides, and a café with outdoor seating.
The church was built in Gothic style between the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Pfister House
The 16th century Maison Pfister is in the Rue des Marchands on the corner with Rue Merciere. Unlike St. Martin’s Church, it is easier to miss this as it’s surrounded by other gorgeous buildings in the street. But you’ll probably identify it from the groups of people standing around it on the corner.
The Pfister House is a unique building. It’s tall, with a green octagonal turret on the top, an oriel tower on one side, and wooden balconies with surrounding murals. It is apparently Colmar’s first Renaissance building.
The House of Heads
Another historic building worth seeing is the House of Heads, or Maison des Têtes, which was built in the early 17th century (it is now a luxury hotel). The building is another distinctive one: a yellowy-orange Renaissance type building with heads that appear around the windows (there are apparently 106) and which gave the building its unusual name.
A statue created by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (the artist and sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty and who was born in Colmar) sits on top.
The Koifhus
You’ll come across the Koifhus in the Place de L’Ancienne Douane. It’s the old Customs House.
This is another unusual building: pink with a patterned roof, and yellow and green tiled turrets. It dates back to the 15th century, but has been restored and added to over time.
The building was once a warehouse, a centre for taxation, and where local magistrates met. It was later a theatre, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and served as a couple of schools.
Explore Little Venice
During your time in Colmar, make sure you wander through the old town as far as Little Venice (La Petite Venise). It’s one of the main draws when you visit, so make sure you don’t miss it (it’s only a short walk).
This charming area sits around the River Lauch and is another part of the town that is filled with old streets lined with small shops and restaurants. There are also small flower-strewn bridges that span the river and that provide a good vantage point from where you can look out over the water.
Take a boat trip on the river
Aside from just wandering around and taking in the atmosphere in Little Venice, an ideal way to spend some time is to take a boat ride on the Lauch River. You can hop on a small flat-bottomed wooden boat and glide along the river for 30 minutes, taking in the area from this perspective. It’s also a really relaxing way to spend some time.
I did this. I caught the boat from just off the Rue de la Poisonnerie, buying a ticket from the bar that sits by the jetty (there’s a prominent sign here, and you’ll probably see a line of people waiting for the next boat, so it won’t be hard to find this). The boats go regularly, so you won’t have to wait long to get onto one. You can also catch boats from a little further along the river.
The boat trip took us first along the main part of the river in Little Venice. We glided past the colourful buildings lining the water, under the bridges (one was so low we had to crouch down in the boat), and up to the covered market at one end. We then sailed past houses and restaurants with their small terraces jutting out into the water.
The second part of the journey took us further down, beyond the buildings, and out to a more tree-lined section of the water.
The boat trip was a perfect way to see Little Venice. Even though the area itself gets crowded, once onboard, you’ll find it’s a really peaceful way to spend a short amount of time.
Pick up some snacks and souvenirs in the covered market
When you’re exploring Colmar, if you’re peckish and want to pick up a quick snack, pop into the old covered market hall. This is at the top end of Little Venice, just off the Rue des Tanneurs.
The building itself is eye-catching, a 19th century brick building with red shutters and gates. It sits alongside the water, and there is a small seating area – La Terrasse du Marché – that overlooks it and where you can sit outside with a drink or some food.
There are also stalls inside with a range of fresh products such as fruit and veg, cheese, meat, fish, and cakes. Other stalls sell items such as honey, spices, flowers, wine, and takeaway snacks, such as sandwiches, pretzels, pizza and Vietnamese food.
It would be a good place to pick up some local products to take home as souvenirs.
The market is open Tuesday to Sunday, although opening times vary, which you can check here.
Visit a museum
For a relatively small place, there’s no shortage of museums to visit. These include:
- The Unterlinden Museum, located in a 13th century convent adjoined to a former public baths building in the Place Unterlinden. It contains extensive art and sculpture collections spanning almost 7,000 years, including works from the Renaissance and the Middle Ages, as well as those by artists from contemporary eras (e.g. Monet and Picasso).
- The Bartholdi Museum (the Musée Bartholdi). This is dedicated to the sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, who was born in Colmar (the museum is actually situated in his birth house in the Rue des Marchands) and showcases his artistic work.
- The Hansi Museum. For another museum displaying the work of a former local resident, visit the Hansi Museum. Here you see the work of Jean-Jacques Waltz, who was born in the town in the 1870s. The museum is opposite the House of Heads.
- The Alsace Wine Museum and Choco Story Colmar. For a more culinary experience, the town has the Alsace Wine Museum (Musée des Vins d’Alsace). If you visit, you can take an interactive tour to learn more about the region’s wine and then partake in a bit of wine tasting. Similarly – and in the same location in the Place de la Cathedrale – you can learn about the history of chocolate and create your own in one of the workshops.
Other museums
Other museums include a toy museum, and a natural history and ethnographic museum. You can also see art in the Dominican Church and the André Malraux Art Gallery.
Try some Alsatian wine and food
Alsace wine
Unsurprisingly, given Colmar’s location on the Alsace wine route, there’s plenty of places to try out the local wine on a trip here. It’s definitely a place for wine lovers!
There are plenty of varieties to sample, including pinot gris, riesling, pinot blanc, and gewurztraminer. You can do this in the bars and restaurants, plus there are numerous wine shops dotted around the town where you can buy some to take home.
The town also has the Alsace Wine Museum (Musée des Vins d’Alsace). Here you can take an interactive tour to learn more about the region’s wine and sample some of it (soft drinks are also available). You can also book combined tickets for this museum and the Chocolate Museum, which are located in the same place).
Other wine tastings and wine tours can be booked here.
Alsatian food
You should also try some Alsatian food during your visit.
Perhaps most well-known is the tarte flambée, a thin layer of dough (a bit like flatbread), topped with a thin layer of crème fraiche and onions and lardons (small chunks of bacon). There are many variations of this on the menu in the restaurants, including some with mushrooms, gruyere cheese, and vegetarian versions.
I tried this one on my trip and it was delicious.
Other Alsation food to try include bretzels (pretzels), baeckeoffe (a casserole with meat, onion, and potato), and spaetzle (a dumpling dish similar to pasta). There’s also choucroute garnie which consists of meat (often pork), potatoes, and sauerkraut (this reminded me of a similar dish my partner tried on our short break to Lyon).
There are plenty of places to try these in Colmar. They range from shops where you can pick up a takeaway bretzel, to small cosy local bars and brasseries, to more expensive restaurants with Michelin stars.
See the Statue of Liberty
It might seem a bit surprising to learn that there is a replica of the Statue of Liberty in Colmar. However, given that Auguste Bartholdi, the artist who designed it, was born in Colmar, it’s perhaps more understandable.
The statue sits 12 metres high on a roundabout and was erected to commemorate 100 years since Bartholdi’s death. It is a bit outside of the old town, so if you only have one day in Colmar, you might not get to see this. But if you have a bit more time or are driving to the town, maybe take a quick detour to see it.
Get into the festive spirit at the Christmas market
Colmar is the perfect place to visit if you want to get into the festive spirit. The old town is lit up with Christmas lights during the dark evenings, and there are plenty of cafes and restaurants to pop into to get out of the cold.
And the town has not one Christmas market, but six! These include a gourmet market serving local dishes, one that sells local gastronomic products, a crafts market, and a children’s market.
All Colmar’s Christmas markets take place between late November and the end of December.
Is Colmar worth visiting?
Yes, Colmar is definitely worth visiting! It’s a gorgeous place and a perfect place for a relaxed day out.
Even though it’s a small place, there’s still lots of things to do in Colmar that make it worth visiting and stopping off in if you’re vacationing elsewhere.
I always make notes on my trips, and these say in large letters “I love it!”.
Things to do in Colmar
As you can see from the information above, there is a plethora of things to do in Colmar.
If you enjoy visiting smaller ‘chocolate-boxy’ towns and cities, check out some other posts I have. You might be particularly interested in the following:
- What to do on a day out in Annecy in France (this is a great day trip from Geneva in Switzerland)
- Top things to do in Schaffhausen, Switzerland (you can also combine this with a visit to the Rhine Falls, Europe’s largest waterfall)
I also have a range of other guides on short breaks and day trips in Europe and the UK on my website.
