Wandering around in Colmar one summrr among well preserved half-timbered houses, I was inspired to stop and write a sentence or two instead of photographing. Is amazing when this is happening.

Colmar is along the Alsacian wine route ~ Route des Vins. Is not far from Strasbourg and cute little town of Riquewihr, said to have inspired Beauty and the Beast.

Speaking of beauty

The pictures cannot show how beautiful and “out of the fairytales” the city actually is. An unforgettable moment was being at the fruits market and at the flea market where many locals were singing. 🎼Singing! I swear, the little city and that scene felt like in a movie. Not really Martin Scorsese directed drama, but more an Old European cinema moment.

La Petite Venice of Colmar

• My start in Colmar was neighborhood Little Venice in Quai de la Poissonnerie. Why the name? Because the little river Lauch crosses though the city.
• Passing a little bridge from Quai de la Poissonnerie ~ Fishing’s quay/ market, one can reach Rue de la Poissonerie.
• Next was Place de l’Ancienne Douane, a beautiful gothic 15th century building of the “Old Customs House” or Koifus.
• And than I stopped in the Old Town for a moment at Tanneur. Most old part of the city. Where tanners used to live in the past. And I am sure I saw locals, not only tourists. According to the Internet there are 70,000 people living in Colmar. So it only feels very touristic because of the well preserved architecture.
• Lastly, dominating the old center is the church St. Martin.

In conclusion, Colmar is an open air Alsatian Museums. The entire trip felt like traveling in time and was having the urge to stop at a Post office and send postcards to my family instead of sending pictures on WhatsApp. And visiting it during Christmas must be even more wonderful. So I recommend any season.

Colmar feels as an open air Alsatian Museums!

Alsatian gastronomy

When is time to eat and drink, in this part of France I always choose Tarte flambee (Flammekuchen in German), similar to pizza, but with crème fraiche. For wine recommendation, I will not pretend I know what I am talking about, because I don’t. I always ask the waiter for a recommendation and hope for the best. Will be a local Alsacian wine, so will not be wrong.

Where to eat the tarte flambee? In Colmar you have a covered market hall and the Restaurant “Le Soi”.

Next stop

Colmar is not far from Strasbourg – only 25 minutes away by train. You know, I always travel light and I am always ready for the next destination. But I leave now Strasbourg as a story for next time :). About Baden Baden I already told you.

Voilà. This was Colmar.