"Colmar, France" Colmar by thinking

Colmar Travel Guide: 259 reviews and 807 photos

typical houses in the old town - Colmar
typical houses in the old town
Colmar's half-timbered houses

South of Strasbourg about 40 mi/65 km is the wonderful town of Colmar (pop. 65,000). It has a wonderfully preserved old city center with half-timbered houses and several interesting museums, most notably the Unterlinden Museum of Medieval and Renaissance Art, located in a 13th-century convent.

This part of Alsace produces some of the best white wines in the world, and many of the wineries scattered through the foothills of the nearby Vosge Mountains are open to the public.

Colmar was the birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi, who designed the Statue of Liberty in New York. His home is now a museum.

A flower-filled Alsacian town called Riquewihr (pop. 1,045) is nearby and worth a stop if it's harvest time. The town has several nice 12th-century homes.

The town of Ungersheim, which sits about 20 mi/30 km south of Colmar, is noted primarily for its Ecomuseum: a village of 50 or so houses, shops and churches built during the 15th-18th centuries and relocated to Ungersheim in the 20th century. Stop by and see blacksmiths and other craftsmen at work, using period tools.

If you continue another 30 mi/45 km southwest of Colmar you'll reach Besancon (pop. 120,000), a picturesque city dramatically set in a bend of the Doubs River.

Besancon has many claims to fame: It was a city of ancient Rome, novelist Victor Hugo was born there, and its fine-arts museum is the oldest in France. Also in town are the Renaissance Palais Granvelle, St. Jean Cathedral (which has a wonderful astronomical clock) and Vauban Citadel (now a World War II museum with a great view of the area).

Colmar is the home of the builder of the statue
statute of Liberty - Colmar

statute of Liberty

narrow street in Colmar - Colmar

narrow street in Colmar

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:It is a pleasant village on the wine route
  • In a nutshell:Stop by for lunch or a coffee, then have a look around
  • Last visit to Colmar: Nov 2004
  • Intro Updated Nov 5, 2004
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Alsacian wines Favorites (2)

Alsace enjoys exceptional soils and a generous climate unite to produce remarkable wines. Protected from oceanic... more travel advice

:http://www.visit-alsace.com/home_ang.htm Favorites (2)

The website is a good place to start with your interest in this region. more travel advice

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