Things to do in Colmar
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Colmar
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best weather, vines in leaf, terraces open and crowds below peak; September adds harvest.
Spring markets and storks return, vines bud in April, May holiday weekends get busy.
Everything running and Vosges at their best, but August heat and Foire aux Vins crowds.
Darkens fast until the Christmas markets arrive in the last week.
Christmas markets at their prettiest, but weekends are crowded and prices peak.
Cold, grey and cheapest, with empty museums and some reduced hours; worst overall.
What's on
- Printemps de Colmar late March to April
Spring festival with Easter and spring markets; check the year's dates.
- Fête de la Musique 21 June
Music fills the old town lanes.
- Festival International de Colmar first half of July
Classical festival with concerts in Saint-Martin and the Dominicains.
- Foire aux Vins d'Alsace late July to early August
Large wine fair and music festival at Parc des Expositions for about 10 days.
- Pfifferdaj first weekend of September
Ribeauvillé fiddlers festival, one of Alsace's oldest traditions.
- Colmar Christmas Markets roughly 25 November to 29 December
Six markets across the old town; book accommodation months ahead.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Colmar
Musée Unterlinden
Home to the Isenheim Altarpiece, with medieval to modern art in a convent and a modern wing.
La Petite Venise
Colourful half timbered houses and canals in the old market gardeners quarter, best seen on foot.
Flat-bottomed boat ride on the Lauch
A short, quiet boat drift through Little Venice and toward the market gardens at water level.
Collégiale Saint-Martin
Grand Gothic church holding Schongauer's luminous Madonna of the Rose Bower behind the choir.
Marché Couvert de Colmar
Working covered food market for Alsatian cheese, charcuterie, wine and a cheap stall lunch.
Maison des Têtes
A 1609 merchant house studded with more than a hundred carved stone heads and masks.
Musée Bartholdi
Bartholdi's birth house museum explains how the Statue of Liberty was designed and built.
Musée du Jouet de Colmar
Three floors of toys, dolls houses and a working model railway that work across generations.
Where to stay in Colmar
Old Town / La Petite Venise - Krutenau
first trip, all-round base
Little Venice, the covered market and all main sights within 5 to 10 minutes on foot.
Champ de Mars / Préfecture
space, calm, grand hotels
Broad avenues and park views with easier parking, still 5 to 10 minutes to the canals.
Gare / Station
best value and transport
Wider mid range and chain stock at lower prices, with regional trains at your door.
On the Wine Route - Eguisheim, Kaysersberg, Riquewihr
wine stay near Colmar
Village inns among the vines with glorious mornings, but you need a car for Colmar sights.
Think twice about
- Houssen retail zone and Rue du Ladhof / Logelbach strips
Safe but car oriented chain hotels and sheds sold as Colmar, stranding you from the old town.
- Colmar-Houssen airport-side hotel cluster
Distance, not danger: basing there destroys the point of waking up in Colmar itself.
- Europe / Schweitzer and western peripheral estates
Post war housing with no sights, hotel stock or evening life, surfacing as mislabelled listings.
Best restaurants in Colmar
JY'S
Two-star flagship under Jean-Yves Schillinger, the special occasion dinner of the Wine Route.
Restaurant Girardin
One-star dining in the house of heads, the old town's most complete luxury evening.
L'Atelier du Peintre
Small, serious one star dining room known for refined, market driven menus.
Wistub de la Petite Venise
The winstub to book in the canals quarter, serving the full Alsatian canon honestly.
Chez Hansi
Characterful winstub brasserie named for Oncle Hansi, with generous Alsatian classics.
Le Quai 21
Small chef led modern bistro on the prettiest quay, a break from the winstub canon.
La Table du Brocanteur
Tiny antique filled room for traditional Alsatian cooking at its own unhurried pace.
Caveau Saint-Pierre
Canal side tables over the Lauch where local lists say the cooking is done properly.
Best bars in Colmar
Le Cercle des Arômes
Wine bar for by the glass grand cru with advice, in our also list.
Best coffee in Colmar
L'Atelier de Yann
Café brunch stop, the alternative to another winstub meal.
Outdoor things to do in Colmar
Véloroute du Vignoble
Vineyard cycling past Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and Hunawihr on quiet paths with cellar doors.
Eguisheim
Concentric ring streets around a castle site, with fountains, tithe barns and bright houses.
Ribeauvillé Three Castles Walk
A signed forest climb to Saint-Ulrich and two more ruined castles above the wine town.
Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg
A complete rebuilt mountain fortress with furnished rooms and views to the Black Forest.
Lac Blanc
A glacial lake below the ridge, linked to Lac Noir by signed paths via Gazon du Faing.
Lac Noir
A dark glacial lake paired with Lac Blanc on the best short Vosges walk from Colmar.
Hohneck
The classic high summit of this sector, reached near the dramatic Sentier des Roches path.
Grand Ballon
The highest Vosges summit at 1,424 metres, with panorama to the plain and sometimes the Alps.
Best hotels in Colmar
La Maison des Têtes - Relais & Châteaux
Small five star hotel in the 1609 house of heads, with a starred restaurant in house.
L'Esquisse Hôtel & Spa - MGallery
Modern grand luxury hotel with a proper spa and two star JY'S restaurant in house.
Hostellerie Le Maréchal
Romantic hotel from 1565 directly on the Lauch canals, traditional in style.
James Boutique Hotel
Design led modern boutique with a small wellness area near the park.
Hôtel Quatorze
Sleek small boutique hotel set inside a historic shell in the old town.
Hôtel Le Colombier
18th century house in Little Venice with spacious rooms, a courtyard and private parking.
Hôtel Saint-Martin
Traditional three star in a historic building with an unbeatable central position.
Hôtel Turenne
Family and value pick with larger rooms, still walking distance to everything.
Is Colmar expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €100 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €200 a person |
| Splurge | €400 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Musée Unterlinden: a few days ahead
- Colmar Christmas Markets: months ahead
- Colmar Tourist Office Guided Walk: a few days ahead
- Véloroute du Vignoble: a few days ahead
- Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg: a few days ahead
- UGOLF Ammerschwihr Trois-Épis: a few days ahead
- Alsace Golf Links: a few days ahead
- Golf du Rhin: a few days ahead
- Christmas accommodation months ahead, a year for the best old town addresses.
- JY'S and starred tables as far ahead as the trip itself.
- Popular winstubs 1 to 3 days ahead, a week or more on summer weekends.
- Unterlinden timed tickets in peak season and December; it closes Tuesdays.
- Bikes, e-bikes and balloon flights a day to several days ahead in summer.
Is Colmar safe?
- Pickpockets are the seasonal risk at December markets, the cathedral square and shuttles.
- Use normal station caution at the forecourt at night and lit main streets.
- Vosges ridge weather turns fast in every season.
- Do not combine a tasting day with a driving day.
Colmar travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Unnamed Little Venice terraces with photo menus and a greeter sell the view alone.
- Buy wine from a domaine caveau or named caviste, not the prettiest shopfront.
- Suspiciously cheap Colmar listings are usually distance, not a bargain location.
- No winstub three nights running: the classics are heavy.
Getting around Colmar: public transport and more
- Walk the compact, flat, largely pedestrianised centre.
- Arrive by train: Strasbourg about 30 minutes, Paris about 2h20 to 2h40.
- Use Kutzig open top shuttles for the Wine Route without a car in season.
- Park once in a public car park and never attempt the old town lanes.
- Hire bikes in town for the vineyard paths and flat Ill plain routes.
Who Colmar suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Colmar your trip
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