Location: Colmar
Top Things to do in Colmar
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10 Things to Do in Colmar That You Shouldn't Miss
Colmar in France, from Europe region, is best know for Points of Interest & Landmarks. Discover best things to do in Colmar with beautiful photos and great reviews from traveller around the world here!
Restaurants in Colmar
1. Old Town
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
Colmar is located near Germany and Switzerland, between the Vosges and the Rhine, Strasbourg and Mulhouse. With its 67,000 inhabitants, it retains a 'country town' atmosphere which contributes so much to its charm. The city offers visitors a fascinating insight into 1,000 years of European history through its exceptional heritage. Wonderfully preserved from the ravages of time, its homogenous historical centre is classed as a 'protected area' and has benefited from careful restoration and ongoing improvements for more than 25 years. Colmar is really a condensed version of the Alsace region. Walking in its streets is like visiting à huge movie set with hundreds of century-old half-timbered houses, lovely canals and flourished pedestrian town center. The city has an impressive selection of quality restaurants and shops selling high-quality local products... Not to miss: the romantic and world famous district of 'the Little Venice'. Colmar is also the capital of Alsace wines and is nestled at the foot of the vineyard next to many idyllic villages. The city hosts the annual Wine Fair of Alsace in august, that has gone through six decades. This event gathers approximately 300 000 people during 15 days of music, party and wine tasting. The city with multicolored houses is also the birthplace of sculptor Bartholdi, father of the famous Statue of Liberty in New York and of Hansi, the well known illustrator of Alsace. The culture vultures will complete their visit by one of its 5 museums. We especially suggest to visit the Unterlinden Museum to discover and admire its wonderful Issenheim Altarpiece or the Toy Museum, if you're looking for something to do with your kids.
Reviewed By sm05060
This beautiful old town is charming & quaint. A place to just wander around & soak up the history. There's museums, beautiful architecture, restaurants, churches, Fountains & buildings that date back to the 14th century, the oldest house dating back to 1350. Stay in an old hotel while you're there. There is so much history that a guided walking tour of the town is well worth doing. Don't forget to visit the Little Venice district while you're there. Whether you visit for a couple of days or just a day trip this charming town is a must see place.
2. Vieille ville d'Eguisheim
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Reviewed By JMGeneva - Geneva, Switzerland
Visiting this village is like walking in a movie decor, except it’s the reality with real people live there. Everything there is manicured and polished and so tourist oriented that the overall impression might be negative but eventually the whole receipt is working and you can’t avoid finding the experience worth the detour!
3. Little Venice
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
The « little Venice » is the name given to the course of the Lauch in Colmar. This name probably came from the original line of the houses on both sides of the river, which serves the southeast of the city. This district starts behind the Koïfhus, goes through the fishmonger's district and to the Bridges Turenne and Saint-Pierre. It is therefore at the beginning of the Krutenau, whose etymology refers to places of market gardening on the outskirts of the towns. Originally inhabited by a rural community of wine-producers, market gardeners and boatmen, the Krutenau stretches out around the Turenne Street that the marshal took in 1674 for his triumphant entry in the city. Boat rides are possible there.
Reviewed By sm05060
The entire old town of Colmar is worth exploring on foot, its a charming village. Little Venice is a great area, with beautiful, colourful buildings & Gardens. Take a short, cheap flat bottomed boat ride down the Lauch river to really experience the true beauty of Colmar/Little Venice. You get views of the village you won't get from land. Then wander through the streets enjoying a drink at a pub, sampling the confectionery in the shops & just soaking it all up. A great place to just wander around.
4. Musee Unterlinden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1 reviews
Vast collection of paintings and sculptures features the Retable d'Issenheim (Issenheim Altarpiece,) considered to be the most important piece of art in the museum.
Reviewed By jonathanlynn - Geneva, Switzerland
If you're in Colmar, besides visiting the lovely old town centre, make sure you go to this museum in an old convent to admire the Isenheim altarpiece - an incredible late mediaeval/early Renaissance set of paintings from a nearby church. Entry to the museum includes an audioguide which explains the paintings well
5. Maison Pfister
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 370 reviews
Reviewed By Trainbleu - Brussels
The Pfister House, at the corner of Rue Mercière and Rue des Marchands is a wonderful house that make people want to grab their camera. It has many attractive features such as an arcaded ground floor, a wooden gallery, an oriel window, an octagonal staircase turret and a facade covered in medallions and mural paintings representing historic, biblical and allegorical scenes and figures. The paintings are quite dark and probably a bit faded, so we couldn’t see clearly what they represent from the street. The house takes its name from the family who owned it between 1840 and 1892, but it is much older, as it was built in 1537. The inside cannot be visited, so we didn’t spend much time here.
Next door, at N. 9, we saw another interesting house that wasn’t mentioned in our guide. It bears the inscription ‘Zum Kragen’. Looking up you can see a painted wooden statue of a standing man in Renaissance costume.
6. Koifhus (Old Custom House)
Overall Ratings
4 based on 303 reviews
Reviewed By Kevin H - Zurich, Switzerland
There was an artisan fair in the building when we visited Colmar. This promppted us to enter and go upstairs. What a lovely old building and a perfect place for the artisans to show their wares.
7. Eglise des Dominicains
Overall Ratings
4 based on 259 reviews
Reviewed By Trainbleu - Brussels
Some Tripadvisor reviewers object to the small entrance fee for the Dominican Church and even claim church entrance fees don’t exist elsewhere. Travelling in Europe, we remember for certain having paid fees in Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. In London, for instance, fees were particularly steep. Besides, the church is some kind of a museum. The main reason for entering is to gaze at the 15th century masterpiece of Colmar-born engraver and painter Martin Schongauer, ‘The Madonna of the Rose Bower’ (‘La Vierge au Buisson de Roses’ in French). We found the quiet Dominican church to be an ideal setting for doing just that and wouldn't have missed it for the trivial price of 1.5 euro.
The Madonna, holding her son on her arm, is represented sitting on a bench in an enclosed garden. Contrary to the traditional image, she is not wearing a blue gown and mantle, but a bright red one, which makes the image all the more striking. The beautifully rendered birds, plants and flowers may seem to be purely decorative, but they are heavy with symbolism and were conveying a clear religious message to Schongauer’s contemporaries. For present-day religious or non-religious viewers, with a little bit of expert guidance, examining this painting is as exciting as deciphering a coded message.
A reduced-size copy by Schongauer’s workshop, kept at the Museum Isabella Stewart Gardner in Boston (USA), reveals that the painting in the Dominican church has been resized, probably because it had been damaged. Parts of the enclosed garden to the left and the right of the Madonna and at her feet are missing, as is the bottom part of her gown and mantle and a representation of God the Father, above the two angles holding a crown. In the early 20th century, the painting was set in a wooden frame and became the central panel of a new winged altarpiece.
The large number of pictures of works of art for this Tripadvisor entry is due to the fact that many reviewers confuse this church with the Chapel that is part of the Unterlinden Museum.
8. Musee du Jouet
Overall Ratings
4 based on 534 reviews
Located in a former cinema, the Toy Museum 'Musée du Jouet' welcomes young and old in the heart of Colmar's city-centre. The museum presents a collection of toys from the 19th century to today. Throughout a theme-oriented visit, you'll discover all these toys which marked your childhood. Old teddy-bears to the first Barbie(C) dolls to video games, Playmobil(R), miniatures, robots or little trains, the toys and games exhibited come from all over the world and belong to numerous generations of children. The major museum attraction is a train network which runs over the entire second floor.
Reviewed By Nordboen - Copenhagen, Denmark
For once I felt totally let down by Tripadvisor´s advice. This museum contains a little of everything, but very little that qualifies as something special. The lego exhibit looks like something you could put together yourself if you were to buy a few packages and didn´t make any special effort. In addition there is no particular "red thread" in the exhibits, just a little bit of everything. The trains are also easy to find better elsewhere. Anyway, my guess is that any child older than 10 will feel let down.
9. Grand Rue de Colmar
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 82 reviews
Reviewed By Patbro - Delray Beach, FL
The Colmar Square is nice, but I suggest you walk around on some of the side streets and stop for a glass of the local wine. Given the architecture and "vibe" of the city, you will really feel like you have stepped back in time!
10. Eglise St-Martin
Overall Ratings
4 based on 411 reviews
Reviewed By Skiboy 20/20 - Kent, UK
Worth a visit and is very old and in very good condition. Surrounded by some amazing historical buildings and nice by night in floodlight. Plenty of bars in the area and restaurants too.
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