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Travel guide
Colmar
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to June and September (Christmas markets: late November to December)
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Welcome
Colmar, in a few days
Colmar came through both world wars largely intact, leaving a medieval and Renaissance centre of rare density that fits within a square kilometre. It also holds the Isenheim Altarpiece, one of the most violent paintings in Western art, two hundred metres from the birthplace of the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Unterlinden Museum and the Isenheim Altarpiece · about 1 h 30The panels are shown apart, so you walk round them: the Crucifixion of around 1515, the blazing Resurrection, and Nicolas of Haguenau's gilded carvings.
- Afternoon · Dominican Church · about 30 minA bare 13th-century church with 14th-century stained glass, home since 1973 to Martin Schongauer's Madonna of the Rose Bower, painted in 1473.
🛏️ Where to sleep · ibis Colmar Est€90 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Collegiate Church of St Martin free · about 30 minColmar's great Gothic church, built from 1235 to 1365 in yellow sandstone, with a portal signed by Maître Humbret and an unusual bulb-topped tower.
- Afternoon · Bartholdi Museum · about 1 hThe birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, with his working models, studies of the hand and face, and the family apartment.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hostellerie du Château€120 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Colmar Christmas markets · about 2 hSix markets within ten minutes' walk of each other, including a children's market in Little Venice with chalets reflected in the Lauch at dusk.
- Afternoon · The Tanners' Quarter free · about 45 minTall, narrow half-timbered houses whose open top floors once dried hides, saved from demolition by a 1970s restoration that set an example across France.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Turenne€140 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Flat-bottomed boat on the Lauch · about 30 minMarket gardeners once delivered their vegetables by boat; today electric boats leave the Saint-Pierre bridge for short commented trips through the old town.
- Afternoon · Little Venice free · about 45 minThe Lauch runs between low, colourful houses in the old quarter of fishermen and market gardeners; the name is a 20th-century tourist invention.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Berceau du Vigneron€105 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €110 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to June and September (Christmas markets: late November to December)
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/colmar
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.