Colmar sits in the heart of Alsace, a half-timbered town where French and German influences converge in pastel-painted gabled houses, cobbled lanes, and a remarkable concentration of medieval and Renaissance architecture. La Petite Venise — the canal quarter with flower-draped balconies leaning over the River Lauch — is the postcard image, but the entire old town rewards slow wandering.
The self-catering gîtes near Colmar put you within reach of Alsace Wine Route villages, the forested Vosges hills, and a string of castles including the immense Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg. It's a practical base for families and couples who want a mix of culture, countryside walks, and easy day trips into both France and Germany.
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About Colmar
Colmar Old Town preserves one of the best-intact ensembles of late-medieval townhouses in Europe, largely because the town escaped major bombing in both World Wars. Timber-framed buildings with oriel windows and painted shutters line streets once walked by merchants trading wine and textiles. The Collégiale Saint-Martin de Colmar anchors the centre with red sandstone Gothic vaulting and stained glass dating from the 13th century.
Alsace changed hands between France and Germany five times between 1870 and 1945, and Colmar's architecture, dialect, and food all reflect that layered identity. The Musée Unterlinden occupies a former Dominican convent and houses the Isenheim Altarpiece, a late-Gothic polyptych that draws art historians from across Europe. Beyond the museum-piece streets, Colmar is a working town with a weekly market, vignerons selling wine from their cellars, and a ring of modern hypermarkets serving the valley.
Families often combine a Colmar stay with visits to La Montagne des Singes — a 24-hectare Barbary macaque reserve in the Vosges foothills — and nearby theme parks including Le Parc du Petit Prince and Cigoland. The Eagle Park offers daily flight demonstrations with raptors above the forest canopy. Most attractions lie within a 20-kilometre radius, manageable as half-day trips from a gîte base.
Things to do near Colmar
La Petite Venise is the canal-side quarter where punts glide under willow branches and balconies spill geraniums onto the water. Colmar Old Town extends beyond the canals: a warren of squares, fountains, and covered markets where a Statue de la Liberté replica (Bartholdi, the sculptor, was born here) stands in a small roundabout.
- Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg: A 12th-century fortress reconstructed under Kaiser Wilhelm II, perched 800 metres up in the Vosges with views across the Rhine plain to the Black Forest.
- Musée Unterlinden: A Dominican convent turned art museum, centred on Matthias Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece and Alsatian sculpture from the Middle Ages.
- Collégiale Saint-Martin de Colmar: A Gothic church with a glazed-tile roof and carved tympanum, standing since the 13th century in the town's main square.
- La Montagne des Singes: A walk-through reserve where 200 Barbary macaques roam freely; staff distribute popcorn for feeding under supervision.
- The Eagle Park: Daily flying demonstrations with eagles, vultures, and owls above a hillside amphitheatre in the Vosges.
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Food & drink
Alsace is tarte flambée (a thin, crisp flatbread topped with crème fraîche, onions, and lardons), choucroute garnie (sauerkraut with pork cuts and sausages), and kougelhopf (a yeasted cake baked in a fluted mould). The vineyards climbing the Vosges foothills produce Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris; many winemakers open their cellars for tasting without appointment.
Colmar's covered market operates several mornings a week with stalls selling Munster cheese, smoked ham, and orchard fruit. Hypermarkets including E.Leclerc branches in Colmar, Logelbach-Wintzenheim, and Ribeauvillé stock regional wines and packaged charcuterie for self-caterers. For sit-down meals, winstubs — wood-panelled taverns serving Alsatian staples — cluster around the old town, though booking ahead in summer is sensible.
Getting there
Strasbourg airport is 55 kilometres north, with Ryanair and easyJet flights from several UK cities and car-hire desks in the terminal. From Paris Gare du Nord (379 kilometres), the TGV Est reaches Colmar in around two hours forty minutes; Eurostar passengers change in Paris. Geneva airport, 226 kilometres south, is an alternative for those combining Alsace with an Alpine leg.
Drivers from Calais or Dunkirk (511 kilometres) follow the A26 and A4 autoroutes via Reims, then the A35 south through Alsace — a six-hour run allowing for rest stops. The Aire du Haut Koenigsbourg service area on the A35 offers facilities midway along the Alsace stretch.