Colmar, a French town that is definitely worth a visit, or even three days between museums and narrow streets with houses with colorful facades and canals that are very reminiscent of our Venice, read here.
Colmar it is a town with a strong tourist vocation thanks to attractions such as the “Petite Venise” and the characteristic half-timbered houses. The facades of the houses of Colmar, as well as of all fairytale villages Alsatians, are in fact made with impressive exposed wooden beams, giving that typical marzipan biscuit appearance.
Colmar can be easily visited on foot, being very intimate and suitable for tourists. Before talking about the 5 things to see in this Alsatian jewel, two tips: visit Colmar in the summer, when the explosion of colors of the flowers that embellish it is at its peak and, if possible, reach it by car. How not to return from Alsace with a trunk full of wines and typical delicacies?
Therefore the attractions not to be missed, even in case of rain.
Little Venice
It is a delightful corner of the city crossed by a navigable canal that laps houses, walkable avenues and typical cafes. The canal tour costs 6 euros per person and, for the duration of 30 minutes, you will be transported to one of the most fabulous areas of Alsace. The small boats, a mix between a gondola and a wooden barge, are very quiet because they are driven by an electric motor. The final part of the canal in fact crosses inhabited areas with private landings with a Lewis Carroll charm. Signs intimating silence are also affixed to safeguard the species of water birds that populate the canal.
The part that crosses the center of Colmar is characterized by very low bridges, to cross which you almost have to lie down on the boat so as not to touch your head! The driver of the boat will also be your guide, pointing out (in French) the most important buildings or curiosities.
The Bartholdi museum
Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, a native of the city of Colmar, was a fervent French patriot, Garibaldian (yes, you understood correctly), Freemason, sculptor and, above all, was the father of Statue of Liberty. The museum, housed in his birthplace in the center of Colmar, offers an overview of the numerous evolutions in the course of the work that the studio of the "Lady" of Liberty Island has had. The initial projects, in fact, wanted it to be clearly different from the current one. By the way, at the entrance to the city of Colmar, near the small airport, you will be welcomed by a 12-meter-high reproduction of the Statue of Liberty. The museum not only houses the numerous works of Bartholdi. Being his birthplace, it is possible to admire a wonderful period dining room, a library and settings left as they appeared in the second half of the 1800s.
The Toy Museum
A collection of two thousand pieces that span entire centuries of toy history, housed in what was first a brewery and then a cinema / theater. Currently in the museum you can admire a temporary exhibition dedicated to Japanese robots of the 80s, a real treat for fans. The upper floors are set up with entire collections of vintage dolls, unobtainable toys from the 80s, an interactive space dedicated to old game consoles (Sega, Nintendo, Commodore 64) and a mini theater in which an orchestra of mechanized dolls ( as grotesque as they are good) play a sweet melody for the visitor. The top floor is crossed from one side to the other by locomotives of all kinds. Reconstructions of stations, mountains and valleys crossed by meters and meters of tracks that enchant adults and children. The VIP piece on this floor is the original metal crest taken directly from the side of one of the Orient Express carriages! The toy museum is located in the pedestrian area of ​​Colmar, between clubs and trendy shops.
The covered market
Located on the edge of the canal Lauch della Petite Venise, this market is a real gem. Externally the structure is very particular, small but characteristic and well done. Personally I have seen inside women intent on buying fruit and vegetables with the wicker basket, just like in the past. Here time has really stopped: the typical products range from cheeses to tarte flambée declined in every variant. And then sweets, bagels, rustic pies, spiced bread and lots of local products.
The alleys of the center
The streets and squares of Colmar are absolutely to be explored. Obligatory to get lost in the many narrow streets lined with shop windows, typical inns and facades of historical importance. As the case of House of the Heads, the structure that housed theAncient Customs Pfister House today a historic building with the most beautiful frescoed facade I have ever seen. And then they, the half-timbered houses: buildings with such beautiful and characteristic facades that they will constantly force you to look up. There is also a rich offer of city parks where you can spend pleasant hours of relaxation: from Parc du Champ de Mars to the suggestive Square de la Montagne-Verte which, from November to January, hosts one of the numerous locations of the Colmar Christmas Markets. And then again there Cathedral of San Martino, a Gothic building with superb architecture and absolutely to be photographed, like every corner of Colmar!
