Charming Colmar: A Walk through La Petite Venise

Colmar is just as pretty as its big sister Strasbourg, and maybe even more quaint. On this walking tour through the medieval centre, known as Little Venice (“La Petite Venise de Colmar”) because of its many canals, you’ll get plenty of opportunities to take in its historic beauty.

This Colmar walking tour starts at the square where the city’s most important museum, the Unterlinden Museum, is located. Little tourist trains also start from here, but you’ll get a much more in-depth impression of the city by walking the streets on your own feet!

While you walk, I’ll tell you about Colmar’s interesting past, during which Germany and France took turns in shaping the city’s culture. Today, the Alsace region, which is part French and part German, has developed its very own traditions and specialties. I’ll give you plenty of ideas on where to stop for coffee, beer, crêpes, flammkuchen or other yummy snacks along the way.

You’ll also stroll through the Quartier des Tanneurs, the tanners’ district, and past Ancienne Douane, a pretty square lined with historic homes. The tour ends in front of the Musée Bartholdi (Bartholdi Museum), just a short walk from where the tour starts.

Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:

• Wander along the beautiful La Lauch Canal, with its colorful houses left and right, and even stop for a boat ride
• Remember the 35 resistance fighters who fought the German occupation during World War II
• Learn about Bartholdi, the sculptor behind the Statue of Liberty, and see two more of his works: the Schwendi Fountain and the Fontaine Roesselmann
• Try Alsatian specialties at the Marché Couvert Colmar, a fascinating Market Hall, or sample chocolate in the Choco Story Colmar, a chocolate museum
• Figure out how the famous sundial on the facade of St. Martin’s Church (Collégiale Saint Martin de Colmar) can tell you which month it is
• See some of Colmar’s most beautiful old homes including Maison Schongauer and Maison Zimmerlin, where butchers, millers and merchants lived over the centuries, before it became a popular hotel
• Count the watering cans on an old timber-framed house, and see a fountain from 1584 (Puits de 1584 à Colmar)
• Appreciate the artistic treasures inside the Dominican Church, one of the most important churches in Colmar

By the end of this tour, you’ll have explored Colmar’s charming streets and the delightful folklore hidden around every corner. And, if the weather cooperates, you’ll probably have taken some of the most colorful and delightful pictures of your trip!