Colmar · FR
Colmar Old Town Highlights
Half-timbered houses, canals and Alsace charm in one easy loop
What's the walk about?
Welcome to Colmar, the jewel of Alsace and one of the most photogenic towns in all of France. On this gentle loop through the old town you will wander past half-timbered houses painted in every shade of the rainbow, cross flower-decked bridges over quiet canals, and uncover world-class art hidden behind medieval facades. From the masterpieces of the Musée Unterlinden to the dreamy waterways of La Petite Venise, we will take in Colmar’s grandest churches, its most beautiful merchant houses, and the birthplace of the man who sculpted the Statue of Liberty. Comfortable shoes and an appetite for wonder are all you need, so let’s begin.
What you'll see
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1
Musee Unterlinden
Museum
Set in a thirteenth century Dominican convent, the Unterlinden is the most visited museum in Alsace and the home of Grunewald's shattering Isenheim Altarpiece.
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2
Maison des Tetes
House
Colmar's most flamboyant townhouse, its German Renaissance facade swarms with 106 carved stone heads, crowned by a bronze cooper from the hand of Bartholdi himself.
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3
Eglise des Dominicains
Church
A luminous Gothic friars' church whose slender columns and wooden ceiling frame Schongauer's glowing Madonna of the Rose Bower, one of the most tender paintings in France.
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4
Collegiale Saint-Martin
Church
The soaring heart of the old town, this grand collegiate church hides a Renaissance crowned tower and once sheltered Schongauer's famous Madonna.
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5
Maison Pfister
House
One of the most photographed houses in all of Alsace, the Maison Pfister is a jewel box of painted walls, a long wooden gallery, and a tall corner turret, built in 1537.
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6
Musée Bartholdi
Museum
The birthplace and home of Auguste Bartholdi, the Colmar sculptor who created the Statue of Liberty, now an intimate museum filled with his models and monuments.
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7
Koïfhus (Ancienne Douane)
Landmark
Completed in 1480, the Koifhus is the oldest public building in Colmar, a Gothic and Renaissance customs house that once taxed the town's trade and hosted the Alsatian Decapole.
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8
Marché Couvert
Market
A grand red brick and cast iron market hall built in 1865 directly over an arm of the river Lauch. Around twenty merchants still sell Alsatian cheese, wine, produce and fresh fish beneath its airy roof.
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9
Quai de la Poissonnerie
Quay
A picture perfect row of tall, candy coloured half timbered houses leaning over the canal, once home to Colmar's fishermen. The great fire of 1706 destroyed more than forty houses here, and the quarter was lovingly restored between 1978 and 1981.
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10
La Petite Venise
Quarter
Colmar's most photographed corner, where pastel half-timbered houses lean over the little River Lauch and its flower-hung bridges mirror the water.
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