France – Colmar (En)
Colmar is a fairytale city in the Grand Est region of northeastern France, near the border with Germany. Its old town has cobblestone streets lined with half-timbered medieval and early Renaissance buildings. Colmar apparently inspired the town in the Disney film Beauty and the Beast. It was the last city in France liberated at the end of World War II and has been part of France ever since. But its history means it’s no surprise that a German influence can be seen in Colmar’s architecture, culture, food and drink.
Where to stay
We stayed in the city’s motorhome area (48.0835, 7.3551 lat, long), which costs 5.40 euros for 4 hours or 11 euros per day, with weekends and holidays free. It does not have services, but its location is great since it is a walk of fewer than 5 minutes and you are in the centre of this beautiful city. Recommended.
What to see
We walked off with Hanna and Stewart, I must apologize to Stewart because I’ve been spelling his name wrong! Here it is already corrected. To get to the centre you cross a small bridge and find a pretty cool tank. You arrive at the cathedral square surrounded by incredible buildings such as the Dominican Convent, which has the best Gothic cloister in Alsace, built between 1269 and 1289. Since the middle of the 19th century, the Unterlinten Museum has been famous for its masterpieces from the late Middle Ages. The Maison des Tetes, built in 1609 owes its name to the large number of masks and grimacing faces that decorate its façade. The Gothic church of Saint Martin from the 13th century, whose presbytery contains the altarpiece of the Virgin of the Rose Tree, a masterpiece from 1473.
We continue touring the old town where some buildings are decorated with hanging lamps, clocks and hearts. We saw the Maison Pfister, a Renaissance gem built in 1537, and the Bartholdi Museum where local artist Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi was born.
We arrive at the Fisherman’s Quarter, where the main market is located, with stalls of everything and bars where you can eat local products.
Next to the market is Little Venice, where the merchants of Colmar lived, who transported their goods by boat along the Lauch River. The story goes that different colours were used to display different types of businesses, so if you were a fisherman your house was painted blue, or a butcher would have a red house. And since then they have been perfectly preserved.
And we continued touring this incredible city, where we saw the Pfeffel Monument and the City Hall which has been visited by most of the presidents of France.
With this incredible city we finished our tour in France, the next day we went to Freiburg, a vibrant university city in the Black Forest of southwestern Germany, known for its mild climate and its reconstructed medieval old town, where our friends Gaby and Ralf with their two dogs Diego and DJ joined us, and what you can see in the next post!
