Colmar France
France

45 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

CroisiEurope (18 Cruises)

Emerald Waterways (27 Cruises)

Between the Rhine's vineyards and the blue line of the Vosges, a city has crossed the wars without losing a single old house. Colmar, spared by bombing, lines five centuries of painted half-timber as fresh as on day one. For passengers on Rhine cruises moored at Breisach, on the German bank, it constitutes the premier excursion: about thirty minutes by coach through the Alsatian plain, and you disembark into a setting that Walt Disney himself, it is said, might have taken as a model.

From Breisach to the Capital of Alsatian Wines

Rhine ships make a stop at the foot of Breisach's hill, and excursions to Colmar feature on almost every programme, often combined with the Wine Road and its viticultural towns, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg or Eguisheim. The city is toured on foot: the old centre, entirely pedestrian, concentrates within a ten-minute walk. A small tourist train circles the monuments for those who prefer to spare their legs.

Little Venice: Canals and Half-Timber

The most sought-after quarter stretches along the Lauch, this modest river that served market gardeners and tanners. The half-timbered houses, pink, green, blue, lean above the water, draped in geraniums from spring onward. Flat-bottomed boats offer a half-hour glide beneath flowered bridges; seen from the water, the city changes face once more. The Fishmongers' Quay and the old fish hall extend the walk to the 1865 covered market, where stalls overflow with Munster cheese, kugelhopf and charcuterie; you compose a proper Alsatian picnic there in ten minutes.

A Retable That Moves Every 500 Years

The Unterlinden Museum, housed in a thirteenth-century Dominican convent and enlarged by architects Herzog and de Meuron, preserves one of Western art's major works: the Isenheim Altarpiece, painted by Matthias Grünewald between 1512 and 1516. Its folding panels, its rare-intensity crucifixion and its radiant resurrection impress even visitors who thought themselves indifferent to old painting. The rest of the collections range from archaeology to Picasso; an hour and a half passes there without being noticed.

Houses That Tell Stories, Lanes That Linger

The centre then unfolds its florilegia: the Pfister House of 1537, with its wooden gallery and frescoes; the House of Heads and its 106 sculpted faces; the Koïfhus, the former 1480 customs house where goods of the Decapole, that league of ten free Alsatian cities, transited; the collegiate church of Saint-Martin and its yellow sandstone, watched over by storks whose nests crown nearby roofs. The wrought-iron signs, the ornate oriels and hidden courtyards reward those who raise their eyes and push open the doors.

Bartholdi: The Town's Child

A detail will amuse North American travellers: the Statue of Liberty was born here. Auguste Bartholdi, its sculptor, saw the light on Rue des Marchands in 1834; his birthhouse shelters a museum devoted to his work, and a twelve-metre replica of Liberty welcomes motorists at the city's north entrance. From New York to Colmar, the loop closes over a few hundred metres of Alsatian lanes.

At Return Hour

A crispy flammekuchen, a glass of Riesling or Gewürztraminer taken beneath the arcades, and the coach brings its passengers back to the Rhine. Many drowse, replete; others watch the vineyards pass in silence. Colmar leaves this singular impression of a museum city that has remained living, where you do your shopping between two masterpieces. The ships depart for Strasbourg or Basel; the storks, for their part, remain on their bell towers.

Frequently Asked Questions

At Breisach on the German bank of the Rhine, at the foot of the hill. Colmar is then about thirty minutes away by coach across the Alsace plain. It is the flagship excursion of Rhine cruises.
Yes, once you are there. The old centre is fully pedestrian and fits within a ten-minute walking radius. A small tourist train loops the monuments for anyone wanting to save their legs.
Little Venice, the Unterlinden Museum for the Isenheim Altarpiece, then the houses of the centre — Pfister, Maison des Têtes, Koïfhus. Be aware the museum alone takes an hour and a half: adding the Alsace Wine Route on top does not fit in one call.
Because it was spared the bombing. The town lines up five centuries of painted half-timbering as good as new, between the Rhine vineyards and the blue line of the Vosges — a setting Walt Disney himself is said to have used as a model.
The district stretching along the Lauch, a modest river once used by market gardeners and tanners. Timber-framed houses in pink, green and blue lean over the water. Flat-bottomed boats offer a half-hour glide beneath the flowered bridges.
One of the major works of Western art, painted by Matthias Grünewald between 1512 and 1516 and held at the Unterlinden Museum. Its folding panels, its crucifixion of rare intensity and its radiant resurrection move even visitors who thought old paintings left them cold.
The Pfister house of 1537, with its wooden gallery and frescoes; the Maison des Têtes and its 106 carved faces; the Koïfhus, the 1480 customs house; the collegiate church of Saint-Martin in yellow sandstone. Look up: wrought-iron signs, ornate oriels and hidden courtyards reward those who raise their eyes.
Several excursions offer it, taking in Riquewihr, Kaysersberg or Eguisheim. The trade-off is real: adding wine villages cuts your time in Colmar by the same amount. Choose according to what draws you more, museums or villages.
At the 1865 covered market on the quai de la Poissonnerie: munster, kougelhopf and charcuterie come together in ten minutes. The banks of the Lauch, right next door, are the place to eat it.
The euro on both sides of the Rhine, which simplifies a call split between Breisach and Colmar. French is spoken in Colmar, with an Alsatian heritage still audible; German and English are widely understood in shops.