local festivities
by traveloturc
Music Festival : the 21st of June, free concerts downtown.
Mini Wine Fair: degustation of the wines of the Hardt vineyard of Colmar. Place de l'Ancienne Douane, from 10:00 till 23:00. Free access. From last week end of June till second Saturday in August .
Summer Fair : from the third Saturday of July till the second Sunday of August.
Foire d'été : du troisième week-end de juillet au deuxième d'août.
International Music Festival . The 1st fortnight of July, numerous concerts : at the Koïfhus at 12:30 hours, at the Saint-Pierre chapel of the Lycée Bartholdi at 18:15 hours, at the Saint-Mathieu church at 17:00 or at 21:00 hours.
Colmar Jazz Festival first fortnight of September.
Old houses
by gueto
As I said before, the magic of Colmar is the architecture that brings an incredible surround of history. Sometimes you think you are in Germany but then you hear people talk in French. Well, the best is to think simply that you are in Alsace.
Take a look at the buildings. They all have a history behind.
La Petite Venise
by Tom_Fields
This is a quaint part of the old town, where fishmongers, leather tanners, and other merchants lived and worked. Since it's criss-crossed by the canals of the River Lauch, the best way to see it is by boat. Tour boats called the barques plates take visitors around the area daily. Guides can speak French, German, or English. This is similar to La Petite France in Strasbourg, or Bruges in Belgium.
Maison "Zum Kragen"
by breughel
On the left of the Maison Pfister stands a house called "Zum Kragen" (at the collar) well known for its remarkable polychrome wood statue at the angle of the house. It shows a bearded man dressed in Renaissance clothes, probably a cloth merchant or draper holding a yardstick.
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La maison "Zum Kragen" (Au Collet), située à gauche et accolée à la maison Pfister, est connue pour la statue de bois polychrome à l'angle du premier étage représentant un personnage barbu en tenue Renaissance. Il s'agit d'un drapier tenant une aune pour mesurer les tissus.
A must for the photographer.
by breughel
This is certainly the most popular photograph of Colmar. A must for every visitor. It is taken from the bridge of the Turenne street on the Lauch River. The half-timbered houses which form the Romantik hotel - restaurant Le Maréchal constitute the most spectacular element of this part of Colmar called the "Petite Venise".
Actually this district, in the southern part of old Colmar, does not look at all like Venice not even like Bruges. On approximately 1 km the quays of the Lauch with its coloured half timbered houses offer to the visitors and to the photographers a unique spectacle which is typical Alsatian!
As for the Hotel Romantik, so often photographed from the bridge, I staid there some years ago. I would say that it is better from outside than from inside (what ties up with the comments on Trip Advisor). The restaurant is not bad but very 'bourgeois".
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Ceci est certainement la photo la plus prisée des visiteurs de Colmar. Elle se prend à partir du pont de la rue de Turenne sur la rivière Lauch. Les maisons à colombages qui forment l'hôtel Romantik - restaurant Le Maréchal en constituent l'élément le plus spectaculaire.
Le quartier de la Petite Venise se trouve dans la partie sud du vieux Colmar.
Sur environ 1 Km les quais de la Lauch avec ses maisons colorées à colombages offrent aux visiteurs et aux photographes un spectacle unique.
Quant à l'Hôtel Romantik, si souvent photographié à partir du pont, j'en ai fait l'expérience il y a une demi douzaine d'années. Je dirais qu'il est mieux de l'extérieur que de l'intérieur (ce qui rejoint les commentaires sur Trip Advisor). Le restaurant n'est pas mal mais très bourgeois.
Petite Venise (borrowed photo)
Carytids
Cranach (La Melancholy)
Second Level of Four Scenes of Jesus' Life
