Colmar!!!
The Grand Rue in Colmar
A few years ago, shortly after our first visit to Strasbourg, a friend recommended that we traveled to Colmar too. My initial thought was, how different could it really be from Strasbourg which also had lots of half timbered houses scattered throughout the city. Little did I know there was a significant difference. Strasbourg is a much bigger city and its architecture is not limited to the half timbered houses. There are modern buildings too interspersed with the old architecture. Colmar, on the other hand, its old town at least, is old and does have the fairy tale village look to it. Think of the setting of the Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast. That's how Colmar looks.
We were so enchanted by the beauty of Colmar that we decided to return just three days after our first visit within the same week. The trip enabled us to savor the uniqueness of the city at a much more relaxed pace. It was on the second day too when we had the time to visit the Bartholdi Museum. If I remember right, admission was just 5 euros per person. Not that expensive. There we spent a good hour looking at the exhibits displayed in several floors. More importantly, our second visit enabled us to put names on the landmarks we saw earlier. During our first visit, we just walked on the streets, admired the architecture, took pictures and that was it.
We planned on visiting Paris while in Strasbourg too. Paris after all was just a two hour train ride away. We decided not to in the end since some trains were horribly delayed or did not run at all due to the heat.
Little Venice, one of the absolute must sees in old town Colmar
This was taken on our second trip in a week to Colmar. It was mid morning and we decided to have some snacks in Charles Schmitt, a lovely French cafe and patiserrie located along the way to Colmar's old town. We ordered an Alsatian pizza, a quiche loraine, and two desserts. We divided them all so we could taste and enjoy each and every thing we ordered. It was delicious.
Someone's happy! Getting out of the sun and resting inside the cafe was a lovely respite from the heatwave.
Half timbered houses were everywhere in Colmar's old town.
There were lots of churches too! We visited a few.
A partial view of a tower of St. Martin's Church
St. Martin's Church
At Tanners Street. Colmar was always busy with visitors each of the days we went. We lucked out that when we went to Tanners Street, the crowds of tourists hadn't arrived yet.
Both Strasbourg and Colmar are known to be Christmas towns due to the lovely decorations on the houses during this time of year. It would be a dream to go back there in December.
On our second trip to Colmar, we decided to visit the Bartholdi Museum. You know, the man behind the statue of Liberty in New York!
Inside the Bartholdi's Museum, the exhibits ranged from sketches to clay statues to furniture.
This was the floor where Bartholdi was said to have lived.
Here's an oil painting of Bartholdi on exhibit right by the entrance to the museum.
A view of the courtyard of the Bartholdi Museum
On a quiet street
There were lots of cafes in Colmar.
There were lost of dolls and plushies for sale everywhere. If only I had space in my suitcase, I would have bought a few.
Chez Hansi. It was only in Colmar did I hear of Hansi. It turns out he is a beloved citizen of Colmar. He also had a museum in the city.
Street after street, we were stunned and left in awe of the city's architecture.
More souvenirs
Pfister House
Inside the Collegiate Saint Martin
Seats stored in a quiet corner inside the Collegiate Saint Martin
A partial view of the Unterlinden Museum. This was the highly recommended museum to visit in Colmar among all the museums in the city. We didn't go in. It was nearly closing when we arrived at the site. We thought about going in to escape the heatwave France was undergoing at the time.
Taken along Tanner's Street
Bread and more bread