In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.
Voykit pocket guide · France
Colmar
Base in Colmar 2 nights for the old town and Unterlinden, then use it as a car-free hub for the wine-route villages; skip it as a day trip from Strasbourg.
Colmar packs a walkable old town, the Isenheim Altarpiece and a wine-route position into a small city: two nights covers the town and two villages, three if you add Strasbourg or the Vosges. It is the practical base for Alsace's wine villages because buses and the Kut'zig shuttle leave from here, and it sits 30 minutes by train from Strasbourg and 20 from Basel-side connections.
- Country
- France
- Best months
- May–Jun, Sep–Oct; Dec for the Christmas markets
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (crowds and heat), late Nov (between seasons)
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR, €). Contactless cards work in most shops, cafés and restaurants.
- Daily spend
- Budget €60–95 excl. bed · Mid €95–160 excl. bed · High €160+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Orange, SFR, Bouygues Télécom and Free sell prepaid SIMs in their shops and at tabacs; ID is required to register.
- Emergency
- European emergency 112 · Ambulance (SAMU) 15 · Police 17 · Fire 18
- Plugs
- Types C, E · 230 V · 50 Hz · Round two-pin plugs; type E sockets have an earth pin sticking out, so Schuko (type F) plugs need a C/E hybrid or an adapter.
- Tipping
- Café or bar: Leave small change, €0.20–1.; Restaurant: Service is included; leave 5–10% in cash for good service.; Taxi: Round up to the next euro or two.; Hotel porter or housekeeping: €1–2 per bag or per night.; Tour guide: €5–10 per person for a half day, more for private guides.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere unless signed otherwise. Restaurants must serve a free carafe of tap water on request.
- Toilets
- Paris has free automatic public toilets (sanisettes); elsewhere use cafés (buy a coffee), museums and stations, where some charge €0.50–1.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | €2–4 |
| Tarte flambée | €9–15 |
| Choucroute or baeckeoffe main | €15–25 |
| Glass of Alsace wine | €4–8 |
| Trace bus single / carnet of 10 | €1.50 / €11 |
| Unterlinden Museum | €14 adults, €9 students under 30, free under 12 |
| eSIM, about a week of data | €8–20 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- BSL · EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
- Closest useful airport; train or bus onward to Colmar, about 45–60 min
- SXB · Strasbourg Entzheim
- Train to Strasbourg then Colmar, about 1 h 15 min total
Typical fares
- Colmar → Strasbourg, TER
- about €10–13, 30 min
- Colmar → Basel SBB, TER
- about €15–20, 45 min
- Trace bus, one hour
- €1.50; 24 h Colmar Agglo pass €3.50
Get around
The old town is walkable end to end in about 20 minutes; no need for a car inside Colmar. Trace buses run about a dozen routes, €1.50 for one hour of travel, €11 for a carnet of 10, €3.50 for an Alsa+ 24 h Colmar Agglo pass. Hubs are Théâtre and Gare. Two tourist mini-trains loop the centre from Rue Kléber and Rue des Clefs.
See and do
Known for
- Old town half-timbered houses
- Unterlinden Museum and the Isenheim Altarpiece
- Little Venice canals
- Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty
- Alsace wine route base
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Eguisheim | Bus from Colmar, about 20 min; or 5 km by bikeBus from Colmar, about 20 min; or 3.1 mi by bike | About 40 min |
| Riquewihr | Kut'zig hop-on bus from Colmar, or bus 106 via Ribeauvillé | About 45–60 min |
| Kaysersberg | Bus from Colmar, about 35 min | About 1 h |
| Strasbourg | TER train from Colmar, about 30 min | About 50 min |
| Mulhouse | TER train, about 25–35 min | About 1 h |
| Sélestat | TER train, about 15 min | About 40 min |
Sleep
- Old town (Grand Rue, Rue des Marchands)
- Walk to everything; book months ahead for December and weekends.
- Around the station (Place de la Gare)
- Cheaper, 10–15 min walk to the old town; best for early trains.
- Little Venice / Quai de la Poissonnerie
- Canal views and restaurants; quietest at night, priciest.
- Horbourg-Wihr / campsite side
- Camping de L'Ill and budget beds, about 2 km from the centre; bus line 1.Camping de L'Ill and budget beds, about 1.2 mi from the centre; bus line 1.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello / Good day | Bonjourbon-ZHOOR |
| Thank you | Mercimer-SEE |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON seel voo PLEH |
| A table for two | Une table pour deuxewn TAH-bluh poor DUH |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ?par-lay VOO ahn-GLEH |
| Where is the station? | Où est la gare ?oo eh la GAR |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Say 'bonjour madame/monsieur' on entering any shop, bus or office; avoid: Asking a question before saying bonjour — it is read as rude
- Cheek kisses (la bise): Follow the other person's lead; one to four kisses depending on region; avoid: Initiating la bise with strangers or in business
- Addressing people: Use 'vous' and titles until invited otherwise; avoid: First names and 'tu' with older people or staff
- Restaurants: Wait to be seated in restaurants; call the waiter 'monsieur' or 'madame'; avoid: 'Garçon', snapping fingers, asking for the bill before you are finished
- Conversation: Debate is a pleasure; food, politics and philosophy are fair game; avoid: Asking about salary or religion; loud voices on trains
- Dinner at a home: Bring flowers (not chrysanthemums), chocolates or a good bottle; arrive 10–15 minutes late; avoid: Cutting the tip off a cheese wedge or asking for ketchup
- Dress: Smart-casual in cities; covered shoulders in churches; avoid: Beachwear in town centres
Scams and watch-outs
- No luggage storage at the station or in town: ask your hotel or hostel to hold bags.
- December and weekend old-town rooms sell out early; prices jump.
- Sunday and public-holiday bus service is much reduced.
- Many old-town restaurants are tourist-facing: read the posted menu before sitting.
- English is not widely spoken outside hotels; a French or German opener helps.
Colmar is a low-risk small city; the real issues are pickpockets in the crowded December markets, bicycles in the old town and unposted restaurant prices — ask before you sit.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Colmar yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Old town half-timbered houses
- Unterlinden Museum and the Isenheim Altarpiece
- Little Venice canals
- Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty
- Alsace wine route base
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Colmar official city site: www.colmar.fr/
- Colmar Tourist Office: www.tourisme-colmar.com/en/
- Trace Colmar urban buses: www.trace-colmar.fr/
- Musée Bartholdi: www.musee-bartholdi.fr/
- Marché Couvert de Colmar: www.marche-couvert-colmar.fr/
- Wikivoyage: Colmar, revision 5303932 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5303932
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Colmar
À cette adresse, s'il vous plaît
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Colmar; the US, UK, Canadian, Australian and Irish missions are in Paris, with consulates in Strasbourg.
Alsace has no luggage storage in Colmar: plan bags around your hotel.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/colmar). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.