Day Trip to Christmas Markets of Colmar, France

December 2023

Day Trip to Christmas Markets of Colmar, France

The city of Colmar is located in the heart of the Alsace region known for their blend of French and German influences that offers a truly unique experience both in cuisine, culture, and wine. Colmar is a well preserved town that showcases beautifully timbered houses and a series of narrow, charming canals that give this city the nickname “Little Venice. And did you know the Statue of Liberty has its origins in Colmar? This town is truly out of a fairytale and it was hard to believe we were not on a movie set. When staying in Strasbourg, a visit to Colmar makes a wonderful day trip, especially during the holiday season. 

The train from Strasbourg is only 30 minutes and the trains are frequent. Since the markets opened at 11AM, we took a 1030AM train to Colmar. The walk from the train station to the city city is about a 20 minutes journey and I enjoyed it as the walk was through a typical neighborhood, just seeing how the people live, and it looked lovely. 

Our first activity was taking a scenic boat ride along the canals through a section known as Little Venice. The company to look for is Barque Colmar au fil de l’eau. I had reserved a time online for 1130 since these boats are quite small and looked popular. When we arrived right at our reservation time, we paid 8 euro each and hopped on a boat that was ready to depart. The boats had four rows that can fit probably 12-15 people depending on size, children in the rows, etc. The ride lasts 25 minutes and is accompanied by a guide who narrates throughout the journey. We learned about the river, the homes in the area, as well as Colmar history. The boat took us under several bridges – one of which required everyone to duck which was quite fun. We were able to get a glimpse of Colmar’s lay out as well as all the decorations that we wanted to see. Colmar is absolutely beautiful and everything looks like a fairy tale – how is this place real?

After disembarking, we walked along the river that we just flowed down and went into the Marche Couvert – a permanent indoor market that is quite popular in Colmar. While it is small, it features all the goodies including a bakery, fish stand, fresh meats, countless cheeses, and so much more. We even saw folks enjoying wine and freshly shucked oysters at one of the stands. If you are visiting during Christmas Market season, this is definitely a great spot for a treat or two.

On the opposite side of Marche Couvert was evidence of the Christmas Markets. A giant ferris wheel hovered over the main food market area – Marche Gourmand. We did a lap under the covered tent and grabbed a glass of wine along with another market item on our must-eat list – poelee de spaetzle – sauteed autumn’s mushrooms with spaetzle. This was so aromatic and my goodness was just so delicious. It was the perfect way to start our food journey in Colmar.  

Colmar features six Christmas markets to explore so we used them as a way to see the entire town. Every corner featured beautiful Alsatian homes – it felt more like a movie set. It was hard to believe it was a real place and I could not stop taking photos. 

The markets here were more focused on crafts, decor, and merchandise than food so we actually made it through the six markets faster than I expected. We popped into Place de la Cathedrale St. Martin Church. The Gothic style church has beautiful stained glass windows and featured a nativity set for the holiday season. 

Unfortunately, the other church, Place des Dominicains, was closed during our visit so we were looking at 2:30PM and found ourselves with a bit of time on our hands. Our dinner plans required us to stay local and we wanted to see the lights at night. But we surprisingly ran out of things to occupy the time. After a quick google search, Kevin found the Choco Story Colmar – a chocolate museum – and Chocolate Making Experience – it was surprisingly well rated so we thought we would give it a try.

Read our full experience chocolate making at Choco Story Colmar here!

When we emerged from the chocolate museum, the night sky set in and we walked back through the markets and town to see the lights. 

Our evening was ending in an interesting way – a pilgrimage of sorts to a restaurant in a small town in the countryside. And for the work it took to get here, I was keeping my fingers crossed it would be worth it.

Read the full dining review for Utopie here!

After an incredible and memorable meal, we made our journey back to Strasbourg. Thank you for a wonderful day, Colmar!

Continue reading all the details of our trip – here!

The Perfect 3 Day Itinerary for Strasbourg – here!

To see our full itinerary – here!

See all blog posts for Strasbourg – here!

Complete packing list – here!